Great Divide Yeti Imperial Stout

Brewed by Great Divide Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Denver, Colorado USA

In the bottle from By the Bottle in Vancouver, WA.
Pours pitch black, like chocolate syrup, with a medium/small, dark brown head. Looks like creme from an espresso. Aroma is dark chocolate covered espresso beans next to a campfire. Taste is sensational! Coats you palate from beginning to end. Extremely well-rounded. Hops are still having a go at it despite the incredible dark malts. Very thick mouth feel but still pleasant to drink. Great hop finish and hardly even noticing the 75 IBUs. Excellent beer! Can’t wait to try the Oak-Aged Yeti sitting in my fridge.

750 ml bottle. Nice dark appearance with dark tan head. Very assertive hop aroma and flavor. This overpowered the malt flavors a bit. Has a nice, roasty flavor with complex dark fruit flavors present. I get just a touch of vanilla coming through. I prefer the oak aged version, but this isn’t bad. I suspect this bottle is fairly new and the hop presence should blend in better with age. Still, I’d buy this one again.

12oz, bottle. Deep, black pour. There’s so much flavor going on it’s hard to nail it down. Definitely has some coffee or even chocolate going on, mad hops and finishes very nicely. I’ve had two and the second was better than the first. A little less in-your-face than the North Coast Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout.

12oz from Sam’s, Durham. Much as I prefer the oak-aged version, the Yeti is nothing to fuck with. Nice café au lait head on top of this rich, chewy black pour. Thick and sludgy, just like the Yeti might move through the arctic wastes. Big notes of burnt coffee and dark chocolate, very inviting. A lively hop presence is there when the beer’s young, giving the brew even more of a bitter edge (though somehow not at the expense of the malts). Very satisfying when you’re in the mood for an especially aggressive imperial stout.

Pours a deep dark brown. The nose is rich chocolate malts. Comes across the palate very thick, with rich chocolate and notes of coffee. The after taste lingers a little; a very dry beer.

Bottle from BSF, GBBF ’08. Very dark brown with a beige head. Appealing roasted malt aroma. Thick, oily dark chocolate mouthfeel with flavours of dates, plums. liquorice and leather. Intense bitterness at the finish. Luxury beer.

I prefer the Oak Aged, but still, one of the top stouts out there. Full of chocolate and roast and every other word I use to describe this style.

Bottle. Had this beer in my fridge for awhile and been waiting to try it. Actually tried the oaked aged before this one. Although I enjoyed the strong hop profile with the oaked aged, I still think this is an incredibly enjoyable stout. Very dry, with nice hops and malt balance throughout. Strong to say the least. Enjoyable. Will have to revisit.