Titan 4-10-2011

Ze Beer? Titan IPA
Ze Style? India Pale Ale
Ze Maker? Great Divide Brewing.
Ze Content! 7.1 %
Serving type: bottle

Great Divide Brewing is a brewery I didn’t have much knowledge on until I heard about their Imperial Stout, the Yeti, which I reviewed a while back. Since then I have enjoyed most beers I have had from Great Divide. BevMo used to not carry Great Divide beers, and it seems my persistence with vendors or just luck and time made it available for our store to carry. At least at my BevMo!, we carry some of the Great Divide beers as it is making its way through the west coast. Now Great Divide is from Colorado and im not much a fan of Colorado hops, to me they tend to be a little on the skunky side, it may have to do with the freshness but not entirely sure. But here’s to trying a new IPA and hoping for the best. Cheers!

The Titan IPA pours a clean amber color with decent head but little retention, though the lacing is nice. The scent is a bit resiny feeling a little sticky just from the nose, and a little floral and aromatic. For some reason, If I drink an IPA from Colorado, I can usually tell it’s from Colorado by the way the hops taste, very distinctive. It’s a nice IPA, but has a decently sticky, slightly pungent hop bitterness to this beer. A very slight caramel malt taste on the front end helps prepare your palate for the bitterness the hop brings shortly after. Very easy going, nothing too complex, but a great tasting decent IPA; if you are used to the taste of a bitter IPA, this beer will be fairly easy to drink, but if you are not used to that bitter, green herbal IPA taste, this may not be the beer you should drink to get into IPA’s. For me, I enjoy an IPA but this kind of hop, ones enough.

Would I PAY for this beer? It was a bit pricey for a 6 pack reaching the upwards of about 10 dollars. If I found it in a single bottle or it was reasonably priced at a bar, sure. But I wouldn’t go out of my way to make sure I try this beer.

Overall Rating: B-
Cheers,
-Ze Beer Guy

Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti 12-25-2010

Ze Beer? Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti
Ze Style? Imperial Stout
Ze Maker? Great Divide Brewing
Ze Content! 9.5%
Serving type: 22oz Bomber

So, I had wanted to do a “Christmas” blog this year, and I wanted to do something wintery, like a winter ale, but when I went through my collection of beers, I noticed I had no “winter” ales to blog about. I originally lined up the new Samuel Adam’s Collaboration the “Infinium” to taste, but after spending some time with my family, and talking to my cousin to doesn’t have much of a taste for stouts, I felt this would be an appropriate beer to blog on tonight. My cousin Jason isn’t much for dark beers, but it seems his experience is narrowed down to Guinness; I assured him that there was a whole world out there of stouts, different styles, flavors and ways to drink them. Though stouts and Imperial stouts may not be for everyone, and my cousin may not even enjoy a “non-Guinness” stout. Any chance I have to help persuade to try a good quality beer the better. I have had this bottle from the summer when I was in Colorado for my brother’s wedding; here’s to you Jason, enjoy!

The Oak Aged Chocolate Yeti pours as a solid black liquid, with a bit of weight and depth as it pours, it almost feels like its pouring out in slight globs, like if it were real thick paint. The head forms slowly, and cascades from within the beer to the top. It’s a nice mocha brown color, thick but not too fluffy, but doesn’t retain too long. From the moment I begin to pour this beer, I can smell the chocolate and the malty grain from this beer. A deep molasses smell resonates from the nose alongside a smoked woody oak dryness, as you can smell a slight hint of ethanol hiding in this beer. Surprisingly very smooth on the taste, a bit of a lingered bitterness from the dark cocoa, not too creamy but a bit of body in this brew. A little bit of spice on the finish if you can get past the chocolate malts throughout this beer. The content is a bit on the higher side, but the alcohol is hidden well. A slight bit of hop up front before a blast of malts parade through to the finish.

Would I PAY for this beer? Yes, this is a wonderful Imperial Stout. Though not as wonderful as the regular Oak Aged Yeti, it is still good and refreshing, the heavy chocolates makes this beer refreshing; but, I feel if you’re going to be an Imperial Stout, be an Imperial Stout, and same goes with a chocolate stout, just be a chocolate stout, I think a bit is lost in the attempt to be both.

Overall Rating: B+/A-

Cheers,
-Ze Beer Guy

Oak Aged Yeti 8-10-2010

Ze Beer? Oak Aged Yeti
Ze Style? Imperial Stout
Ze Maker? Great Divide Brewing Co.
Ze Content! 9.5%

Sorry for the absence in beer reviews, I have moved locations and found a new mascot to join me on my beer tasting/reviewing journeys. So what beer could I possibly review to bring in the new “location” as well as the new month? The Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout was the perfect beer. Now this beer was recommended to me almost a full year ago, early December to late November from my friend Robert; a fellow beer enthusiast, as well as a Stout lover. He advised if I ever had the chance, to try this beer out, and with my brothers recent wedding in Colorado last June; I took the opportunity to find this beer. Needless to say during my visit, I purchased a mix-up of regular Yeti’s, Oak-aged, and Chocolate. And through the good graces of family and friends, my case of beer found its way to Southern California within a week and in my possession within 2. Now, when do you decide to taste a beer that has been put so high on a pedestal before you’ve even tried it? It was difficult to decide, and as my boss said, there is never an event good enough to try out a save worthy beer. Well, I held out as long as I could before I began looking for events to pop it open. And alas, one of my best friends Matthew, also an avid beer lover, had just graduated with his Master’s degree. It seemed like to be as good of a time as any. So he came over, and we let the tasting begin…

The Yeti, pours a solid black color that not even the shiny lights of the gates of heaven can penetrate through. With a decent 2inch head with a dark brown color to it, this beer pours with a lot of micro bubbles giving hint towards a lot of carbonation. The head retention lasts maybe a minute or so, but the lacing on the glass is great! Even after the beer is gone, the lacing holds to the glass. A very sharp oaky barbeque scent its apparent, almost woodchippy. Definite malt presence with subtle chocolate undertones, a slight caramel booze sugar flavor; possibly a molasses. You can smell that charred smoked goodness throughout this beer, I can’t wait to try it. Tons of roasted malt flavors creamy on the texture, not so thick its syrup, but a great creamy texture that’s easily coats the mouth. This beer is great! Lots of roasted coffee flavor, slight sweet boozey taste in the middle before you get that sharp oaked hop taste on the finish. Possible dark berries, hard to pin point definitely a type of sweetness floating around though, almost belgiany, which makes me thing, fig, or dark cherry. The carbonation was surprisingly low on the feel for as many bubbles I got on the pour; I’ll blame it on the ambience of my new place. It’s definitely a sipping type beer, but one you just don’t want to stop sipping. I’m glad I bought several while in Colorado.

Would I PAY for this beer? Yes, in fact I wish I had bought more when I had the chance. Not sure if this retails out of Colorado, but when I go back. I’m buying more.

Overall Rating: A/A+

Cheers,
-Ze Beer Guy