Thursday, December 14, 2017

Old Ale Project – Great Divide Brewing’s Hibernation Ale (#25)

12 ounce can poured into a tulip.  8.7% ABV.  Stored and served at 55F.  Bottom of the can stamped with “Canned On: Oct27 2016 10:18”.

Appearance: In this light this beer almost looks like liquid red velvet.  It’s a dark ruby with deep plum shadows.  Absolutely brilliantly clear.  The beige head pours thick and coats the side of the glass as it dissipates.  Beautiful beer (5/5).

Aroma:  Wow… it smells unbelievably green and fresh for a beer that was assembled over a year ago.  Caramel and slightly astringent grain husk.  There isn’t a great deal of depth to the aroma, but it comes off very inviting (4.25/5).

Taste:  Fresh brown sugar, peaches, and plumbs.  Maybe a little toasted marshmallows.  Sweet, but not cloying.  All the flavors have rounded edges with a slight astringency on the back end.  Like the aroma, there’s just not a ton of complexity (4/5).

Mouthfeel:  Medium body, light carbonation.  Velvety and smooth (5/5).

Overall:  This perhaps the easiest to drink of all the Old Ales I’ve consumed.  Like Great Divide took an Old Ale and dialed it back 40%.  And it comes in a can!  This may be the only Old Ale that could spark a “less filling… tastes great” debate.  I imagine myself immerging from a backyard pool in slow motion and catching an airborne can of Hibernation Ale.  All the hot girls are there dancing in their bikinis and the muscular dudes are high-fiving each other.  At the end of the commercial I pop the top and start chugging, only to have the frame freeze on my over-enthusiastic face.  No other Old Ale fits this scene, except maybe this one.  It’s good, but maybe Old Ale on training wheels (4.25/5).


-Matt

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