Old Ruffian
(has 3 batches)
Great Divide Brewing Company in Denver, Colorado, United States 🇺🇸
Barley Wine - Barley Regular Out of Production|
Score
7.63
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Old Ruffian is a hefty, hop-forward Barley Wine. Seemingly mellow at first sniff, with its subtle fruit aromas and complex caramel sweetness, this deep mahogany-hued ale quickly shows its true character marked by bold hop flavors and massive hop bitterness. Old Ruffian's rich, slightly creamy, caramel malt mouthfeel balances its grapefruit, pine, and floral hop flavors, working wonders on your palate.
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8.8/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 9
Rated March 2006. Light malty and alcohol aroma. I couldn’t detect any hops. The bomber poured with a light brown head and clear dark amber color. The lacing was light and the head dwindled but remained to the end. At first sip the bitterness takes the initial attack and remains to the next sip. It had a nice sweet malty palate with a long lingering hint of vanilla and a dry finish. Very well balanced flavors. This is a very drinkable barelywine thanks to the delicious and generous use of hops.
Tried
from Bottle
on 28 Mar 2006
at 03:03
7.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
A slightly hazy deep red beer with a huge orange-red head. The aroma is primarily hoppy, but also with notes of malt, grass, caramel, and alcohol - a very fresh nose for such a potent beer. The flavor is a lovely complex combination of malt, toffee, alcohol, hops, wood, nutmeg, pineneedles, and more, but slowly the hops gain the advantage to give it a stronger accent on the pineneedles combined with grapefruit. The end is strong and slightly sticky, where the alcohol is more felt than tasted, and the hoppy notes lingers for a long time.
Tried
on 06 Mar 2006
at 14:44
8.1/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Bottle. Creamy off-white good mostly deminishing head. Redbrown colour. Powerfull healy malty and hoppy aroma. Very nice flavor and long finish. Very oily palate. A fantastic beer.
Tried
from Bottle
on 18 Feb 2006
at 01:38
7.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8
Caramel color with a thick tan head. Aroma of caramel and malt and mild bitterness. Flavor of molassas and hops.
Tried
on 28 Jan 2006
at 00:35
7.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7
Red brown ale with good moka head. Sweet herbal malt with notes of pineapple and lichee, and some catnip. Sweet herbal hops in taste with resinous pines. Rich whiskey scotch alcohol finish. May 2005, Capflu’s BW tasting.
Tried
on 10 Jan 2006
at 20:31
8.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Beautiful dark red pour with subtantial off-white lacing - Highly resinous hop aroma, with lots of fruity esters (strawberry, black cherry), carmel, rolled oats, pine - alcohol is evident, but not overpowering - bracing hop bitterness to start, but sticky malt flavors gradual work their way in - caramel is most dominant, but the fruity esters from the aroma come in quite fully - soft carbonation - a touch of toffee - reminds me of older vintages of Old Horizontal.
Tried
on 02 Dec 2005
at 20:17
7.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle
Wooden oaky, citrus and caramel aroma, topped off with a decent shot pine and citrus hops. Hazy glowing red brown, low creamy tanned head. Intense sweet wooden baseflavor, caramel, burned sugar, perfumed citrus and pine hop notes - all in a somewhat agressive rough mix. It has however a nicely elegant exit with citric hops and candyish wooden notes which carry on a long time afterwards. Chewy body, light sparkly mouthfeel.
Wooden oaky, citrus and caramel aroma, topped off with a decent shot pine and citrus hops. Hazy glowing red brown, low creamy tanned head. Intense sweet wooden baseflavor, caramel, burned sugar, perfumed citrus and pine hop notes - all in a somewhat agressive rough mix. It has however a nicely elegant exit with citric hops and candyish wooden notes which carry on a long time afterwards. Chewy body, light sparkly mouthfeel.
Tried
from Bottle
on 28 Oct 2005
at 14:59
9.4/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 9.5
2010-04-22, bottle a couple of years old, 8-5-9-5-18=45
It pours a dark red-amber color, with small creamy head. Very nice aroma of chocolate and cereals, light vanilla. Full bodied, with a round mouthfeel; strong malt flavor, sweet, smooth, with pleasant chocolate, vanilla, caramel, eggnogg. The bitterness is still strong, maybe the hop is less aromatic, but it blends well with the robust maltiness and the alcohol touch. Excellent.
2008-08-08, draught at Plan B, Copenhagen, 8-4-8-5-17=42
Hazy dark amber color, thin creamy head. Very nice aroma of fudge. Strong mouthfeel, syrupy malt caramel and toffee, with strong bitterness, a bit nutty too. Powerful final, full of toffee, sweet and bitter, hop oils. Excellent.
2005-05-21, bottle, 9-5-9-5-19=47
Dark amber color. As it happened only few other times, here you have a soooo powerful brew: chewy malts mixed with huge amounts of resiny hops, leaning to pine needles, with some caramel, chocolate. Extreme masochist pleasure.
It pours a dark red-amber color, with small creamy head. Very nice aroma of chocolate and cereals, light vanilla. Full bodied, with a round mouthfeel; strong malt flavor, sweet, smooth, with pleasant chocolate, vanilla, caramel, eggnogg. The bitterness is still strong, maybe the hop is less aromatic, but it blends well with the robust maltiness and the alcohol touch. Excellent.
2008-08-08, draught at Plan B, Copenhagen, 8-4-8-5-17=42
Hazy dark amber color, thin creamy head. Very nice aroma of fudge. Strong mouthfeel, syrupy malt caramel and toffee, with strong bitterness, a bit nutty too. Powerful final, full of toffee, sweet and bitter, hop oils. Excellent.
2005-05-21, bottle, 9-5-9-5-19=47
Dark amber color. As it happened only few other times, here you have a soooo powerful brew: chewy malts mixed with huge amounts of resiny hops, leaning to pine needles, with some caramel, chocolate. Extreme masochist pleasure.
Tried
from Bottle
on 25 Oct 2005
at 08:19
7/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 7
Hazy brown-red with orange highlights. Good yellowish head. Orange-grapey nose, bit of parsley, very aromatic. Quite bitter taste, typical for Great Divide: nearly quinine-like bitterness. Goes typically too harsh-metallic. Smooth, oily MF, velvety and fatty. Of course FULL-bodied. I do not like Great Divide’s hops. There must be a limit to harshness. Thanks to whomever brought it over, anyway.
Tried
on 16 Oct 2005
at 09:21
8/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8
Bottle Pours a deep mahogany with a very large thick creamy light tan head. I actually looks like that spray foam insulation. Aroma is a sweet rich carmel, vanilla with a hint of alcohol. Flavor is quite sharp, thick and swet with a rather strong ABV slant. After taste is a pungent but expected hope bite. Very smooth and rather soft carbonation.
Tried
from Bottle
on 14 Oct 2005
at 22:21