Great Divide Rumble

Brewed By: Great Divide Brewing Company in Denver, Colorado  

Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 6-pack bought at Walgreens in Chicago, IL; 2013 (Bottled on June 21, 2013)

Style/ABV: American IPA, 7.1%

Reported IBUs: ?

Tonight's beer was a random shelf grab at one of my local watering holes. I already cracked open a bottle, and I'm happy to report this is some damn near divine nectar, BUT I didn't realize how old these bottles are! This beer is about five months aged...and although it probably spent some quality time in the fridge, it's still an IPA. On the other hand, the oaky goodness really stands out, and last I had this the beer was quite balanced. HMMM. About Great Divide:

The Great Divide Brewing Company is a brewery based out of Denver, Colorado, founded by Brian Dunn. Dunn was a homebrewer who attended graduate school in Colorado. Upon his graduation in 1993, he set out to open a brewery in Denver's Ballpark Neighborhood to brew unique and flavorful beers. In the beginning Dunn was the only full-time employee, brewing, bottling, and selling all on the same day. As the brewery gained momentum, it expanded into an old dairy processing plant in 2001. The brewery has won over 17 Great American Beer Festival medals, has received 5 Wolrd Beer Cup awards, and has consistently been rated as a top-100 brewery on Ratebeer and BeerAdvocate. To learn more, check out Great Divide's website.

The Rumble is simple enough. Punching in at 7.1%, this American IPA is brewed with Pacific Northwest hops, and then aged on French and American oak. The idea: a balance between bitterness, caramel sweetness, vanilla, and pine/citrus. The brewery suggests pairing this with skirt steak, grilled sweat potatoes, a Brie or Tallegio cheese, and apple crisp with ice cream. I do believe. So let's glass this up. 

Great Divide Rumble

The beer pours a transparent orange/amber color, and kicks up two to three fingers of dense, sticky, foamy head. Bright light confirms a lovely orange body, and there's a ton of carbonation rising upwards in the form of numerous streams of tiny bubbles. Head retention is nice -- a finger hangs around -- and there's some nice lacing.

I'm reminded quite a bit of the Oaked Arrogant Bastard Ale on the aroma. There's a ton of resinous pine, grapefruit, and citrus on the nose. There's some bready spice aloof, and sweet cakey sweetness. I'm getting floral/earthy hop spice, brown sugar, light wood/oak, and lots of malt sweetness. It smells fucking fantastic. This is what dreams are made of.  

Draw more parallels to the Oaked Arrogant Bastard, and then send Greg Koochie-Coo a thank you. Or was this beer brewed first? I dunno. I'm not a historian, google that shit. Rich resinous pine and citrus fill up your mouth, supported by tons of bread-cake maltiness, brown sugar, and hints of wood/oak. There's also a big rush of aged pine and iced tea, ala an aged Barleywine. I can only imagine that is a side effect of this being a 5-month old bottle. 

I'm drinking this on the warm side of things, as you should. If you drink this Rocky Mountain cold, I can't comment on that shit. You're on your own, brave Sherpa. This is medium-full to light-full bodied. There's nice carbonation and bitterness to smooth things out, and the oak never cloys. The 7.1% is also in check. I'm not picking up any booziness...this is drinkable. Palate depth is outstanding, and complexity isn't far behind. You get malt/cake sweetness and woody vanilla-oak up front; that rolls into bitter citrus, pine, iced tea, and resinous bitterness; the back end trails with bitter, and layers in some oak. The finish is dry and sticky sweet. 

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm gonna give this a Stong Above-Average, and note that this is superior to the Oaked Arrogant Bastard, even though it's not a 1::1 comparison. Oh, but you know. I really like this beer...and the only thing it could do is maybe dial up the hops. I know it sounds crazy, but another layer of pineapple or lemon would bring this home. Otherwise, this beer is super balanced, with big oak presence and lots of hoppy goodness. Really, a great Winter or late Autumn IPA. I would recommend it. Food pairings: peppery steak/chicken, rustic potatoes and vegetables, soups, strong cheeses, grilled meats, and any dessert that will work well with the vinous/spirit oak thing.

Random Thought: A lot of people hate the combination of oak and IPA. I'm actually a big fan of this pairing. The Oaked Arrogant Bastard isn't a perfect beer, but it is one of my favorites. This one is also up there. It almost reminds me of a Lagunitas Winter seasonal, with the rich cakey malt sweetness that hints at brown sugar and spice. Yum. Get on this now.