Oaked Aged Hercules Double IPA
Great Divide Brewing Co.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I finally had a draft of this when they put it on tap at the Amsterdam Ale House on Manhattan's Upper West Side. It's really not the season for Double IPA's but this was a very good one. The oak is a little too intense but I was very please with it overall.

Appearance is a dark brown, very cloudy with very little carbonation.

Aroma is of intense hops, dark fruit, oakiness and malt.

Flavor, as I mentioned is a little intense on the oak side but very balanced overall. Not to heavy in any of the other areas (sometimes beers this big can be a little too hot).

Overall a very good beer and I hope to see it again once the weather gets a little cooler.

I really enjoyed this DIPA, just wanted to share another great DIPA with my fellow Beer Advocates, I am on a mission to find good DIPA's so far i like Hoptimus and this Hercules. please feel free to inbox me any suggestions, ALWAYS WELCOME!!! i would also like to again alert any beer lovers in ohio to try 1808 american bistro in delaware , oh they have 30 taps.

First had: on tap at Pinocchio's, Media, PA

Looked and sounded good, but I thought it tasted like dishwater. Took a while for me to get through this one. It might have just been the glass it was served in, because the bottled, non-oak-aged Hercules is a fine brew. I don't know...something was off here.

Poured cloudy, dark orange-brown with a nice white head and decent lacing. Smells of fruit, malts, light hops; kind of weak and watery. Watery and soapy up front... It didn't look like a bad pour by the bartender, but I got the feeling that this beer couldn't be that bad, based on how good the regular Hercules, and the general good quality of GD beers. Could have been a bad glass, a bad tap line, or maybe just a bad batch. But yeah, mostly dishwater in the taste, with almost sickeningly sweet malts, vanilla, bleached wood, and a hop bite just barely noticeable. Alcohol still present. Light-medium mouthfeel, and it was a struggle to get through one glass.

I'd like to revisit this one just to see if it was indeed a dud, but considering its rarity, I probably won't see it on tap again for a while, if ever again.

Wanted the Great Divide Chocolate O.A. Yeti but got this instead. Ow well on with the review

A - Pours a nice dark reddish brown color with slight copper. The head is at least an inch with nice lacing throughout the glass.

S - First smell is of oak and mild hops but another whiff half on the glass produced a sweet caramel malty-ness with citrus throughout.

T - Ow wow I wasn't disappointed! The citrus and oak clash together nicely leaving a not so bitter finish in fact leading to the sweetness in the smell. Hops are still main stage keeping the ABV from being noticeable but it's still a big brew.

M - Medium to heavy bodied but drinkable.

D - Well this mix up may make me wonder how much cheaper it would have been just to get this beer but I assume it's the same price. Maybe in a good way I can try an experimental beer that only a few have tried and rate it well. Still will have to track down the Chocolate Yeti...

Sigh...

Someday...

On tap at the Great Divide tap house.

A: Pours a beautiful ruby color with a nice full one finger head. Wonderful retention with nice sheets of lace left behind.

S: Nice sweet aromas with hints of summer fruit, oak, vanilla, and citrus.

T: Wow the oak spirals made this one wonderful brew. Tons of sweetness up front. Bold sweet pine with hints of apple and fruit cake. Oak and vanilla come next with a touch of booze. The finish has a big grapefruit bite with a hint of oak lingering thru the finish. Really nice treat.

M: Full bodied brew, sweet, and fruity.

D: Got a full pint of this one and it was a real joy to sip. I was in the tap house when the put this one on, and it is one of the highlights of my trip to Denver.

WOW!