Beer of the Week! 01/18/22

Great Divide Hibernation Ale

Regularly $11.99 / Now on Sale for $10.96
English Old Ale Style Ale

Brian Dunn founded Denver’s Great Divide Brewing Company in 1994 on a business plan, some homebrew recipes, a bunch of loans, and a dream. That dreaming put him squarely at the beginning of the Craft Beer Revolution. (That’s before Stone in CA and Bell’s and Founders in MI.) At first, Dunn was the only full-time employee — brewing, bottling, and delivering. That’s all different now, of course. Great Divide’s Hibernation Ale is a throwback to their beginnings. Originally brewed in 1995, this English Old Ale style ale is a Great Divide winter tradition that we’re happy to share in.

English Old Ales are the sister style to Barleywines. Both of them are high alcohol, both of them are malt-centric, and both can be aged. The difference is in the taste. Where Barleywines tend to develop fruit notes, Old Ales feature more more nutty, caramel notes.

Great Divide’s Hibernation is a scaled down Old Ale, clocking in at only 8.7% ABV instead of the more traditional double digits. (C’mon! 8.7%? That’s only a Double IPA. Pft! Please!) With that alcohol level in mind, we don’t know how well the Hibernation Ale will age, but since it tastes so good now, we’re really not motivated to try.

Surprisingly for its medium body, the Hibernation Ale is a river of malty goodness with a fusion of caramel and vanilla flavors. Dry-hopping adds to the aroma and might contribute to the light hoppiness on the edge. The normal recommendation for Old Ales is to drink them at room temperature. For this one, we suggest letting it get cool but not cold. Of course, you could just chill it down and then let it warm up as you sit by your fireplace. It’s that type of beer. :)

Bonus Beer of the Week (‘Cause we were tempted by the fruit of another!)

Bingo Checking Goal

Regularly $11.99 / Now on Sale for $10.96
English Style Pale Ale

Years ago, American craft brewers took the English Pale Ale style and turned it into the hop delivery system that is now the American Pale Ale, but before that the Pale Ale was far from being a “junior IPA.”

Richmond’s Bingo Beer Company gives us a straight up representation of the English Pale Ale style. Maris Otter malt meets British Crystal, East Kent Golding, and First Gold hops — all English hops that are meant to support the malt rather than the other way around.

After Prohibition almost wiped out American brewing, German Pilsners rose to prominence and stayed there for decades. So, even today the Platonic ideal of beer for Americans is a golden light lager. However, if we had our way, it would be this solid, tasty, balanced, mild ale. If you missed the Checking Goal when it flew off our shelves during the holidays, here’s your second chance.

Remember!

You can see our entire beer inventory on Untappd.com!