Great Divide Old Ruffian

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

A slightly hazy deep red beer with a huge orange-red head. The aroma is primarily hoppy, but also with notes of malt, grass, caramel, and alcohol - a very fresh nose for such a potent beer. The flavor is a lovely complex combination of malt, toffee, alcohol, hops, wood, nutmeg, pineneedles, and more, but slowly the hops gain the advantage to give it a stronger accent on the pineneedles combined with grapefruit. The end is strong and slightly sticky, where the alcohol is more felt than tasted, and the hoppy notes lingers for a long time.

(Bottle 65 cl) Clear, deep amber with a small beige head. Sweetish, malty nose and sweetness in the first sip. But then you’re immediately hit by the hammer of hops - an absolutely wild and extreme hoppiness making you pretty much suffocate. Plain and simple. 90 IBUs is extreme by any standard, and admittedly too extreme for me. But a great experience nevertheless. 210505

RB US #900: From tap at Plan B. Pours clear and hazzlenut golden brown with a creamy light tan head. Solid hoppy and mild caramel malty aroma. Dense and towards liqourice spiced and hoppy finish. Sweet and dense caramel malty with a solid hops flavour and distinct bitterness into the finish. Dry and dense malty and fruity lingering into the far finish. Slight wooden too.

Bottled. Ruby, beige head. Rich grapefruity hop aroma. Plenty of sweet malt with notes of toffee. Concentrated thick mouthfeel, yet overpowered by vast hoppiness. Incredibly bitter finish.

Bottle. Clear medium amber red color with a large frothy good lacing mostly lasting beige head. Aroma is moderate to heavy malty, caramel, nutty, moderate to heavy hoppy, pine, alcoholic. Initial flavor is moderate sweet and bitter, finish flavor is moderate sweet and moderate to heavy bitter with a long duration. Body is medium to full, texture is oily / syrupy, carbonation is soft, finish feel is light alcoholic.

Bottle. Very malty aroma, some hoppiness. Unclear dark brown colour, small head. Strong peppery flavour with much aromatic and bitter hoppiness. Slightly astringent aftertaste. Good body, slightly syrupy mouthfeel.

Bottled. Nut brown/amber colour. Aroma is alcohol, plum, spices and a lot of fruit. Flavour is spices, plum, raisins and candy sugar. Almost like a mediumsweet Madeira wine.

Bottled at DBF 2005. Cloudy brown coloured with a lasting off white head. Sweet aroma with lots of malts, hops and dried fruits. Flavour of hops with lots of sweetness and dried fruits. Nice.