Great Divide 19th Anniversary Ale
To celebrate the brewery’s 19th Anniversary, Great Divide’s brewers deviated from previous years’ anniversary ales and developed an entirely new recipe. The label reads, 19th Anniversary Ale isn’t just a wood-aged ale. It’s a compass – a reminder of where we’ve been and where we’re going. Brewed with pure birch syrup and aged on birch wood, this beer embraces reverential tradition and revolutionary innovation. As we celebrate our 19th year, we hope you’ll join us for the road ahead.
3.4
248 reviews
Denver, United States
Community reviews
"After a few years of a very similar wood aged iipa this is definitely unexpected. Birch syrup and birch chips means, you guessed it, birch is the main player. Very pleasant aroma and flavor...but while I liked it, it seemed boozier (like it was spirit barreled) and the hops were pretty much just along for the ride. Worth a shot for a Life & Limb meets iPa type strong ale."
Bottle courtesy of radagast83, thanks! Hazy pale rose and gold color, white edge head. Aroma of grass and subtle fruit. Taste is bitter roots, grass, weeds.
Appearance: interesting color--clear, light amber/gold pour with a thin eggshell head; no lacing, some syrupy legs. Aroma: colder, the aroma is of caramel, vanilla, toffee, light herbs; warmer, aroma is strongly of birch beer, light pine, vanilla, caramel, brown sugar, green wood, and worn leather. Taste: colder, flavor is strongly of caramel (like a werther’s original candy), with a light woody note; warmer, flavor is hugely of birch syrup, some maple, brown sugar, strong resinous wood, and medicine. Finish: finishes extremely medicinal and herbal, reminiscent of the numbing throat sprays of my childhood; strong woody, boozy notes, and also very dry. Notes: Ok at fridge temp, very very good slightly warmer, very mediocre at close to room temperature. I’ve never experienced such a drastic swing in my enjoyment of a beer predicated solely on temperature. Started meh, got me excited for a minute, then very disappointed. Overall medicinal, numbing finish just killed it. Rather disappointed in my favorite brewery on this one. Hope they have something good in their pocket for 20.
See my video review here as part of my To Be Drunk List YouTube channel: http://youtu.be/JY8dBty7JuQ
Rätt okej öl ifrån Great Divide. Dom kan bättre men helt okej. 1 kvar i skåpet
Golden amber. Big off white head. Little bit of lacing. Sweet caramel note and taste. Sweet.
22 oz. bottle in Dec 2013. Hazy amber color with light retention in the snifter. Aroma is birch wood and root beer soda pop. A trace of yeast.
Flavor is mostly birch wood with hints of coconut earth malt and light yeast toward the backend. Very sweet upfront with a dry wood texture. Light warming alcohol after the sip. I try not to use "cloying" sweet very often but... This bitch is cloying. Hard to drink a lot of it.
(Bottle). Reputed breweries that make Anniversary beers are not obliged to get good ratings. I think that this beer is a typical representative of this and if this beer came from an unknown brewery in eg. Afghanistan it’s ratings would not be so high. The beer has a pretty unpleasant and unbalanced flavor of butter toffee, diacetyl, brown sugar, malt, figs, caramel, spice and grassy hops.
dogs with dentures.. . pours a dark syrup .. mild head, great lacing .. . burnt sugar, world cup, bread crust, and sweet nuts .. . mild mouth and a a rushed finish .. . odd, this seems to be the way great divide is going .. . . From now on i’m going to double check my burgers condiments before eating them. If I get a frowny face, I’ll know that I’ve let my parents down..
22oz bomber shared with the boyfriend. Pours bright gold with a thin white head. Relatively malty. Interesting beer, some heat.
Draft at Jerry’s. Golden-amber with modest, creamy, white head, mild wet lacing / Hot, herbaceous nose of pine, honey, wood, citrus rind / Full body, smooth, sweet and lightly syrupy, good balance with some bite, light burn / Flavors of caramel, oak, orange rind, wildflower, syrup / All the elements aren’t quite there, but quite nice as a total package.
22oz bomber shared with my Dad and girlfriend. Pours bright gold with a thin white head. Faint aroma of birch wood and malt sweetness. Interesting beer, tastes like a birch tree, but not in a bad way. Some heat. Glad I tried it but won’t be having it again.
Pours solid gold with a thin white fizzy cap. The aroma is metallic, mineral, wet forest, wood. The flavour is sweet, maple syrup, toffee, tropical fruit, salt, bready malts, light vanilla. Syrupy mouth feel. A little straight forward, but solid.
