Strawberry Rhubarb - Great Divide Brewing

The Fifth Beer of Christmas is Strawberry Rhubarb from Great Divide Brewing in Denver, Colorado.

I was skeptical about this one. Rhubarb, really? But Great Divide made me a believer.

Summary

• Appearance: Coppery color with fine, white foam
• Aroma: Sweet malt, yeast, strawberries and something else that I assume must be rhubarb
• Taste: Sweet, tart, strawberry, and something else that I assume must be rhubarb
• Feel: Medium body, sharp carbonation, dry finish 

Stats

• Brewer: Great Divide Brewing Company
• Location: Denver, Colorado
• Website: http://greatdivide.com/
• Fruit: Strawberry Rhubarb
• Style: Sour Ale
• Alcohol Content: 6.2%

Great Divide Brewing - Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout

For the Eleventh Beer of Christmas, a mountain legend came to life.

Great Divide Brewing
Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout

From deep in the Rocky Mountains, the mysterious Yeti has crept down from the heights and can now be found in fine package liquor stores, probably in a town near you. Great Divide has a number of fantastic beers, including last year's Hibernation Ale.

The beer pours up a beautiful dark chocolate brown with a thick head of milk chocolate brown foam. Thick lacing clung to the side of the glass throughout the drink and left a scattered web all the way to the bottom of the glass.

The aroma reminds me a bit of when I was in college an we'd make Irish coffee by pouring any available whiskey (not just Irish whiskey) into coffee. There are also chocolate and vanilla coming to the scent surface every now and then. And, as my wife mentioned, there's an understated flower garden aroma of hops. However, I think she thought it was overstated.

The 70 IBUs (International Bittering Units) of hops come through fairly strongly in the taste. This is as high as an IPA (India Pale Ale) style would have, but the strong malt character makes the hops more subtle in taste than they would be in an IPA. Flavors of coffee, bitter chocolate, and an alcohol warming are also there. It has a smooth, creamy feel even with a light bite of the hops and highly roasted malt.

While the IBUs are a bit higher than I normally look for in an imperial stout, this is still a fantastic beer. Thick and rich, a single 22 oz bottle could easily last you through most of an evening of sitting and visiting with friends and family.

Stats
Brewer: Great Divide Brewing Company
Location: Denver, CO
Website: http://www.GreatDivide.com
Style: Imperial Stout
Alcohol Content: 9.5% ABV
Interesting Note: As many brewers do these days, Great Divide follows their own set of green practices. While there are a number of usual ones in the list (sending spent grain to local farmers for feed, shopping locally, reusing heated water for other purposes, etc), one that stood out in my mind was that all proceeds from their beer sample sales are donated to local non-profits. It comes to about $75,000 per year. That's pretty cool. You can read more about all of their practices at their website (link above).

Great Divide Brewing Co. - Hibernation Ale

For the Ninth Beer of Christmas, we head to Denver for a taste of the Great Divide.

Great Divide (the brewerly, not the continental division of watersheds) brews a number of beers.  The one that always stands out in my mind is the large brown & beige bottle of Yeti that has even made its way into my local grocery stores. However, The Great Divide (the area that separates the watersheds) itself does have a great number of beers and breweries. But that's a subject for a different post.

Their seasonal offering, Hibernation Ale, creates a beautiful mahogany glass of beer with a thick head of light beige foam that leaves a trail of heavy lacing on the glass.

Toasted biscuit and mildly rough alcohol esters dominate the scent. There's a bit of hops, dark fruit (dates, figs, etc), and sweet malt, too. With the 8.7% ABV, I believed the alcohol would come through much stronger. It's there, but surprisingly mild. As I pulled the glass away after each drink, there was an additional surprise of a toast scent but without the biscuit.

My first thought when drinking this was "thick." It has a full body and a big, bold taste. The sweet malt in the aroma comes through double in the taste. But it's offset by a a combination of the alcohol and a strong dark chocolate flavor. I particularly enjoyed the complexity of the drink. Sweet in the beginning of the drink, changing to bittersweet mid-drink, and warming with alcohol in the aftertaste.

Despite the thick, full body and the thick head of foam, the carbonation was low through most of the drink.

Big & bold. Complex & warm (even at the 45°F I had it chilled to ... side note, the recommended serving temperature is in the mid 50s).

Aaron described the taste as malty with a hint of dark chocolate. Brandon went with malty and nutty. Both agreed that this is a very good beer (see their ratings on a scale of 1 to 12 below). Wyatt said that the only reason he didn't give it a 12 is because he couldn't drink lots of it at once.

Ratings

Aaron: 11
Brandon: 11
Wyatt: 11
Tracy: 10

Stats
Brewer: Great Divide Brewing Company
Location: Denver, CO
Website: http://www.GreatDivide.com
Style: English Olde Ale
Alcohol Content: 8.7% ABV
Interesting Note: A 17 year veteran of Great Divide's line up, this fantastic beer has deservedly won a gold medal and three silver medals.  In addition, it comes in a whiskey barrel aged format that runs 12.4% alcohol.  I haven't seen one of these locally, but if I find one I will definitely grab it (and a couple of spares).