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 the sweet maltiness and roasty finish were right up my alley for it being an appropriate expression of the style. The alcohol taste (not overbearing) reminded me that it really was a fairly strong beer, coming in a almost 8%. Some of the coffee tones came through on the beer, which wrapped up nicely with the roastiness.
Overall, it was a pretty decent beer. I still like Skull Splitter as a heavy Scottish Ale, but this is a fair example of the style. I should age a bottle of this to see what it does in the future.
Mike’s Rating:
Overall Satisfaction: 
Among other Scotch Ales:
I’ve had two Great Divide brews (Titan and Hercules) and both we very good. I see this when I go to the store but only in 6 pack. They don’t have any singles out. I guess I may have to suck it up and get the 6 pack.
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Sometimes I don’t mind buying six packs, just because then I have few extra to cellar away!
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I actually prefer the 6-pack (4-pack is my favorite) because it gives me more of a chance to form an opinion of the beer in question. I’ve found that some beers taste wildly different on the second go-round, so I’d rather have 3-4, then write a review.
In the case of this particular beer, I was glad I got a single, because I wasn’t a fan, even though I love the brewery and the style. Maybe I just need a second sampling.
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Howard,
I agree with what you are saying…to an extent. I suppose the same line of reasoning could be made with trying a single now and in a year or so. It seems to me that our impression of a beer changes over time and I think that part of the fun is rediscovering a beer. I shy from six packs because I may not like the beer. However, I always give a beer another chance after a while to see what I think of it. It’s my experience that the beer hasn’t changed but that my tastes have. I can never make myself like a beer with more than one at a time, if I don’t like it. I simply give it time. It took me years to really like American IPAs. My tastes developed over time.
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