Old Ruffian - Barrel Aged
(has 4 batches)
Great Divide Brewing Company in Denver, Colorado, United States 🇺🇸
Barley Wine - Barley Regular Out of Production|
Score
7.80
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This special release of our acclaimed, hefty barley wine has been aged for over 9 months in Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey barrels. The process tempers Old Ruffian’s edges for a mellowed version with heady whiskey flavors and subtle oak notes. Each limited edition, individually-numbered bottle is special in its own right. This rounded wonder clocks in at 85-90 IBUs.
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7.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Poured from 750ml bottle dated March 2015 thanks Airforcehops nice ruby brown pour with a nice off white head. Aromas of dark fruit caramel whiskey and vanilla. Taste is caramel vanilla oak dark fruit and some alcohol.
Tried
from Bottle
on 20 Oct 2016
at 20:51
5.2/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 5
Flavor 5
Texture 6
Overall 5
750 ml bottle with DCLawyer and radagast83. Courtesy of DCLawyer, thanks Jason! Bottled 3/27/2015. Murky brown with beige head. Aromas of dark fruit, caramel, booze, whiskey, oak. Tastes of dark fruit, caramel, oak, booze, malt. Medium-light body with a dry finish. Kinda rough.
Tried
from Bottle
on 15 Oct 2016
at 19:24
6.5/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 7
750ml bottle shared by DCLawyer. Thanks! Bottle was from early 2015. Pours a dark brown-ruby color with a small thin white head. Aroma was sweet boozy caramel, malts, dried fruits. Light woody notes. The flavor is caramel, dark fruits, touch of wet cardboard. Okay, maybe just a little too aged or not aged enough...
Tried
from Bottle
on 15 Oct 2016
at 15:08
6/10
Boozy, cardboard. Sweet.
Tried
on 13 Oct 2016
at 22:59
7.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
75CL 2011. Not sure why I kept this beer so long. So glad I did. Prune juice reddish brown. 3 finger head. Smells like old candy, apples, fig and brown sugar with light vanilla. Very smooth. Light, creamy, vanilla and fig. This is lovely.
Tried
from Can
on 19 Aug 2016
at 21:03
7.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Sampled on draft at Hough’s this beer poured a dark brown color with red highlights and a large creamy beige head that left good lacing. The aroma was sweet, tart and tangy with fruity hops and a bit of wood. The flavor was sweet with moderate fruity hops, a boozy presence, wood, almost vanilla, toasted caramel and dark fruits. Long finish with growing booziness. Moderately full bodied. Nice.
Tried
from Draft
on 04 Jul 2016
at 15:55
8.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 9
On tap at the brewery. Pours a cloudy copper with medium off white head leaving spotty lacing. The aroma is candy sugar, booze, oak. Medium body, sweet roast, burnt sugar, oak, boozy finish, really enjoyed this.
Tried
from Draft
on 14 Jun 2016
at 17:33
8.3/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 9
Overall 8.5
This brew pours a hazy mahogany-brown color with a medium beige head that diminishes gradually to a film. Partial rings of lacing on the glass. Aroma of oak, malt, hops and fruit. Full-bodied with flavors of oaky bourbon, caramel malt, earthy hops and fruit. The finish is oaky with a whiskey and malt aftertaste. Good beer all around.
Tried
from Bottle
on 15 Feb 2016
at 09:42
8.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 9
(750ml 2015 bottle from Systembolaget web order) Pours a clear pale mahogany with red highlights and small, dense and lingering off-white head with lace. Aroma has a sweet toffee and vanilla fudge core, lots of barrel character with bourbon and vanilla, oak, ashy, maple-smoked bacon, dates, some vague sweet berry notes, a bit of bready character to the malt. Flavour holds less sweetness and vanilla than the nose, with a relatively dry character for a big barley wine. The malt core has bits of toffee and caramel along with some breadiness like sweet dessert buns, a good helping of fairly hot bourbon with less vanilla and more whiskey grain and wood notes. A bit of sweet dried pit fruit in the middle - some dates but also apricot and maybe prune. Lots more oak builds towards the finish, tobacco and leather along with toasted wood. Finish is bone dry with low alcohol heat, whiskey, wood, light toast and maybe a bit of bittering hop. Medium full slightly oily body with light-medium carb. Quite a nice barrel-aged barley wine, not cloying at all.
Tried
from Bottle
on 07 Jan 2016
at 16:50
8.5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 9
750 ml bottle into snifter, bottled on 3/27/2015. Pours hazy deep reddish brown color with a 1-2 finger dense light khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass, with a light amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big raisin, plum, cherry, fig, date, caramel, toffee, brown sugar, vanilla, molasses, bourbon, brown bread, toasted oak, light citrus/pine, floral, grass, and oak/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of dark/bready malt, bourbon barrel, and light citrus/piney hop notes; with great strength. Taste of huge raisin, plum, cherry, fig, date, caramel, toffee, brown sugar, vanilla, molasses, bourbon, brown bread, toasted oak, light coconut, light citrus/pine, floral, grass, and oak/toasted earthiness. Light-moderate pine bitterness and bourbon/oak spiciness on the finish; with lingering notes of raisin, plum, fig, cherry, date, caramel, toffee, brown sugar, vanilla, molasses, bourbon, brown sugar, and oak/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malt, bourbon barrel, and light citrus/piney hop flavors; with a great malt/bitterness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Some slight dryness from bitterness as well. Light-medium carbonation and fairly full bodied; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/silky, and slightly sticky mouthfeel that is great. Alcohol is very well hidden with only a light warmth lingering after the finish. Overall this is an incredible barrel aged American barleywine. All around awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of dark/bready malt, bourbon barrel, and light citrus/piney hop flavors; and very smooth to sip on for the big ABV. A highly enjoyable offering.
Tried
from Bottle
on 19 Dec 2015
at 22:30