Old Ruffian
Great Divide Brewing Company

 

Taken from notes-2019

Pours brown in color with a one-finger foamy off-white head that reduces to a ring. Smells of caramel, toffee, raisin, brown bread, fruit cake, faded piney and citrus hops. Tastes of malty caramel and fruit cake up front, followed by faded piney hops, raisins and figs. Finishes with caramel and faded hops. Medium body with moderate carbonation, foamy mouthfeel and slightly warming finish

 

 

1 pint 6 fl. oz. bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 10.2%. Dark orange to brown colour, hazy. Big and lasting pale orange to beige head. The sweetish aroma has notes of pine, ripe fruits, raisins and molasses. Full and warming mouthfeel. Rich flavour with loads of malty sweetness, notes of raisins, caramel, molasses and udefined fruit, while the high IBU makes itself known towards the end, through a substantial and resinous hoppy bitterness.

 

 

Nov, '20 bottle aged since 1/28/16: Good nose of sweet dark fruit; Amber hue with tan head & good lace; medium mouthfeel w/ smooth effervescent carbonation; taste is bitter raisins and dank fig/date; dry quenching finish that retains bitter bark notes. For me, I would like to see a bit better balance with sweet to bitter, but my review reflects what the brewery says about their beer.

 

Barley wine bottle share on 1/31. Poured a crimson/ruby red w/ a thin soap like head. Aroma of hops, fairly astringent. The palate was smooth and slickly The flavor was bitter hops followed by sweet citrus and malts..Incredibly good and tasty.

 

 

Vintage 2016

I like most of their yeti imperial stout variants so let's see how their barley wine goes & hopefully the 90 IBU's have mellowed out . The pour is umber brown color into the snifter glass. On the taste i'm getting some hops but they have mellowed out somewhat, some dark cherry, black currant, malts, caramel, pine, & burnt sugar. It's a really good Barleywine & it leave a nice lacing around the glass but I still favor Yeti variants. cheers! A-

 

Pours dark amber to brown. 1/2 inch yellowish tan head. Thick lacing. Moderate carbonation.

Aroma of roasted & caramel malts, oak, molasses, toffee.

Tastes is sweet and bitter. Rye, oak, toffee, vanilla, molasses, dates, whiskey.

Full bodied, creamy mouthfeel, very rich.

One of the best barley wines I've had so far.

12oz bottle into perfect pint
Bottled on 1/29/15
Pours a dark brown with cream colored head
Aroma of sweet rich malt, candied hops
Taste follows real mellow, with the just the right amount of hops
Smooth creamy feel, no hint of the alcohol
Overall it aged really well, this was a superb barleywine

Chestnut brown with a modest head. Very pretty aroma, caramel covered malt with a hint of hops. Taste is salty bitter & very little of the sweetness promised by its aroma. Complex flavor, hoppy, pine, resin, raisin, malted barley, molasses & a strong pepper finish. Silky smooth & fairly thick, not much alcohol flavor but plenty of numbing effect. Fun to drink & delicious!

 

 

Poured from a 12oz bottle dated Jan 2016 bought in 2019. This was a well aged bottle ! And it aged well.

A great sipping beer with a sweet start and a big bitter hoppy finish. The high alcohol level is well hidden.