Hercules Double IPA from Great Divide

I'm drinking this out of a bomber (poured in a glass). It got shook up during the car ride home (I almost rear-ended someone--saw my insurance rate flash before my eyes).

Is it bottle conditioned? There's a lot of chunks in there, but I'm not entirely sure it's yeast. It seems more like hop fragments. Is it bottle-hopped (do people even do that?) or something?

That said, I like it, even if I think the bottle I have needs another month or two to mellow out, which it's clearly not going to get. I just wish I'd known there might be sediment in it!

Any beer that is bottle conditioned should say so! First, so that I pour it properly and second because I'd probably be more likely to buy it.

Moon

What'd you think of it man? Have you had their Titan IPA? They taste remarkably similar... Am I nuts or does it taste like sweet pineapple? Also, mine din't really have any chunks, but it certainly had a thick haze. You could see the particles moving around.
-Ben

I liked it and will buy it again, but will let it sit in the fridge for a few days before imbibing and will pour it like a homebrew.

After thinking about it, I think it's just a lot of fine hop particles and not regular bottle conditioning yeasties.

Good stuff. I remember drinking their St Brigit's Porter when I lived out in Albuquerque years ago. I'm glad they're selling in Maryland now and looking forward to trying more of their styles.

I'm pretty sure I had the Titan recently, but it was on a night that's a bit hard to remember.

Moon

I just had one last night...it was definitely hazy, too now that I think about it. First time trying it and it was hard to get down. I thought it was too thick and sweet for a dIPA.

This one bottled on January 22, 2009. Boasting 10% alcohol and 85 IPUs, and with the name Hercules, I was expecting a big taste and quite a lot of hop flavor. It was very clear, no haze as in the above posts, nor did it have the aforementioned chunks. It was a nice caramel amber color, but there was only a faint aroma of hops. It scared me without the smell of hops. Upon tasting the first sip I was completely let down. It was almost sweet. I wanted my tongue tap out due to a bitterness choke hold, but that didn't happen. it wasn't until my second taste that even sensed the hops of this beer. I wanted something with a hopped up intensity worthy of the name hercules. Something that could break your tastebuds in half with just one sip. Perhaps I was expecting something this just wasn't made for.

On the other hand, I am half-way through this beer and I feel comfortable saying the 10% abv is probably not an exaggeration. Don't think I'll be having this one again though. Not at $7 for a 22 oz. bottle.

One of my favorite Double IPA's right now. Really good stuff straight from the tap at the brewery. I can't understand why some people want a double IPA that tastes like nothing more than hop water. I really enjoy a well balanced malty IPA.

To each his own, but I found no balance in it. The malt won out. I had a hard time finding the hops in that beer. Couldn't smell them, barely tasted them. Definitely tasted the sweetness of the malt. I wanted a DIPA on the hoppy side and received something on the sweet/malty side. Not what I wanted.

truckmann said:

One of my favorite Double IPA's right now. Really good stuff straight from the tap at the brewery. I can't understand why some people want a double IPA that tastes like nothing more than hop water. I really enjoy a well balanced malty IPA.

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definitely one of my favorite DIPA's as well and one of Great Divide's best beers IMO.

Sounds like you might've gotten a bad one. It shouldn't have "chunks" in it. I had a Moylan's Hopsickle Bomber once that was the same way. I've had it again a few times since and they were fine though.

Great Divide's IPAs aren't my favorites since whenever I buy IIPA's there are always better choices in the same price range.

Southern Tier's Unearthly and even better yet, Oak Age Unearthly
Two Bros. Hop Juice
Hoppin' Frog Mean Malanishi

are a few that cost roughly the same that I like much better.

SkaBoneBenny said:

What'd you think of it man? Have you had their Titan IPA? They taste remarkably similar... Am I nuts or does it taste like sweet pineapple? Also, mine din't really have any chunks, but it certainly had a thick haze. You could see the particles moving around.
-Ben

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This is the first DIPA I've tried and I loved it. I also noticed some floral// pineapple smell and taste. The one I had was hazy with a pillowy white head. No chunks in this beer that I noticed. Maybe you got some gunk stirred up from the bottom?

DIPA's from 2009 will not have many remaining hops. Get a fresher one!!

I haven't had the newest batch of Hercules, but it's usually damn good.

Ugh. Very disappointed in this beer. I love an IIPA, but there is ZERO hop aroma in this one, it smells like I've stuck my head in my LHBS bucket of 2-Row (I would love smell any other time, but I really didn't expect it in an IIPA)

It just doesn't seem balanced well. Bah humbug.

MyNameIsPaul said:

Ugh. Very disappointed in this beer. I love an IIPA, but there is ZERO hop aroma in this one, it smells like I've stuck my head in my LHBS bucket of 2-Row (I would love smell any other time, but I really didn't expect it in an IIPA)

It just doesn't seem balanced well. Bah humbug.

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This seems to be the thoughts of most people I talk to regarding GDBC's IPA's. I don't really get it. Most of their other beers are very "nosey", if that makes sense. But their IPA's are weak like the Ukraine.

Hercules double IPA is a gem, great big full bodied and well rounded IPA. Woody, malty, sweet, hop bomb of a beer. Seriously hercules status.

With that said, I always get chunks in the bottle as some have mentioned, I wish they changed that...they must dry hop because I agree it is more hop particles than yeast.