Great Divide Brewing Company

Microbrewery in Denver, Colorado, United States 🇺🇸
Owned by Wilding Brands
Associated with 4 Venues

Established in 1994

Contact
2201 Arapahoe St, Denver, CO, 80205, United States
001
Description
With financial help from family, friends and a loan from the City of Denver, Brian Dunn's dream of brewing commercially became reality in 1994.

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7
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

(draught) Great deep-red, nearly purple colour; little pinkish head. Raspberry jam nose, quite concentrated but not overpowering. Taste of raspberries and (pale) malts - as raspberry jam on white bread. Sweet in the finish but not sticky or cloying. Medium bodied. Good, interesting but not really great.

Tried on 03 Oct 2003 at 07:20


6.5
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6

(draught) Light-amber; slight, dense-like yellowish head, good lace. Very American-type hopsnose (citrussy and piney). Bitter, but foremost very hoppy, with obligatory pine and citrus notes, but verging on to the flat-metallic. Finish is pure hop-oil. Slightly oily mouthfeel, slick. Harsh aftertaste. It starts OK, but the finish discloses the the real state of things: unrefined, hidden under hops.

Tried from Can on 01 Oct 2003 at 14:23


3.8
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 2 | Texture - 2 | Overall - 3

Clear light amber colour with a very thin white head. Smells of citrusey hops and subtle malt dominate the smell. Very watery tasting leaving a bit of malt background with a touch of hops. About 30 seconds into the taste leaves even less of a flavour with a bit of malt to show for the beer. The colour suggested a not-so-great beer, but the smell made me re-think that conjecture. Finally, the taste made me really believe that this wasn't a good beer. The aftertate was as short and as subtle as can be, and had basically no 'good' characteristics. Overall, not a great beer for this style or any other for that matter. I bought it at a Denver supermarket, and the beer was classfied as having under a 3.2% Alcohol by weight, which is a must for a Colorado store (non liqour-oriented) evidently. This could have been part of the problem, but it was very disapointing. If you are out here for a short trip, definately skip this one and move to better ones from the area! I bought this 12 ounce bottle at Safeway in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Tried from Can on 16 Aug 2003 at 13:21


8.2
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

2004 Series v2.0
Hazy amber coloured body with orange highlights and a thinnish off-white head. Aroma of pure grapefruit and piney hops, some fruity sweetness and some slight nuttiness. Medium to Full-bodied; Spicey hop flavour up front with some sugars and a nice malt backbone. Piney & hop aftertaste with a long, drawn out bitterness that shows orange sweetness at the very end. Overall, a well crafted beer that deserves a lot of respect! Great to try & nice to have here as my first beer out on the shore this weekend. I sampled this 65 cL bottle purchased at Whole Foods in Clarendon (Arlington), Virginia on 08-October-2004 on the Eastern Shore of Virginia with my good friend Jon[R888710]. Rating for this sample: 8,3,8,4,16 2003 Series v1.0
Orange/golden colour with a nice dense slightly yellow-white head. Piney hops in the aroma with a slight citrus twang, but still very nice! The taste is medium-bodied, full of hops, and present of citrus, such as grapefruit and lemon. The palate is filled with hop-bitterness and that’s about it! Overall a better than average IPA that should be tried if available! Evidently this is a limited run beer, so i’m glad I was out here and was available to try it! I bought this 22 ounce bottle from Total Beverage in Thornton (Denver), Colorado. Rating for this sample: 9,4,8,4,16

Tried from Bottle on 16 Aug 2003 at 13:20


6.9
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5

Bottled. Near black with beige head. Roasty, dryish and clean. Soft mouthfeel making it nicely drinkable. Very balanced with medium bitterness.

Tried from Bottle on 19 Jun 2003 at 12:30


7.4
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

Dark amber/brown with a very thick light tan head. Aroma is toasty and malty. Somewhat rich body, it started out strong with roasted malt and sticky sweet caramel and gradually phased into a more bitter hops and grapefuit presence. Good warmer to start but becomes almost too bitter by the end. Still the best from Great Divide I have tried so far.

Tried on 28 Apr 2003 at 07:31


4.5
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 3 | Flavor - 3 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 4

Black with a small tan head. Poor aroma with vanilla and fruit. Taste of oak and vanilla. Had a bite like soda. A little sweet. Would be much better without the vanilla aroma and flavor.

Tried on 31 Mar 2003 at 16:37


5.4
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 4 | Texture - 2 | Overall - 5.5

Dark brown with frothy off white head.Roasted malt nose.Lightly roasted nutty smooth malt flavor with decent hops in the finish. Good body Re rate Oct 30/05 This bottle has a distinct metallic taste which ruins the beer.

Tried from Bottle on 24 Dec 2002 at 11:27


6.8
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

Rerate 12/14/05: The bottled version of this beer agrees with me a litte more. Copper color with a thick and fluffy off-white head. Thick sheets of lacing too. Grassy, hoppy aroma. Medium-bodied and with a decent floral hops character, as well as a fair amount of malt. The finish is moderately hoppy. Straightforward and pretty enjoyable.

11/12/02 (2.4): Tasted at the Barrelhouse Brewing Company Microbrew Fest on November 9. Light amber color with minute head. Hops aroma that was difficult to detect. This seemed watered-down and nothing special to me. I like more hops in my APAs.

Tried from Bottle on 12 Nov 2002 at 15:10


5.9
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 5.5

Really not bad for a fruit beer, but I don't think it is inherently possible to make a great fruit beer. Pours an appropriate color - dark amber/raspberry red. The raspberry aroma is killer, but doesn't really translate to the flavor. I can see having just one of these on the porch in the summer. Beyond that, it's pretty much a novelty drink.

Tried from Can on 11 Jun 2002 at 06:55


Brewery Stats
Score 6.89
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