Hercules Double IPA
Great Divide Brewing Company

4.04/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Six pack of cans purchased at Total Wine in Lynnwood, Washington.
Canned on SEP 24 2019. Poured in to an Erdinger pint glass.

Look- Slightly hazy darker golden amber color, glorious off-white head that slowly recedes, beautiful lacing. Light carbonation streaming as it sits.

Smell- Citrus (tangerine, grapefruit and lemon), honey/caramel malts, resinous pine, over-ripe tropical fruits (mango, passionfruit and light pineapple), some stone fruit. Light spicy/herbal notes.

Taste- The honey sweet malts are much more prevalent in the taste than the aroma. The hoppy fruitiness and pine assert themselves in the finish, well balanced.

Feel- Rich, full bodied with faint alcohol tones. Very smooth with a solid semi-dry bitter finish. Moderate carbonation on the tongue.

O- A really nice DIPA. A little pricey but I'll be coming back to this one.

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4.28/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

From notes 1/22/12: Pours deep gold/pale amber with 2 fingers of frothy, beige, somewhat lasting head which leaves a heavy, pasty lacing behind as it recedes. Aroma is citrusy orange hops and sweet caramel malts. Taste is huge hoppiness! Oily with orange zest in a malt background of cane syrup and caramel. Big hop bite and bitterness from start into the aftertaste. Taste is complex, almost in an abbey ale sort of way. Alcohol is well hidden for a 10% ABV until the brew reaches room temperature where it blossoms.

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4.29/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Found this at T0tal W!ne in Houston after missing it on the local shelves for several years.
Probably more than a bit overpriced i.e. you can find better brews for less money. But, it's an excellent beer, good taste but not overly hopped and little or no juniper or other cringe-worthy (for some people!) ingredients. Herc is a very worthwhile brew which has been around for quite a while. If you're looking to test drive an IPA, this is a great choice.

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3.86/5  rDev -7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Can from Moscow Co-op. Medium amber with a small, clingy head. Aroma comes in with some sweet malts, and taste comes in bigger, malty and bitter. Hop bite lingers for a while. Tons of caramel and toffee.

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4.01/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Very nice imperial IPA but I was expecting a little more hoppiness, and not quite so much malt sweetness. Nice lighter brown color with some mild head and spotty lingering lacing. Smells of some mellow fruit and piney hops. Tastes similarly, along with quite a bit of sweet malt, then also caramel and vanilla. Honestly the mild sweetness is very smooth but overpowers the very faint notes of nice hoppy bitterness. Smooth mild mouthfeel, good carbonation. Would have given this beer higher marks if only the strong hoppy presence had made itself known. The higher ABV was very well-hidden, however.

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3.69/5  rDev -11.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Cloudy amber with a nice frothy creamy head, lacey. Apparently not filtered - lots of little bits floating around in there; The aroma is mild and good, not strongly hoppy; Flavor is quite tangy with a strong hint of alcohol; Feels crisp, zesty, reasonably smooth with moderate to high carbonation; Leaves a bit of a sour/bitter feeling in the back of the mouth; Not bad, but not a favorite.

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4.04/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Old double IPA malty style covers high alcohol but not hop forward at all. I was hoping for the hop accents to stand out. My personal preference are some of the newer style doubles not heavy malts. It comes down to preference.

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4.06/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz bottle poured heavily into a standard pint glass. bottled on AUG 10 2017.

Appearance- a hazy copper color with a frothy off white tannish colored head. leaves decent lacing.

Aroma- a heavy caramel malt smell with some pine. nice.

Taste- like the smell but with some light citrus. abv is mellow for how high it is. bitterness is there but nothing crazy. has a light melon hop taste hidden in the background. like a cantaloupe or a watermelon. weird but not bad.

Mouthfeel- medium/ heavy body. good carbonation.

Drinkability- gonna drink this one and will gladly purchase more down the road.

Overall- for this brew being 10 months old i feel like it's warped more into a hoppy barleywine instead of a hop forward imperial ipa. the caramel malt is really the base of this brew. the pine and citrus is there but is mostly just on the fringe. wouldn't mind trying one fresh but even if you aged some slightly i like the barleywine aspect instead of turning into just an old expired rough imperial ipa. kinda reminds me of a seirra nevada bigfoot at this point.

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4.28/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

7/1/17...pours rich copper with heavy white foam. Creamy layer, malty hoppy nose. Toffees. Heavy hearty bitter. Thick layered mouthfeel. Chewy. Almost woodsy. So fresh and absolutely outstanding.

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4.34/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

I have several Great Divide bottles hanging around & what with today being NBS (Week 653), I decided to make this the last (for now) beer in my latest brewery horizontal. There is an upside to The Bottle Backlog here at Chez Woody & the opportunity to conduct & CANduct such horizontals is it. Amazingly, this one is a CANQuest (tm) entry!

From the CAN: "Great Minds Drink Alike"; On the reverse side of the CAN, a circus strongman hefts a massive barbell with one hand, all in silhouette. Stunning graphics!

