Great Divide Old Ruffian

Brewed by Great Divide Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
Denver, Colorado USA

Bomber. Pours a hazy reddish rusty amber with a thin lasting head and sticky lace. Aroma is fruity esters, big malts all the way around slight smokey meatiness- with a slight floral hop character. Caramel brown sugar and big caramel and dark crystal malts, all smooth together over lots of fruits- raisin, figs, prunes, and peaches, still some fresh hops- a bit green, slight citrus and orange. Very smooth finish- solid Barleywine. Keeps getting better with age.

Bomber (also had on tap several weeks ago). Pours an opaque red-brown with thin cream colored head, very little lacing. Smell like fermented fruit punch with a bit of hops and oak mixed in. Dark fruits in abundance, raisin, cherry, grapes, with a nice hops and pine kick in the finish. Creamy thick mouthfeel, this could be a meal replacement. Solid.

1 pint 6 fl. oz. bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 10.2%. Dark orange to brown colour, hazy. Big and lasting pale orange to beige head. The sweetish aroma has notes of pine, ripe fruits, raisins and molasses. Full and warming mouthfeel. Rich flavour with loads of malty sweetness, notes of raisins, caramel, molasses and udefined fruit, while the high IBU makes itself known towards the end, through a substantial and resinous hoppy bitterness.

Pours a beautiful ruby-copper color. Nose of hops and caramel malts. Very bitter, and with lots of hop resin. Dense hops disguise a complex malt backbone that is mainly caramel, but with lots of depth. Pretty solid.

75cl bottle at Bar & Cigar. It poured a hazy red colour with a medium big off-white foamy head. The aroma is very hoppy and bitter. The flavour is extremly bitter and hoppy with notes of alcohol citrus. It has a long, lingering aftertaste.

Dark amber, good sized creamy head with plenty of lacing. Aroma is huge on caramel or toffee, vanilla, some alcohol, fruits, and floral hops. Flavour is powerful. Brown sugar, caramel, chocolate. but balanced by a generous amount of hops, with warming alcohol. Smooth and round.

22 oz. Rusty amber pour, good cream colored head. Malt, caramel, piney hop aroma. Taste is caramel, raisin, citrus/red fruits balanced with quite a bit of floral hops. Sticky, but could be stickier. Would prefer more biscuit and less citrus. Nice and clean finishing with the bitterness lingering. Definetely a west coast style barleywine. Drinkability is ok. Good example, lends itself well too aging I’m guessing. I bet the oak and barrel aged versions of this are even better. I just tend to enjoy the malt inclined versions a little more. I will say this improves nicely as it warms though, some of the edge is taken off.

Pours a cloudy orange-brown color. Thin white head with decent retention and lacing. Aroma is sweet fruit and a hint of piney hops. Flavor is sweet, even by barley wine standards. Lots of fruit (apricot and light citrus notes). Hops are definitely present, but it’s not as hoppy as many barley wines. Mouthfeel is thick, but not over viscous. Alcohom warmth in the finish, but nothing unusual given the ABV. Good, but not one of Great Divide’s best entreis. That said, the bottle I had was fairly fresh, and I think this one could age very nicely.