Great Divide Old Ruffian - Barrel Aged

Great Divide Old Ruffian - Barrel Aged

This special release of our acclaimed, hefty barley wine has been aged for over 9 months in Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey barrels. The process tempers Old Ruffian’s edges for a mellowed version with heady whiskey flavors and subtle oak notes. Each limited edition, individually-numbered bottle is special in its own right. This rounded wonder clocks in at 85-90 IBUs.
3.9
420 reviews
Denver, United States

Community reviews

4.0 Bottled. Pours orange copper color. White head. Aroma is bourbon, toffee, cherry, dark fruit, rock candy, burnt sugar. Flavor is sweet dark fruit, cherry, rock candy, toffee, vanilla. Solid. Reminds me of Bigfoot.
3.8 Bottle, 2017 vintage. Rich dark fruit aroma with notes of caramel, whiskey, oak, pine resin and booze. Pours dark caramel brown with a thin tan head that has good retention and lacing. Starts with dark fruit and caramel sweetness with a bit of the whiskey in the background as well as a full body and sticky pine resiny mouthfeel. Finishes smooth and dry with oak flavors and pine resiny hop bitterness that linger on the palate with a bit of warming booze. Pretty good, not a huge fan of the finish, but still quite good.
3.6 Whiskey barrels. Pours ruby red with small head. Aroma: nice aroma of dried fruit, barrel and a hint of whiskey. Taste: again barrel, dried fruit and raisins. Palate is warming from alcohol.
3.6 Aroma is nice raisins, hop juice, creme brulee, cocoa beans, marzipan. Taste is heavy rum, creme brulee, phenols. Almost no carbonation. Too heavy and phenolic for me.
3.4 Bottle. Red chestnut, offwhite foam. Strong sugary roast, caramel, light oxidized. Fullbodied, almost sticky but plenty of sparkles to prevent it. Iodine, soy, caramel sauce, berries, spice/gunpowder. ok.
3.9 Bottle. Ruby color with beige head. Aroma is candied fruits, oak sugar, marzipan, prunes, Schnapspraline. Taste is oak sugar, plums, prunes, candied fruits, malty, good, nearly medicinal bitterness. Oily mouthfeel with medium carbonation. Very nice classic BA Barleywine.
4.1 Flaska från SB. Ca ett halvår gammal. Kopparröd/mahogny med tjusig krämigt beiget skumlock. Stor doft av mörk, torkad frukt, kandisocker, rörsockersirap, ekfat, whisky och vanilj. Stor, maffig kropp med fatkaraktär. Rejäl punch i smaken med stora whiskytoner och värmande alkohol. Även här mycket kandisocker, maltsötma, smörkola och sirap. Ek och fat-toner stramar åt något. Kanske fortfarande lite väl eldig och ruffig. Kan tjäna på att ligga till sig ett tag (har som tur är en flaska till liggandes). Tror kan bli bättre!
2.8 A lot of scent of whiskey and oak barrels. Taste of whiskey, oak barrels and incredibly high alcohol. Heavy bitterness that fills the mouth forever. The taste of the alcohol takes over all other tastes and sharing beer is not good. Follow me @ Kung av öl @ Facebook for more pictures and ratings.
3.8 Bottle shared by alexsdad06 pour dark copper brown with moderate tan head. Nose barrel and dank, caramel. Taste initial caramel and toffee, light barrel, red fruit, then huge vanilla. Barrel vanilla finish.
3.8 750 ml bottle shared with drsordr and Corey. Pours a slightly hazy copper color with a small off white head. The aroma and flavor have sweet malts, caramel, brown sugar, bourbon, vanilla, wood, some oxidation as this had a little age, some late bitterness, a bit of the alcohol, good.
4.2 27-NOV-2017, bottle @home, from Systembolaget, brought by Erik, thx. :-) Almost clear, dark mahogany with a lasting, slightly lacing, off-white head. Bourbon, dried fruit, grape fruit. Very hoppy Barley Wine. Very bitter, not really sweet. Lively carbonation, medium body. Great.
3.5 @ fillepolo 20171102. Bottle (355 ml) from Systembolaget. Malty and caramely, woody, dried fruits and whiskey, vanilla, dill, medium body with an oily texture. The finish is dry and malty with alcohol.
3.5 Beer tasting @ fillepolo 2/11-17. Bottle from Systembolaget. Fruity and dried fruity with caramel and dill, also alcohol. Body is medium, the finish is caramely with dill and alcohol.