A month-old CAN?!? That kind of freshness CAN only mean one thing - an inverted Glug, following the Crack! The finger of dense, foamy, light-tan head quickly formed & began to fall away, leaving great lacing in its wake. Color was Amber to Deep Amber/Light Copper (SRM = > 9, < 13) with NE-quality clarity. Nose smelled cool and minty, like standing in the middle of a pine forest during a snowstorm. Actually, there was some caramel malt in the mix, but the hops were prevalent. Mouthfeel was big, thick, viscous & if I thought that the earlier Hibernation was hot, this erupted like a flamethrower in my mouth! Phew. This was no playin' around time. The taste was really cool and minty and when coupled with the inherent heat, I felt like I had been gargling with it. Minty fresh & eye-opening. The malt had not yet begun to come forward as further proof of its freshness, but I did get a subtle nuttiness as mentioned in the "Notes/Commercial Description" section, like peCANs or almonds. Man, this was tasty! Dangerously so as I sucked down half of the CANtents without a moment's hesitation or a seCANd thought. I suddenly found myself slumped backwards in my chair, a clear sign that I should take my foot off of the gas. The cool, minty heat rendered it very dry on the finish & while it would probably smooth out with age, it should probably be CANsumed fresh.

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4.04/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Amber with a nice head and hoppy aroma. A very nice malty base upon which the hops provide a balanced flavor profile. This is a very enjoyable example of a DIPA.

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3.7/5  rDev -10.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

From the right side of the bottle: "BOTTLED ON: MAR 09 2017"

Appearance: The body is a dark copper color. It is opaque but large chunks of sediment are visible in the form of dark shadows. The head is short and white which quickly recedes to a white ring leaving no lacing.

Aroma: There is a light caramel and malt scent with a bit of pine.

Taste: It has a nice malty backbone which is apparent from start to finish. Up front the beer has this slightly sweet malt flavor which transitions into a grainy taste at the end. The malt flavor is very good. Accompanying the malt is a bitter pine flavor which is fairly strong. It is important to note that while the beer boasts "10.0% ALC. BY VOL." on the label the alcohol is very well hidden.

Mouthfeel: It has bright carbonation and a sharp, strong bitterness. The beer has a medium body and although there is sediment visible in the glass it has a clean finish.

Overall: It is a pretty standard Double IPA without any bells or whistles but that is what is enjoyable about the beer. It tastes the way one would expect a Double IPA to taste. One element that brings this beer out of the average rank and file of other Double IPA beers is the nice grain flavor in the finish. Another element that is noteworthy is the clean mouthfeel that delivers an exceptionally pointed bitterness. Although I wasn't a fan of the loads of sediment in the beer I would still drink it again and I would recommend it to others. Just ignore the sediment and let the flavor do all the talking.

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3.75/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

This was poured into a tulip. The appearance was a semi-dark hazy brown color with a thin white semi-foamy head that dissipated at a nice pace. Light messy lacing The aroma starts off with some glazed orange/citrus peel/rind bitter to sweet hops with some piney bitterness. Caramel malt balances in a sweet malty way. The flavor takes the sweetness of the hops to the sweetness of the malts to enunciate a low riding overall sweetness. Light tobacco smooths into the aftertaste and finish. On the palate, this one sat about a light to medium on the body with a slidingly smooth sipping quality to it. Carbonation runs fairly light. Overall, old school styled DIPA that alleviates the pain of wanting it to be modernized. So, it’s built to last malty body helps it make it the sipper that it is.

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4/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 ounce bottle into tulip glass, bottled on 4/19/2017. Pours crystal clear medium orange amber color with a 1-2 finger dense and rocky off white head with great retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice dense soapy lacing clings around the glass. Aromas of big grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, peach, pear, mango, lemon zest, orange peel, citrus rind, light pepper, pine, caramel, toasted bread, herbal, and floral/grassy earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of citrus/fruity/pine hops and moderate dark/bready malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, peach, pear, mango, lemon zest, orange peel, citrus rind, light pepper, pine, caramel, toasted bread, herbal, and floral/grassy earthiness. Good amount of pine/citrus rind/spicy bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, peach, pear, mango, lemon zest, orange peel, citrus rind, pepper, pine, caramel, toasted bread, and herbal/floral/grassy earthiness on the finish for a while. Great complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/pine hops and moderate dark/bready malt flavors; with a great malt/bitterness balance, and minimal lingering hop astringency after the finish. Moderate dryness from bitterness, increasing through the glass. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth and moderately creamy/bready/sticky/resinous/rindy balanced mouthfeel that is great. Alcohol is very well hidden with minimal warming present after the finish. Overall this is a great DIPA! All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/pine hops and moderate dark/bready malt flavors; very smooth and easy to drink, despite the aggressively bitter/drying finish. Great juicy hop complexity with a sizable malt backbone that is never overly sweet/heavy feeling. A very enjoyable offering.

