Great Divide Old Ruffian

Old Ruffian is a hefty, hop-forward Barley Wine. Seemingly mellow at first sniff, with its subtle fruit aromas and complex caramel sweetness, this deep mahogany-hued ale quickly shows its true character marked by bold hop flavors and massive hop bitterness. Old Ruffian’s rich, slightly creamy, caramel malt mouthfeel balances its grapefruit, pine, and floral hop flavors, working wonders on your palate.

A mind-numbing 90 International Bittering Units (IBUs).

3.9

1454 reviews

Denver, United States

Community reviews

3.6 Rødbrun klar med fingerhøyt beige skum. Lukter brent karamell, noe nøtter og kaffe. Fyldig. Mye bitterhet, sitrusskall, brent karamell og tørket frukt. Middels lang.

4.0 Where: Old Line Fine Wine Spirits & Bistro. How: 12 ounce bottle. Appearance: huge nice creamy slightly khaki in color head. Body is a rich caramel with very little clarity. Aroma: resins floral piney malty. Some burnt sugars. Taste: lots of resin, burnt sugars, malts, a little floral hints. Palate: Slightly thin not super cloying but it does coat the tongue. Overall: A fairly solid barleywine but not anything to write home about. Laces the glass beautifully though.

3.6 Aus der Flasche getrunken (Weihnachtskalender von Saveur Biere). Dunkles Mahagoni mit wenig Schaum. In der Nase Fassaromen (!?). Ungewöhnliche Hopfigkeit für ein Barley Wine. Im Nachtrunk kommt die Alkohollast.90 IBUs (!!!!).

3.4 bottle @ Keg Liquors / Clarksville IN --- Aroma of malt and caramel. Hazy brown color, frothy beige head, several lace stripes. Taste is caramel malt, medium fizz, and notes o0f caramelized brown sugar leading to a finish that shows more alcohol than hops. Big brew, balanced, and strong.

3.9 Bottle at home, 04/12/16. Rich chestnut brown with a reddish glint and topped with a beige head that retains well ... a good looking beer. Nose is sweet malt, caramel, earthy hops, candied fruit rinds, toasted marshmallow, cheesecake base, toffee. Taste comprises caramel malt, toasted brown sugar, light pine needle, toffee, booze tunes, fruit cake, nutty twang. Medium + bodied, fine carbonation, warming alcohol in the close balanced with semi aggerssive hop bitterness. Solid hopped up barley wine, well balanced and easy drinking for the ABV.

4.1 Bottle at home. Deep amber colour. Malty caramel with bourbon vanilla and sweet bitterness. Long lingering finish. Delicious.

4.1 Bottle at home. Pours deep amber, beige head. Nose is big sweet caramel and toffee, fruits, quite a lot of hops for bw. Tastes very smooth, resinous hops, grass, red fruits, toffee, bitter dry caramel finish. Good stuff!

4.2 Oh yeah, this is the good stuff. Deep mahogany pour with a sticky off white head that coats the glass as it empties. Big, sweet, sticky caramel maltiness, a hint of smoke... Drinks far too easily for 10% and finishes with a heavy dose of piney, bitter hops. Excellent

2.4 Aroma; mild and yeasty tropic fruits in the caramels. Look; pale beige top, clear amber-copper body. Taste; hops, tropic fruits, yeast, alco, warmth - roasted malts n strong hoppy finish. Feel; solid body with warmth. Overall; eve sipper. [35.5cl/12FLoz.Btl 10.2% B@Systembolaget]

3.8 Attractive looking - clear red / brown with plenty of white head leaving lots of lacing. Smells like a malt heavy barley wine. Mouthfeel is indeed creamy. Taste leads with burnt toffee, then the grapefruit and pine from the hops. Finish, as advertised, is long and bitter.

3.9 Incredibly smooth barley wine. Has a very nice malt backbone to balance the hops. Delicious - well done!

3.9 I always approach a barley wine cautiously - sometimes too sweet, too spicey or too boozy. But sometimes dominated by a hoppy punch. That’s what I look for and what I got here. Sweet (but not overly so) raisin and caramel in the malt. Hops, hops and more hops in a bitter fruity aftertaste. Punchy ABV but not in the taste. Great beer.

3.2 Murky light brown. ’aroma is piney.malty day or months old bready. taste. Toasty bready, caramel, burnt, chocolate notes. Pine in finish. Heavy, somewhat syrupy, sipper. Probably floral and grapefruit in there.

3.8 355ml bottle. Dark mahogany body with a low head. Caramel, grapefruit zest, fruit. Tasty, but for a BW you’d expect it to be more malty.

4.0 Bottle via the Hannigan from work, who found this not to his liking.....You Smithwicks swilling fleabag Irishman! I thank you for your discards. A solidly built and not too sweet barleywine. Strong yet subdued...kinda like a Willy Nelson song. two in a row equal success in level shower curtain rod installation. Hops are significant and crucial in this balance. Yeah. Burly Oak eat your heart out.

