Great Divide Old Ruffian

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

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.

Not a bad little barley wine. i gotta head over to denver some time. can never find these beers on tap

Pretty heavy. Sweet malt backed by fruit. Little bit pine and spice flavors. Slow sipper.

Bottle. Poured a ruby color with a one finger, long lasting head. Had a very nice floral hop nose and some leather notes as well. Nice lacing on this barley wine. Taste is almost "goldfish" crackers on the malts, followed up by bitter hops for a nice finish with a syrupy mouthfeel. Very nice mix of hops and malts.

Old Ruffian poured a burnt copper and deep amber glory while a burgeoning head of fluffy foam billows then recedes, leaving an explosion of lace and foam to mark her path. Each swirl of her rich brew produces even more lace and foam. The world’s largest army couldn’t hold back the powerful nose and aroma of Old Ruffian as it rushes my senses and takes them hostage. Armed with ripe hops, pine, grass, sap, and tons of fresh grapefruit of all varieties, my nose willingly surrenders, opening a path to my greedy consumption of this powerful brew. Crisp and sparkling with effervescence and hops galore, my palate almost immediately turns arid like the desert while grapefruit, pine, and grass eagerly absorb all available moisture. It is an exciting barrage which leaves me thirsting for more. Toasty malts provide a solid support for all the hops which surround my tastebuds. Each quaff is sticky, wet, hoppy and piney with a dry toasty body that hints of spice and alcohol warmth. This is no baby of a Barleywine, but instead a great beast of epic proportions that I cannot get enough of. Delicious! Old Ruffian may come in a larger 220oz bomber of a bottle, but all too soon I find myself looking at the bottom of my glass while basking in the warmth which pervades my being. Crisp fresh hops. Wet pine and sticky sap. Tart and sour grapefruit. Toasty malts and spice. Warm alcohol presence. Savor an Old Ruffian Barleywine now and set aside a bottle for a few years from now.

I enjoy both the hoppy and malty side of barleywines for they come both ways. The malty Barleywine is far more English-centric, while the hoppy Barleywine is far more American-centric. Both are excellent though, and deserving of a place in both one’s fridge and their cellar. Maybe it’s a symptom of Stockholm Syndrome, but Old Ruffian is both my captor and my savior.