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4.23/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Hazy orange gold with lots of particular matter. Head is three fingers of pale bone color head that lasts a good ten minutes. Rings and swathes of fine bubble lace.
Smell is pungent sweet malts and resinous hops.
Taste is sweet bready malts with piney hop oil bitterness. A strong element of dankness rises up after the liquid warms.
Mouthfeel is medium with proper caronation levels. Finish is medium dry and bitter.
Overall another big DIPA. A good beer for those that do not like all the fruity aspects of others of this style.

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4.07/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On-draft at WOB, Fayettville, NC. Nice and hoppy, maybe a tad-bit more in the malt bill for my preference, but a well-crafted brew nonetheless. Would certainly enjoy this again! Update T-day 2019...still hoppy-malty goodness!

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4.46/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

I picked up a bomber of this Denver, CO DIPA from Hi Times in Newport Beach, CA on 02/12/2017. Bottled on 03/10/2015. ABV 10%. Plain-Jane looking label. I love the gold-foil top.

Hercules DIPA pours a hazy, opaque copper with good carbonation. 2 fingers of ecru foam. Some lacing. Smell is malt and orange, citrus, and tropical fruits. Taste starts with citrus zest and tropical fruits, perfectly complimented by the malt backbone. Taste ends with an intense, hop bitterness. Alcohol warms the mixture ever so slightly but stays out of the way.

Despite the bottled date, this is a superb DIPA -- noticeably different from California DIPAs. If I can find it again, I'll definitely add this DIPA to my weekly rotation of daily DIPAs. Killer DIPA!!!

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4.48/5  rDev +8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

12oz. canned on Jan 03, 2017

Pours hazy amber dark orange with a creamy frothy white foam head. Smells like toasted bready caramel malts, papaya, peach, mango, some honey, dark berries, orange, grapefruit, mild tobacco, spice, with floral earthy herbal grassy resinous pine. Tastes like dark toasted bready caramel malts, papaya, peach, mango, honey, dark berries, orange, grapefruit, some tobacco, mild spice, with bitter dank leafy green floral earthy herbal grassy resinous pine. Feels medium-light bodied, creamy and slick with moderate carbonation. Overall a really nice and intense DIPA.

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4.57/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Got a bomber from a local liquor store for 7.99. Hoped it would be special, and it didn't disappoint. Into a goblet...

L: Barely one finger of head, but the lacing is sticky, leaving speckled patterns across the glass. Body is dark reddish brown with a hint of amber, but very opaque and cloudy.

S: Oooh, this is not an IPA profile. This is a Barleywine profile. Begins with molasses and black pepper, followed by sourdough bread, a clovey caramel/toffee body, finishing in rye bread and brown rice syrup. Daank.

T: A hint of anise bursts into molasses, chocolate, dark dried fruit and roasty malt. Not much hops in this DIPA. Very, very different from Titan.

F: Thick, full, creamy, a little syrupy at the end. Goes down like nectar of the gods.

O: Excellent brew. Definitely a CO DIPA, and not a CA DIPA.

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4.53/5  rDev +9.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

On draft in a snifter, brownish orange with a white head that dissipated quickly. The nose is grass, orange, bread and vanilla. Tastes is bitter grapefruit at first, then a bit of smoke followed by juicy citrus. All of it is balanced by the malts. Medium to light body and a good amount of carbonation. An easy to drink and delicious beer. The alcohol is very well hidden making this too easy to drink. Definitely worth a try, one of the best out there.

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4.63/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

While the infamous Yeti seems to garner much of the press for Denver's hometown heroes, Hercules is certainly not deserving of existence in anyone else's shadow. This is a monster, for sure. The pour is burnt orange with a notable amount of residual yeast specks, darker than the modern expected IPA, signalling a solid malt backbone to come. While this has all the bitter goodness one wishes for in a hop-forward brew - smelling mostly of strong grapefruit and a little grass - and the taste delivers in spades, it bounces back and fourth seamlessly between that and a malty sweetness almost reminiscent of almond extract. Between the phenomenal balance of flavor, my quiet desire that this was easier to session, and my personal bias for a badass success of a Denver brewery, one of the best Doubles I've had the chance to try.

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3.62/5  rDev -12.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a brown 12 oz. bottle. Has a dark orange color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of tropical fruits, malts. Taste is piney, tropical fruits, alcohol, some malts and resin. Feels medium/full bodied in the mouth and overall is a good beer, but I was expecting a little more.

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2.72/5  rDev -34.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 2.25

**
03/25/15
Aroma is nice: orange, lemon, grapefruit, grasses.
Appearance: dark yellow orange. Above avg. White head.
Taste: lots of pine. Offensive. Grass, hops. Fruit in the aroma is blocked by the overly strong grassy/woody character. Feel: Lively carbonation.

Ok. An unfortunate product of the IPA craze.

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3.54/5  rDev -14.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

I do not agree with those strong reviews. This is a good beer but in my opinion not worth 9$ for a 12 oz. good beer good quality but NOT exceptional

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4.07/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Nice copper color with a small head and substantial lacing. Nose is a light, with some piney hops and malt. Very smooth and balanced flavor, with a great hop presence balanced by a little malt. Overall a great DIPA.

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