From notes, consumed on 6/21/13. Bottle poured into a Belgian snifter. Pours a clear golden color with a finger of off-white head. Head recedes to a half finger ring. Aromas of mostly caramel and syrup with slight notes of wood. Tasting notes of toffee, sweet syrup, smoky and woody notes, light citrus. Semi-dry boozy finish, medium body.
Bomber from SB cons 2014-02-28 Göteborg
AR: vinos, dadels, syrup, Tokaji wine
AP: coppery clear, wee transparent white head
F: fizzy, maple syrup, warming feeling, white grapes, Tokaji wine, woody,
Golden pour with a tine white head. Aroma of syrup, birch bark, caramel. Sweet - Syrup was the first thing I noted when drinking this, Toffee, Wood, alcohol is well hidden. Fuller body. A neat beer, though I’m glad it was split 3 ways.
Sweet, kind of a brown sugar aroma. Syrupy sweet flavor; caramel, bread, and wood flavors.
Poured from a 22 ounce bomber, thanks to Mike. The aroma has notes of wood, toffee, caramel. The flavor is earthy, sweet, caramel, toffee. Slightly warming. Very nice.
22oz bottle served in a Dogfish Head IPA glass
A - An aggressive pour yields an almost clear honey brass color with a timid white head. High specks and lower spider lacing.
S - Coconut shavings, woody, buttery caramel, salty, a quick swirl brings out a bready yeast.
T - Very woody upfront with loads of toasted coconut, spicy bitterness on the outside edges, sugar cookies, buttery malts, like crunch n munch light. Spicy alcohol fits in perfectly and really adds to the overall flavor profile. Finishes woody and brisk with a long woody aftertaste.
M - Full bodied but in a light silky kinda way, low carbonation has just enough lifting power to provide silky feel.
Wow! This is head over heels better than the last 2 anniversary beers GD has put out. The wood is dominate but in a very "non-powering" light way. The sweetness is lightened by the wood pairing with a savory salty/buttery character that really pulls everything together. It’s not trying to be overly complex but succeeds in a simple but complex way.(If that makes any sense) This is a well made and very rounded brew. Happy anniversary Great Divide!
Serving type: bottle
08-13-2013
Bottle. Sweet and sticky aroma. Medium body with well hidden alcohol. Very sweet, and a bit chewy. Goes down surprisingly well regardless.
(from notes)
Det här var riktigt gott, å andra sidan är det sällan som Great divide gör mig besviken. Smaken var kraftfull med toner av grapefrukt, mango, lakrits och honung. Kroppen var stabil och balansen klanderfri.
On tap! Pours a dark gold with a light head. Aroma is sweet of malt. Taste light and creamy with a fruity flavor.
Bottle. Clear light amber body, medium creamy white head. Aroma is sweet herbal birch sap tones, caramel, rye-like grainy tones, hints of pine and booze. Taste is herbal sap tones, mild wood and pear-like fruitiness, blue cheese, hints of burnt sugar and grains. Medium to full body, medium carbonation. Wonderfully modulated and original. Great stuff.
Bottle. Pours a golden body with white lacing. Aroma is super sweet and syrupy, lots of sweet malt, vanilla and a light oak character. Mouthfeel is rich and syrupy with notes of vanilla syrup, malt, caramel, maple, sugar, and booze. A little cloying.
Sweet, smooth, aley, birchy, and earthy-bitter. Pale, cloudy, light-amber colored. I’d rate higher if it didn’t have such an herbal-alcohol bite.
Bomber from Imbibe Wine. Nose is woody, sweet, alcohol, with hints of butterscotch and maple. Lightly hazy yellow orange with a small yellow tinged head. Flavor is sweet (woody birch syrup I think) with a bit of bitter and a cross of light corn whiskey alcohol.
Bottle share at Kernel, huge thanks to Mr Bois. Opaque pour with a loose whte head. Aroma is honey malt, stale malt, light oxidation, yeast esters and light alcohol. Flavour is honey, caramel, booze. Choc in the finish. Slightly sugary. spritzy carbonation and med full body.
Out of the bottle dated April 19 2013 - clear brassy orange with a small amount of off-white bubbles, virtually no lacing. Aromas of booze, toffee, birch, caramel, some pine, sugar cookie(?) The flavor is rich and sweet, buttery, and warm, which opens with quick toasty bitterness. As it warms it gives notes of bourbon. Great strong beer on a frigid December eve...
Pours golden with almost no head with a small amount of lacing. Sweet siropy aroma. A true masterpiece.
Bottled 500ml @Per
Clear yellow color, small white head. Fruity alcoholic aroma. Medium to full bodied. Alcoholic, fruity hoppyness, apple. Easy going strong beer.