Great Divide makes some good stuff. I wrote a pretty enthusiastic review of their Hibernation Ale, which I recommend you try. The other day I picked up a single (my preferred method of purchasing beer) of this Claymore Scotch Ale, which Great Divide is terming "Wee Heavy" because of its alcohol content. It took me a few days to get to it, but here is my review. The beer poured as a brownish-black body, somewhat of a surprise to me. I guess I'm used to brown with a lot of red tones for a Scottish Ale, but I can't be too picky on this point. There was a thick, finely carbonated head that maintained well on the beer. When I stuck my nose into the glass, I immediately thought that this beer had more hops on the nose than I'm used to for the style. Of course, there was the typical sweet, malty aroma associated with stronger Scottish ales. Some coffee tones were also noticeable. Slightly cola-ish qualities were also present with a nice roast on the nose. Drinking the beer was the real measure of whether or not it was "wee heavy." I found that ...

Another strong beer we're reviewing on the site. Hades Belgian Style Ale runs 7.3% ABV and has plenty of kick to boot (nice pun, I thought). Great Divide is another one of those companies that seems innocuous, and you end up really liking some of their stuff. I really loved their Hibernation Ale, for instance. They are certainly worth a try. Without further ado, let's launch into Hades to find out if it's one hell of a beer. The Pour-Hades was of a light, very clean gold color, which surprised me a little as I expected it to have more haze to it. The body on this Belgian Style Ale was not very active, and the head retention was little, which is also a little counter-intuitive for a Belgian beer. The Nose-I immediately got some powdery and spicy yeast, which is more along the lines of a Belgian (now we're getting somewhere). There was also a coriander citrus aroma, which some might describe as lemon zest. These aromas, along with sweet malts and a little bit of alcohol, sum up the nose of the beer. The Taste-Given the alcohol percentage, the beer had some, but ...

I drank this beer three or four weeks ago and put off writing my review for far too long.  I guess a lot of you will have to wait until next winter to get it now.  Sorry!  I don't normally hedge my bet like this, but I'm going to start off by telling you that I loved this beer.  I was a little skeptical at first.  You know how it is: hibernation this and Winter Warmer that.  So many Christmas Ales and winter beers come out with various spices and figgie pudding extracts (just a joke) that I, for one, sometimes roll my eyes about another winter beer coming out.  But try this English Style Old Ale by Great Divide from Colorado! In the glass, this beer is a deep copper and reddish brown like the shining reflection of fire on the wall. The head sits like an off-color creamy nog atop this beer.  The body was sturdy and bubbly like a Christmas punch. Hops, grains, slight metallic touches and hints of wine were immediately evident in Hibernation Ale.  A rich caramel aroma flowed upward and hit upon my appreciative nose.  Coffee and chocolate aromas were also plentiful.  Only hints of alcohol could ...