3.5 Bottle from systembolaget. Pours a amber colour beer with a medium. Dried fruits with dill, whiskey and leather. Dry finish.
3.8 Dark fruits, toffee, grainy malt and lots of booze.
4.3 Pours hazy red/brown with a tan head. Aroma of brown sugar, dark fruit, oak and alcohol. Taste is medium sweet and medium bitter.
4.4 Vackert kopparfärgad med beiget skum. Torkad frukt och whisky i doften. Otroligt fyllig med stadiga whiskytoner och fat, först sötma av torkad frukt sedan en rejäl slutbeska. Häftig!
4.0 Flaska beställd från SB. Mörkt brunröd med beige skum. Doft av kola, vanilj och bourbon. Mjuk och lite smörig med smak av kola och bourbon med fin beska på slutet.
3.9 It's fruity with the usual sweet caramel taste upfront and also really hoppy but it kinda evolves and becomes more complex with hints of tobacco, whiskey, oak and vanilla. Almost overly harsh bitter finish. Maybe too hoppy for my taste.
4.0 Flaska systembolaget. Brunorange kulör. Knäckig doft med vanilj, smörkola och fat. I smak känns torkad frukt, vanilj och whiskey. Väldigt len med diskret sötma. Kåda och mycket smörkola. Rejäl beska.
4.5 Caramel, heavy bourbon, vanilla, oak, butterscotch, alcohol, dark fruit, raisins, light grapefruit and pine. Amber/Ruby colour, medium creamy beige head, Good amount of lacing. Heavy sweet, Big bite, lightly salty, caramel, vanilla, resin, alcohol, dark fruit and prominent oaky notes with lots of bourbon. Fullbodied, slick feel, average carbonation, bitter, warming and bourbon in the finish. Sublime!
3.9 Bottled. Pours clear mahogani with small, lacing beige head. Aroma of fudge, caramel butterscotch, vanilla, wood, a little whiskey and some ripe fruit. Sweet flavor that ends up being slightly more dry and a little bitter. Medium bodied, syrupy texture and flat carbonation. An excellent Barely.
3.1 Cellared bottle from March 27, 2015. Pours murky brown, thick white head. Aroma is faint toffee, berry, faint cocoa, oak and light whiskey. Taste is vanilla, toffee, rich berry, cocoa, faintly bitter. A bit acidic, not sure if this is due to it being an aged beer. Not bad, but hard to finish my glass. Just a bit over the top for me.
3.7 750ml bottle (Tasting@Tide’s) (7:4:7+:4:14+=3.6++) Nice toffee aroma. Taste is sweet and raisiny, sweet but not sickly palate. Nice bourbon balance,warming, but not boozy. Good bitter finish. Woody aspects also please. A difficult formula to impress me with, but they got everything just about right here. I’d probably prefer a slightly cranked down one.
3.9 750ml bottle. Pours amber with small head. Nose bourbon, red dried fruits, great caramel piny hops. Taste caramel piny hops some bourbon. Finish light alcohol bourbon caramel piny hops quite resinous. Nice sweetness. Fairly well made nice stuff.
3.8 Bottle. Pours a dark reddish brown with a thin white head that left some lacing. Aroma of whiskey, oak, caramel and vanilla. Flavor was rich and boozy with caramel, dark fruit, whiskey, oak, toffee and vanilla. very nice
4.1 Pours clear copper brown with low tanned head Aromas of oak, dried fruits, caramel, hints of bourbon, vanilla, hints of butterscotch Taste has notes of whisky, dried fruits, caramel, oak, burned caramel, red fruits, hints of vanilla
4.6 Whiskey, almond, oak, cherries, caramel aroma. Crystal clear rust, thick tan head, nice lace. Rich whiskey and almond, dark honey underneath. Maraschino cherries appear and disappear. Strong oak finish. Medium body, soft carbonation. Elegant, complex, well balanced, Superb.
4.0 Bottle from a friend. Dark copper color, white head. Bitter taste with resin, nuts, hops, oak, pine, raisins and a bit of toffee. Bitter finish with raisins, resin, hops, toffee, oak, pine and caramel. Excellent barley wine.
3.9 Tap at Porter Beer Bar, Atlanta. Colour is deep reddish brown with small white head. Aromas and flavors: Dry fruits, raisins, some vineous elements, some chocolate, some whiskey, hops and malts. Very strong flavors.