Denver Pale Ale - Great Divide Brewing Company

gford217

Georgia

4.22/5  rDev +13.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

I was lucky enough to try this hand pumped from a firkin at the Brick Store.

I was certainly not expecting this one to look so nice. It pours a gorgeous hazy golden amber with some massive tiny bubble action, just like a hand-pumped Engish ale. The bubbles slowly recede toward the top, leaving the body almost clear. Wonderful looking beer.

The aroma is light biscuity malts with a solid citrus hop presence as well. There is a bit of grassy hop character thrown in for good measure.

The taste is just as clean and crisp as the aroma with a healthy dose of biscuity malts and some citrus hops up front. The finish is slightly bitter with more floral hops than citrus.

The mouthfeel is what really sets this apart. Having had very few English cask ales, I don't know if this is gold standard, but it is the best mouthfeel I've had on this style beer. It's silky smooth with plenty of carbonation but with a slight prickly presence from the hops.

This beer may not be nearly as good on tap normally or from a bottle, but from the firkin, it is excellent and extremely drinkable. I could drink it all day long. So good.

Serving type: cask

08-01-2009 20:16:16 | More by gford217

BeerSox

Virginia

4.38/5  rDev +17.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On cask into pint glass @ Birreria Paradiso in Georgetown.

Glad to revisit this one as it was one the more solid Pale Ales I had when I was first exploring craft beer.

Deep and amber, close to copper with a one finger off white head. Rings of webby lacing. The aroma is loaded with citrusy hops, with a little bit of an herbal aroma. The malts add a good slightly toasty background. The flavor has light grainy malts in the background with a good amount of flavorful hops that have just a touch of grapefruit. A little bit of buttery diacetyl is detected.

Great beer, even better on cask.

Serving type: cask

04-12-2009 00:37:17 | More by BeerSox

DenverHopHead

Colorado

3.86/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

How I've managed to not have this is a bit surprising. I have to say, I really enjoyed it, too! I prefer an IPA, but this was a nice change of pace. This tasted great at a BBQ and the next time I'm out to eat, I may go here again, depending on what IPA's are available. A very nice surprise and a beer that I would recommend to my friends seeking a solid pale.

Serving type: bottle

05-24-2013 02:29:45 | More by DenverHopHead

Fcolle2

Illinois

3.55/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: Pours a dark golden color with half finger head that settles quickly

S: bready Malts and a nutty aroma. I'm also getting a little cinnamon spice at the end

T: dominate malt flavor. Vet slight nutty presence with minimal hops to follow.

M: good carbonation, a little thicker then I expected. There's a nice sticky feel from the hops at the end.

O: this was a nice change for a pale ale. It has a good malty flavor and the oil from the hops give a nice mouthfeel but could have hit more flavor points

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2013 01:18:44 | More by Fcolle2

gwalt

Alabama

3.41/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours crystal clear with a finger of egg white head. Nice caramel / orangish hue. Faint to no hops in the nose but hints of straw, biscuit, and a touch of sweetness. I really like the mouthfeel of this beer, upper end of medium body. Slight earthy hops present in the taste with nice caramel and toasty malt character. Overall this is a very pleasant beer that is well made. My enjoyment was after a particularly stressful day and it went down well in the adirondack chair on the front lawn.

Serving type: bottle

04-02-2013 23:45:53 | More by gwalt

spoony

Colorado

3.65/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

From a 355 ml bottle (bottle on February 5, 2013) into a tulip.

A-A normal pour produces very little head that quickly drops to a white, shiny ring of foam. The ring leaves a little chunky lacing on the glass. The brew is clear and golden in color with a few random bubbles of carbonation visible.

S-The smell is pretty mild. I detect very little in the way of hops, but there is some decent toasty, caramel-toffee malt coming through. As the brew warms up a bit, I also detect some buttery fruit notes.

T-The taste, like the smell, is a little light on the hops. The malts produce a lightly fruity, toasted grain base flavor that persists from start to finish. There is very light hoppiness that comes through as an earthy, barely-floral spice on the finish.

M-The feel is light to medium body with a fine, prickly wave of carbonation. It is quite drinkable, but I could have used a little more heft.