3.4 Flaska. Kopparfärgad med ett smutsvitt skum. Härliga dofter av toffee, malt, frukt och ekfat. Alkoholen är alldeles för dominerande i smaken. Stör smakerna av toffee, vanilj, frukt och tall så till den milda grad att det bara är gott i stället för fantastiskt gott.

3.7 Pours a brown color with a tan head. Aroma is dark fruits, floral hops, and alcohol. Flavor is strong of the floral hops and dark fruits. Decent warming on the finish that lingers.

3.6 Bottle from The Beerhive. Clear amber body with a medium off-white head. Low carbonation. Good lacing. Aroma of maple syrup, wood, dumpling and stewed fig. Flavour of burnt caramel, strawberry syrup, red apple and peppery spice. Full body with a sticky mouthfeel. Soft fizz. Sweet and rich.

4.0 pours a beautiful mahogany with a dense head that last. Lots of soapy lacing around my tulip glass. Aroma is a bit sweet up front with notes of caramel and dark cherries that give way to notes of resinous hops. Flavor is also sweet upfront. Notes of caramel and dark fruits Medium bodied. Average carbonation and a lasting piney/dry finish. This is solid.

3.6 Bottle gbbf. Mahogany slight head. Aroma caramel malts fruits taste same nice sweetness good hoppy bitter finish alcohol warmth. Decent

4.3 355ml bottle from Systembolaget, bottled 1 February 2016. Deep mahogany, a lot of small bubbles in the glass. Dense, long lasting, khaki head leaving rich lacing all around the glass. Pine and citrus aroma, grapefruit, orange marmalade, caramel, earthy and floral. Very smooth and crisp mouthfeel, mild carbonated. Piney taste, woody and earthy, citrus zest, grapefruit bitterness, floral, sweet caramel and resin, dark bread and brown sugar. Bitter and warming finish. Nice bitterness holding the sweetness back in a pleasant way.

3.8 Bottle. Amber in color poured with a thin off-white head. Notes of caramel and dark stone fruits.

3.2 Refrigerated 12 oz. brown bottle, bottled January 29, 2015, poured into a glass. Hazy redish Burnt orange, medium carbonation, low carbonation, and little lacing. Taste is big caramel malt.

4.1 Bottle. 10.2%. Bottled on 01.02.16. Pours a clear, deep/dark amber with a creamy, fluffy, tan head. Great lacing. Sweetish, fat, malty, (dark) fruit aroma. Hint of liquorice deep down. Hint of wood as it warms. Heavy flavour; fat, malty and (dark) fruity, with a hint of citrus hops. Bitter liquorice finish with a mild alcohol burn, followed by more malt and fruit. Soft palate, but a wee bit too much carbonation. Overall very nice, well-balanced; the malt and fruit notes complement each other nigh perfectly, making neither stand out too much. Their combined effort does make it a wee bit cloying in the long run though, but I guess that’s to be expected from such a heavy beer. 10.08.16.

3.8 (355ml Jan 2016 bottle from Systembolaget) Pours clear ruby-mahogany with a moderate tight pale cream head that fades leaving a wall of lace. Aroma is sweet dark bread, toffee, burnt sugar, candied orange peel, pine and hop resin. Flavour is quite sweet, toffee, dark sugar syrup, sweet orange, dried fruits, maybe berry pie filling, earthy pine, spicy hop tones, slight toast. Finish dries out with extremely high bitterness, citrus peel, flowers, resin, almost woody astringency, some alcohol heat. Full viscous body with fairly low carbonation. Massively hopped barley wine, the finish is even a bit scalding between bitterness and booze. Well made but a little too brash for me to find as enjoyable as one with more edges rounded off.

3.7 Pours a ruby-amber with a healthy, rich Christmas pull candy-colored head. Sweet caramel and a bit of hop harshness on the nose. Viscous mouthfeel. Rich malt presence, but no shortage of aggressiv hop. Lingering bitterness.

3.5 En flaska som lagrats en tid testades. Ganska kraftig öl med bland annat torkad frukt, russin, sötma och karamell. Alkoholen märks svagt av i bakgrunden.

3.6 12 oz bottle with a bottling date of 24 Feb. 2015 in 2016, followed by a 2013 bottle in Dec. 2017. . Look: Cloudy brown-copper colored body. Some sediment in the bottle even after a full pour. Aroma: Ripe and dried fruits, yeasty baked bread. Flavor: Toffee, alcohol esters, ripe and dried fruits, baked bread. Slightly boozy (low for style). Overall: a good example of the style with relatively well hidden alcohol. Aged bottle seems clearly better.

3.8 355ml bottle from brewdog online store. Appearance is light clear copper to brown. Medium beige head. Taste is medium sweet, medium bitter. Aroma is nutty, fruity, malty, spices.

3.5 Aroma of malt, caramel with notes of hops and fruits. Semi-clear brown liquid with a fine brown-white head. Light-medium sweetness in the beginning followed by an increasing high bitterness. To much bitterness in my opinion. Average carbonation, full body. I find it very fine barley wine though much bitterness.