That was a mouth-full to write. Was this beer a mouth-full, too. I’m dying to try the chocolate version. Great Divide is one of those breweries, at least for me, that I tend to really like or really dislike their stuff. Let’s see about this one.
The Aroma: Yeti had a fat, black body with a rich, dark brown but quickly dissipating head. It looked daunting sitting in the glass, like a Yeti looking for a chance to eat your camping family.
The Nose: Uh, oh! I smelled quite a bunch of citrusy hops that I’m starting to loathe. It’s not that aroma hops are inappropriate for an imperial stout, but why the same old citrusy hops? Okay! Let’s move on. Vanilla, coffee roast, dry oak and a tinge of sweetness floated up to my nostrils. Those were redeeming.
The Taste: The dry oakiness and a big alcohol warmth came through pretty readily in Yeti. Honestly, by the look of the beer, I expected a much fuller and bigger body than I got. I suppose it seemed thin to me…at least in comparison with its visual aspects. Coffee and hops, coffee and hops, coffee and hops. Those were the two qualities that dominated. Worse yet, they were really citrusy. Some of the other stout tones were made too subtle by how heavily these other qualities came through. They finished bitterly in more than one way.
Overall, this beer was a big disappointment. People can disagree with me if they want (beer advocate grades this with their ubiquitous A award), but the beer is not balanced…and even a beer like this can be balanced in its extreme qualities. My expectations were very high for this beer; luckily, I’ve had better coffee stouts that didn’t make me want to abandon them altogether. Even with the disappointment that I had, it’s not exactly Bud, Keystone, or even some micros.
Mike’s Rating:
Overall Satisfaction: 
Overall disappointment:
Among other Imperial Stouts: 
This may be one of those beers that are best if aged even more. I’ve had some imperial stouts that after a year of additional aging have improved quite a bit. Aging will certainly tone down the hops and make other flavors come to the forefront.
I’ve sampled every Yet but this one. I’d probably be more included to go with the Chocolate Yeti than the Espresso one myself since I’m not a coffee drinker.
If you happen to have a 2nd bottle of this, hang onto it for 6-12 months and try it again later on. You might have a different outcome.
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I think I will too. It’s hard to pick beers to cellar though. I’ve got about 200 or so right now, so I have to be very selective in what I want taking up the miniscule amount of space I have. I’ll find someone who maybe has an aged bottle at some point…I’m thinking I’d like to have one that’s 5 years.
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