Great Divide Brewing Company Hibernation Ale

**Aroma:** “Rich malt nose is complex with chocolate, toast, and coffee—this is a perfect breakfast beer! Nice cherry, raisin, and plum notes. Slight esters and no hops.” **Flavor:** “Warm and welcoming. Soft roast and bitterness mesh well. Alcohol is very present, especially at the swallow and into the aftertaste, but mostly emphasizes the sweetness with a touch of spicy warmth. Deep, rich roast malt character is both very sweet and very bitter at the same time. Finishes fairly balanced between lingering sweetness and bitterness. **Overall:** “This is what I want when I want an imperial stout. It’s like an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie and the nose smells like breakfast. Sweet and roasty, but not too sweet or too roasty. The two components balance incredibly well. The beer finishes warm, and that adds to the enjoyment.”

**Aroma:** “Overripe pears and dark cherries with a nice presence of toffee and lightly toasted bread. Spicy/floral hops. Dark cocoa, leather, and alcoholic warmth.” **Flavor:** “Rich malty depth is perfectly balanced by a pleasant bitterness. Dutch cocoa powder, plums, and Christmas pudding. Alcoholic warmth provides a lovely vehicle for layer upon layer of malt. Touch of caramel, toffee, plum, and coffee. Nice toast and roasty sweetness. The sweetness carries through the beer but is not too sweet.” **Overall:** “Beneath the beautiful tan lies the malt complexity of an English barleywine in a more approachable package. Some might find the alcohol a touch hot. A beer that gains complexity from both the malts and yeast and is better from both working well together.”

**Aroma:** “Danky hop aroma dominates. Citrus hops up front with pine coming through behind the grapefruit and finally giving way to a subtle malt sweetness. A very subtle, but pleasant malt note and additional tropical fruit flavors as it warms. Nice complexity.” **Flavor:** “Bright, almost sharp hop flavors with prominent citrus rind, resin, pine. Some subtle yeast fruitiness and pleasant malt sweetness that also has some subtle biscuit character. Bitterness is prominent, but well balanced with malt. Big hop flavor.” **Overall:** “A very tasty IPA with intense hop flavors that are well-served with a nice malt backbone. A nice display of juicy American hops, just a bit too bitter for some tastes. Classic example of an IPA.”