Great Divide Brewing Company Old Ruffian

Old Ruffian

 

Great Divide Brewing Company in Denver, Colorado, United States 🇺🇸

  Barley Wine - Barley Regular Out of Production
Score
7.63
ABV: 10.2% IBU: 90 Ticks: 149
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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7.6/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 7.5
Bottle. A typical American Barley Wine. Sweet with a lot of malt and hops. Nice bitterness. A nice beer to enjoy on a cold evening.
Tried from Bottle on 18 Nov 2010 at 07:20

7.9/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 7.5
Bottle. Typical american barley wine with a nice mix of hops and vegtable like malty tones. Lots of leather. Rather bitter in the end, without disturbing everything else. Fat texture.
Tried from Bottle on 15 Nov 2010 at 11:08

7.5/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 8 Texture 6 Overall 8
Bottle. Amber-bronze beer with a dark cream colored head. Sweet caramel aroma with toffee. Caramel and toffee flavor with backing grapefruit. Medium-plus bodied. Caramel and grapefruit linger with light pine.
Tried from Bottle on 09 Nov 2010 at 11:19

6.6/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 6 Texture 6 Overall 6.5
~11 month old bottle. This beer could use some more time. Right now, it’s sticky, kinda boozy and harsh. There are some nice caramel notes lurking in there, but it’s just not all that enjoyable right now. Aroma is caramel malt and citric hops. Sweet sugar cane, apricots and an acetone/metal note also show up. The taste is sweet leading to harsh. Lots of caramel malt flavor is packed into this beer. Mouthfeel is fairly sticky. Appearance is a darkened amber with an off-white to beige head. At any rate, I imagine a vintage bottle would get higher marks. Also, I’m sorta down on barleywines, right now, so I’ll give this one another try in the future.
Tried from Bottle on 28 Oct 2010 at 23:41

7.4/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 8 Texture 6 Overall 8.5
On tap on the roof of Great Divide brewery (friend took us up). Pours copper with beige head and nice lacing. Lots of caramel and pine. Nice boozy warmth and only slightly syrupy. pretty darn good barley wine.
Tried from Draft on 08 Oct 2010 at 12:39

7.4/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 6 Texture 6 Overall 8.5
2009 vintage Bomber bottle at the Brick Store. Pours an opaque, dark orange color with a small off-white head. The aroma is very forward with fruits, specifically pears and grapes. There are also notes of caramel and pine hops. The flavor is very sweet up front, but that is quickly followed by a mellow and pleasant bitter taste. The palate is heavy and sticky with barely a hint of the alcohol content. Overall, a good beer, and it ages very well.
Tried from Bottle on 16 Sep 2010 at 15:42

9/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 9 Flavor 9 Texture 10 Overall 9
22 oz. bottle, pours dark orangey amber with an off-white head. Aroma of caramel malt, brown sugar, toffee, dark / dried fruits, and piney hops. Flavour of complex dark fruits, caramel, toffee, and strong piney hops on the finish. Magnificent.
Tried from Bottle on 10 Jul 2010 at 22:28

9.5/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 10 Flavor 10 Texture 8 Overall 10
(bottle) hazy reddish brown with tall tan head; strong aroma of lychees, citrus, pine; balanced favour - sweet at first turrning into long medium bitter finish; excellent
Tried from Bottle on 12 Jun 2010 at 17:37

7.8/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 8
Bottle. Dark red to copper body with a small reddish head. Heavy aroma of malt, caramel and citric hops. Flavor is Sweet, malt, caramel, fruity, bitter with a warming alcohol finish. It’s a lot of everything here, can’t really decide how complex it is, but it’s a really big and nice brew, that’s for sure.
Tried from Bottle on 26 Mar 2010 at 10:26

7.8/10 Appearance 10 Aroma 8 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 8
Draught at Baird Nakameguro Taproom. Butterscotch aroma with big caramel and soft fruits. Sweet, caramel flavor with alcohol and fruits. A bit cloying but nicely done.
Tried from Draft on 19 Feb 2010 at 20:13