O-I have mixed feelings about this beer. I tend to like more sharpness in my pale ales, and this brew was definitely on the butter side and malt heavy (which is odd given the lack of head and oily lacing on the glass). Nevertheless, I guess this IS an English Pale, so it can't be faulted too much for being overly malty.

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2013 02:21:39 | More by spoony

homebrew311

Illinois

3.16/5  rDev -15.1%
look: 4 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

Appearance is pale and clear with minimal head. Smell is mild and grainy, almost no hops to speak of. Taste is much like the nose, with and addition of a little earthy hop presence along with some caramel. Mouthfeel is lackin in carbonation and is very light. Pretty boring beer overall.

Serving type: on-tap

03-10-2013 21:05:06 | More by homebrew311

spinrsx

Ontario (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz Bottle from Wegmans Dewitt NY for 2$

Appearance - Clear light copper colour with an average size fizzy off-white coloured head. There is an average amount of carbonation showing and there is some decent lacing. The head lasted for around 4-5 minutes.

Smell - Hops, malts, caramel, grassy notes

Taste & Mouth - There is an above average amount of carbonation and I can taste caramel and hops. There is also some light grapefruit flavour mixed with hay/herbal/grassiness. It ends with a malty caramel herbal aftertaste.

Overall – My bottle is from August 2012, which isn't helping I'm sure.. It's got a little too much of a herbal/wet grass type flavour going on for me. It reminds me of a fall/oktoberfest type beer.

Serving type: bottle

02-25-2013 00:49:17 | More by spinrsx

Jacurdy60

Alabama

4.2/5  rDev +12.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

A-Deep golden-brown with a nice orange hue. Pours a 1 finger head that dissipates quickly with minimal lacing.

S-The nose is bready as hell. I'm also getting a subtle note of grapefruit and oranges.

T-Damn good. But in all seriousness: wheaty, but not dry. Some bitter fruit is in there too. Semi-malty finish

MF-Crisp, but not dry. Smooth, but not thick.

O-A very complex brew. I feel like I haven't picked up on all the flavors as I have only drank one. A damn good pale ale, though. What a good beer.

Serving type: bottle

02-23-2013 02:31:35 | More by Jacurdy60

tdm168

North Carolina

3.76/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

A - orangish amber with a thin white head that has decent retention

S - huge bready nose with some faint caramel

T - bread, faint toast, faint citrus, mildly bitter finish

M - medium bodied, crisp

This is a decent take on the British style. It doesn't have a very complex flavor profile, but the drinkability is there. I could definitely work on a six-pack of this while watching the game.

Serving type: bottle

02-06-2013 02:01:47 | More by tdm168

Thorpe429

Illinois

2.68/5  rDev -28%
look: 4 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

On tap at Great Divide. Apparently have never had this. Golden color. Lots of grainy malt. Light bitterness. No hop flavor.

Serving type: on-tap

01-09-2013 03:53:00 | More by Thorpe429

Cylinsier

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12 oz.

Pours a hazy orange golden color with some white suds for a head and some particles of yeast floating in it.

Smells of honey, apples, mild grapefruit hops, and some citrus.

Tastes of light floral sweetness, like honey and orange blossom, with some hints of citrus and rose water and a whisper of tame hop bitterness akin to a tea bitterness.

Medium to lighter body with a tingle of carbonation on the roof of the mouth.

An interesting light drinkable ale, just on the high end of being sessionable but probably could be. I've never had a beer that tastes quite like this one, so it gets points for uniqueness. I'm not sure how I feel about it, but I think I like it. Yes, I think I would like to have this again.

Serving type: bottle

11-17-2012 03:04:37 | More by Cylinsier

ummswimmin

New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Review from notes.

I had this while stuck in in a hotel in Maryland. Poured the beer into a hotel cup, which really does a good job of bringing out the best flavor characteristics in a beer.

This beer is dark orange/light brown with about two fingers of foam.

There is a very light smell to this beer. I get a decent amount of maltiness to this smell; that is about it.

The flavor has a lot of english hops backed with decent malting. It is not very bitter. And the body was surprisingly full.

This is a pretty good english pale ale. I would order it again if I see it on tap.

Serving type: bottle

11-08-2012 00:56:18 | More by ummswimmin

rlee1390

Indiana

3.73/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A-Clear amber orange, two finger fluffy white head, some carbonation with lacing left behind.

S-Lots of malt, caramel and toffee. Some earthy notes as well.

