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Great Divide Old Ruffian

Great Divide Old Ruffian

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 Percentile 
98
overall
A Barley Wine brewed by
Great Divide Brewing Company

Denver, Colorado USA

bottled
common

on tap
common

Broad Distribution
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 Ratings  Average  Score  ABV  Style Pctl  Serve in  Advanced 
7593.91/5.03.91/5.010.27%89.7Snifter P  Stats

Commercial Description:
Old Ruffian is a hefty, hop-forward Barley Wine. Seemingly mellow at first sniff, with its subtle fruit aromas and complex caramel sweetness, this deep mahogany-hued ale quickly shows its true character marked by bold hop flavors and massive hop bitterness. Old Ruffian’s rich, slightly creamy, caramel malt mouthfeel balances its grapefruit, pine, and floral hop flavors, working wonders on your palate.
A mind-numbing 90 International Bittering Units (IBUs).

Most RecentTop RatersHighest Ratings Who's Rated This?
 changeup45 (578), Orlando, Florida, USA
4.6 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/105/59/105/518/20

Apr 7, 2008    Updated: Aug 24, 2008
Chalk up another winner for Great Divide! Pours a deep amber maybe even cherry or burgandy color. Nice thick khaki head, especially considering the alcohol content, which produced a bunch of sticky lacing all over the glass. Aroma is nice and hoppy with some citrus fruits. The flavor starts with sweet caramel malty notes. After that is the big grapefruit, tangy, hoppy blast. The aftertaste is grapefruit and a bit winey. Considering the abv here this is quite easy to drink and smooth. This is flat out an excellent brew. If you’re a fan of the style I definitely recommend this!

 blipp (818), Grand Island, New York, USA
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/57/104/515/20
Oct 10, 2008  
Bottle. Pours clear red brown with a creamy beige head. Fruity flowery aroma with caramel and citrus. Soft mouthfeel with relatively low carbonation. The flavor is certainly hop forward, floral, piny, a bit grassy even. Decent balance. Long, dry, bitter finish.


 Rune (1809), Tromsø, Norway
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/57/105/515/20
Oct 3, 2008  
250ml on tap at Den Tatoverede Enke. Cloudy mahogany body under a loose, tan head. Flowery smell with notes of biscuit. Prominent taste of dry pine and grapefruit giving way to notes of caramel malts. Hoppy dryness beneath resulting in an increasingly and prolonged bitter ending. Full bodied and a bit heavy to drink (Thanks to Guri from VG for the treat, Copenhagen 16.09.2008).


 cgarvieuk (2536), Edinburgh, Scotland
3.2 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/103/56/103/513/20
Oct 3, 2008  
Bottle at EBF copenhagen 2008 ... Red brown ... big sweet barley wine nose ... juicy pine ... quite a lot of bitterness ... loads of pine hop and just a bit rough.


 elihapa (311), Connecticut, USA
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/58/104/516/20
Oct 1, 2008  
Pours a mahogany-amber color with chill haze. Head is a medium sized, fluffy, creamy tan color. Aroma is of floral bouquet, hops, caramel, and nuts. Smells more like an American Strong Ale, to be honest. Front palate is smooth, with notes of wood, nut, candied fruit, and underlying sweetness. Mid-palate reveals more fruity flavors, also introducing a hop character that will build through the finish. Finish is a touch sharp, featuring warming alcohol, bitter hops, and some fruit-cake. Overall, this is a tough Barley Wine to top. I will have to dock it one notch because I just can’t get it out of my head that this beer veers too close to other American styles of ASA (in the flavor) and Double IPA (in the aroma, and perhaps the sharpness


 austone (447), Turku; Pori, Finland
3.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/103/57/104/513/20
Sep 25, 2008  
Draught @ Plan B. Hazy red copper, firm beige head. Grapefruit hoppy aroma, sweet molasses. Peppery, a bit tangy hoppy flavor, liquorice and fresh ginger. Sharp spicy finish. Full bodied, smooth low carbonation. Not as soothing as I hoped.



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