Great Divide Brewing Co – Thoughts on Beer

It’s been a couple of weeks since Iowa City Brewfest, 2012, and I’ve had some time to reflect on the event.

With the “Brewmaster” ticket, we were able to enter an hour early, and many brewers had special or limited release beers. Some of the more memorable ones included:

Bell‘s batch 10,000

Peace Tree‘s Rum Barrel-Aged Rye Porter

An Imperial Stout from Millstream‘s Extreme Series

Great Divide‘s Yeti Stout

Overall, I was impressed with the high quality of the unique beers, but a bit disappointed by the low number of special beers. For example, in the past, New Belgium and Boulevard brought beers either not yet available or a special barrel-aged beer, but this year both brought their widely available beers, from their Lips of Faith (New Belgium) and Smokestack Series (Boulevard).

Overall, it was a very good experience, but with the “Brewmaster” ticket, which has been very valuable in years past, it wasn’t quite as memorable. My only hope is that the larger breweries recognize what a great beer hotspot Iowa City is, and start saving some of those memorable beers for us!

Did you go to the Iowa City Brewfest 2012? What was your take?

Great Divide Brewing Co Oak Aged Yeti Stout

One of the beers I purchased the last time I came East but didn’t have the chance to try until this trip was the Oak Aged Yeti Stout, from the Great Divide Brewing Co in Denver, Colorado.

All I have to say is “Wow!” It was a nice, thick imperial stout with a ton of flavor and complexity.

Initially, it smells like coffee. It’s very malty and leaves your mouth with a slight warming sensation because of its strength. It is very smooth going down, and it leaves your palate flavored like coffee, chocolate, and vanilla. It was a very complex and deeply flavored beer, and I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Have you tried the Oak Aged Yeti Stout? What was your opinion?