T-Starts with caramel and toffee malt, ends with pleasant earthy hops with slight bitterness.

M-Light to medium bodied, some carbonation.

O-At the end of the day a boring run of the mill Pale Ale.

Serving type: bottle

11-06-2012 17:57:56 | More by rlee1390

metter98

New York

3.68/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: The beer is slightly hazy yellowish amber in color and has a moderate amount of carbonation. It poured with a finger high dense off white head that has very good retention properties, consistently leaving a thin head covering the surface and lots of large rings of lacing down the sides of the glass.
S: There are light aromas of earthy hops in the nose along with some faint hints of citrus.
T: Like the smell, the taste has flavors of earthy hops along with notes of bready and buttery malts. A light amount of bitterness is present in the finish.
M: It feels a bit shy of medium-bodied and clean on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer is easy to drink and very well balanced. It's a nice change of pace having this compared to American Pale Ales.

Serving type: bottle

10-18-2012 00:36:41 | More by metter98

DoubleJ

California

3.58/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

On-tap at the Appaloosa Grill, on to the beer:

This is a pleasant ale to knock back during dinnertime. Denver Pale Ale features an amber orangish color with an attractive creamy head which retains well. The nose hints that this pale ale is going across the Atlantic for its inspiriation, lead by notes of orange, cream, and buttery fusels. The taste starts off crisp and netural, eventually breaking towards a buttersctoch note. A modest kick of hops make their mark in the 2nd half of each sip. Offering both a crisp and somewhat creamy texture, this pale ale is a more than fair choice.

Serving type: on-tap

10-17-2012 03:49:27 | More by DoubleJ

Jeffo

Netherlands

3.25/5  rDev -12.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Doopie brought this one over for beer night a few weeks back. Cheers man!

From a bottle into a snifter

APPEARANCE: Pours a two finger, medium looking, off-white head with very good retention. Head fades slowly to a full wisp and sticks to the top of the glass. Clear amber orange with higher levels of carbonation. A splotchy wisp remains util the end and leaves some nice lacing down the glass.

SMELL: Pale malts, caramel, toffee, as well as some piny and grassy hops. Medium in strength.

TASTE: Pale malts up front, with quite a bit of grassy and floral, piney hops after the swallow. Aftertaste is quite bold and lingering with grassy and floral hop bitterness, as well as a touch of caramel sweetness as balance. Solid and satisfying.

PALATE: Medium body and medium carbonation. Creamy smooth on the palate, goes down nice and finishes very dry on the palate. Good stuff here.

OVERALL: Decent, though not quite English in style. Missing some of the toffee and butterscotch flavors you'd expect from an English style pale ale. There was also a bit too much grassy flavor for my liking. Nevertheless, this is a solid beer that that some people will really enjoy. Give it a chance if you see it. Thanks again Doops!

Serving type: bottle

10-07-2012 14:05:19 | More by Jeffo

TrappistJohnMD

Mississippi

3.83/5  rDev +3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a tangerine orange with nice off-white head that lingers well.

Smell is lemon rind, orange and malt.

Taste is zesty lemon and sweet malts. Good bit of bitterness in the finish that lingers on my palate for a while.

Mouthfeel is light to medium bodied.

Overall this was nice. Would buy again.

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2012 21:51:42 | More by TrappistJohnMD

gabedivision

New York

3.53/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle to a pint glass.

A- Rich copper, amber, clear, white tight bubbled 1/2 finger head.

S- Buttery malts, butterscotch and caramel.

T- Buttery bicuity malts, thin hop, spice, butterscotch

M- light to medium bodied, dry.

O- not bad if your in the mood for an EPA.

Serving type: bottle

09-23-2012 00:38:00 | More by gabedivision

KajII

North Carolina

3.38/5  rDev -9.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

[Suggested Glassware: Nonic Pint]

The pour was a hazy medium amber with an average (1-2 finger) white fluffy head, which dissipated down to a thick film and a large collar with very good runny lacing.

The aroma was of a sweet light bread malt, floral hops and a soapy yeast with notes of apple, toffee, caramel and citrus (grapefruit and orange).

The taste was somewhat malty and a tad bitter sweet with notes of caramel, toffee and a mild fruity ester in the beginning with a light hoppy citrus bitterness towards the end. The flavor hung around for an average duration, while the slightly bitter sweet taste settled on the taste buds.

