The Great Divide Brewing Company - 20th Anniversary Belgian strong pale ale

Great Divide Brewing Co., based in Denver, Colorado, makes some great stuff. I've had their Oak-Aged Yeti, a stout, which was good. Their Hercules Double IPA is not to be missed. I've been intending on reviewing the Hercules for many months now, and I've never quite gotten around to it.They also release their Old Ruffian Barleywine, which I admit I have not tried (despite having two bottles, a 2013-vintage and a new production 2014-vintage in my cellar.) As you all know, I'm a huge barleywine fan, and I've been saving my vintage bottles for a later date.

I ran across this ale a few weeks ago at Whole Foods on P Street in the Logan Circle neighborhood. It's an 8.2% ABV Belgian strong pale ale brewed with grape juice. That fact alone intrigued me, and couple with the Great Divide label, I figured it would be interesting to try.

Poured it out into my usual tasting glass.

The "eye" (how the beer looks) is pretty basic. It looks like beer. As you can see, it's yellow and thin-looking. It catches the light nicely, and turns a bright yellow. OK, not bad.

The nose is one of pungent fruit and just a hint of spiced yeast. So since I have no real prior knowledge of what's in this glass, both the nose and the eye tell me a little about what's in there. I expect it to be an unfiltered, aged Belgian ale.

The taste proves I was partially right in my assessment. It's got a solid Belgian background, but it's definitely tinged with the sweet and sugary flavor of the grape juice listed on the bottle. Which is rather cool. The mouthfeel (sorry for using a oenophile word) is thinner than a wine. It's sugary and rather nice. The finish is relatively lackluster, smooth but thin, and an aftertaste of yeast.

Conclusions: this is worth trying, but I wouldn't consider this a centerpiece of your collection. It offers a new spin on the Belgian platform, and the beer is drinkable. This would probably be good for a warm summer day, or perhaps stick this beer in the cooler when you head to the beach. But unfortunately, in the realm of tasting and trying specialty beers, this beer is pretty straightforward. It's a Belgian-style ale that's a little thinner and more sour than a Chimay, but generally basic in its taste profile and doesn't really stand out like it should.

I wonder how this might age. I'm probably not going to seek it out again - since there's a whole world of beer out there - but if I am ever motivated to grab one, I might stick in the cellar for a year or two. Aging always changes the taste of a beer, so if I'm so moved I might grab a bottle and stick it in the cellar and see if the taste becomes more refined or sweeter or what.