Mouthfeel was a bit beyond light in body and dry in texture with an almost medium carbonation.

Overall a pretty basic Pale Ale with a slight fruity twist...

http://www.facebook.com/KAJIIsBeerReviews

Serving type: bottle

09-21-2012 21:10:33 | More by KajII

horshack7

Massachusetts

4.23/5  rDev +13.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: Clear yet very much copper with a few brassy hues. An off white head very foamy and about an inch in height.

Aroma: Yeasty, with a touch of dark bread, subtle notes of citrus and caramel and pale malts. Twinge of dryness in the nose.

Taste: Fairly bready at the start with light citrus notes. Toffee, light caramelized sugar with a bit of brown tossed in. The mouthfeel is thcik with a subtle dryness and a smooth finish.

Notes: Nicely drinkable and solidly hearty tasty meal in a bottle. Cheers.

Serving type: bottle

09-02-2012 00:39:48 | More by horshack7

Living816

2.75/5  rDev -26.1%
look: 3 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Color was okay. Smell was not. Had an off smell. Something akin, and this is in all seriousness, to baby formula and plastic bottles. Very faint. No noted aromas at all on initial pour. After it warmed slightly and the head settled, it had a more neutral smell.

Taste was a rather unfortunate bitterness that ruined it. Is it an EPA, APA, IPA? Maybe an xPA is a more apt description. It seems like an almost IPA, and almost APA, an almost EPA.

Did not care for the taste at all. Very little balance here.

I was not fond of this creation. It had a confused set of flavors and aromas.

Serving type: bottle

08-27-2012 02:43:21 | More by Living816

CHickman

New York

3.78/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours hazy orange amber color with a great looking 2 finger foamy beige head that faded very slowly, leaving very good foamy rings as it went down.

Smells of toasted grains, caramel, sweet malt, floral hops, biscuit, piney hops, herbs and brown sugar; the hops and malts are about equal in the nose.

Tastes of toasted grains, caramel, sweet malt, floral hops, biscuit, piney hops, lemon zest, light orange peel, herbs like tea leaf, brown sugar and Ritz cracker or toast; the hops add nice stability and flavor, but the English profile malts provide complex malty notes and sweetness - very nice for the style, quite easy to drink.

Mouthfeel is creamy, with mild carbonation, a medium body that leans on the heavy side, and a sweet grainy finish that has bready notes and a slight hop bitterness. A very tasty pale ale that is easy to drink and well above average for this style.

Serving type: bottle

08-23-2012 02:52:53 | More by CHickman

RickS95

Indiana

2.98/5  rDev -19.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

It's kind of strange looking, like a hybrid between a pale ale and a pilsner. It's got the orangey golden color of a pale ale, but it's very, very clear like a pilsner. Despite the clarity, it's got a lot of stuff floating around in it. The head is a thick, white pillow of different sized bubbles. The head kind of implodes on itself leaving a nice lace.

Very malty nose. Biscuit-like. Not much else.

Not much happening here either, and like the look, it's got some pilsner characteristics. Not a single ingredient sticks out, except pilsner malts if that's what's used.

There is a smoothness to this beer that works well with its crispness. Slight hoppy bitterness in the finish.

Not something I'll have again. No character in this beer. Easy to drink as a macro, but it's not a macro, so it does little for me.

Serving type: bottle

07-18-2012 02:14:47 | More by RickS95

dbrauneis

New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Pours a crystal clear copper in color with some very light amounts of visible carbonation. The beer has a half finger tall light beige head that quickly reduces to a thin film covering the entire surface of the beer with a couple of small patches that are slightly thicker and a thin ring at the edges of the glass. Moderate to significant amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Light aromas of biscuit malts with some caramel sweetness and citrus hops. There is also just a hint of some nuttiness.

T: The beer starts with a combination of biscuit malts and some caramel malt sweetness. That is combined with a little bit of floral hops and lots of citrus hops. Light amounts of bitterness that linger.

M: Just shy of medium bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Slight hints of dryness in the finish.

O: This beer is enjoyable but not the easiest to drink - there is something a little different about the flavor and mouthfeel (especially for the style) that was not really to my preference.

Serving type: bottle

07-17-2012 01:56:23 | More by dbrauneis