Hercules Double IPA - Great Divide Brewing Company

RaulMondesi

California

1.8/5  rDev -56.7%
look: 2 | smell: 1 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Out of a bottle at Haven in Orange, CA.

Raul does not approve! Nasty! Nasty! Nasty!

So this is one of those Least Coast IPA's. Or is it a strong ale? Because Raul cannot tell. If Raul wants himself a bottle of strong ghetto syrup, he'll get himself a bottle of Old English. The homeboys gave this a 99!? (But hey, they also like Green Flash IPA and DogFish 90 - so maybe the trust is gone). Either way, Raul vows never again. I rather step in fresh doo doo'd kitty litter then suffer through this nastiness again.

Now back to a fresh, hoppy, pineapple blasted BEST Coast IPA.

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2012 21:19:47 | More by RaulMondesi

dubinsky

California

2.25/5  rDev -45.9%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Poured from 12oz bottle into a tulip. Bottle date 8/19/10

A - Pours a slightly hazy dark amber. Fairly gentle pour yielded a 1/2 finger eggshell color head. The head discipated rather quickly leaving a think layer of slick film on the top. No real retention of lacing to speak of.

S - Mostly sweet and malty upfront. Initially its reminding me of DFH 90min IPA. There is some piney hop presence as well, but im mostly getting malts and sweet biscuit. This isn't my favorite smelling beer in this category. Im thinking this is definitely an East Coast Style IPA.

T - This beer must be past its prime. Something doesn't taste quite right. I've never had a beer that blended all the flavors together like this. So much so that i cant differentiate anything in the flavor profile. Its a mess. Its, bitter and sweet and malty. Warming alcohol presence.

M - Bready, somewhat thick and creamy. It leaves a fairly strong hop bitterness in the mouth thats lingering for a while.

O - I really didn't enjoy this beer. I feel that to be fair i will need to review a fresher bottle, but this one really didn't do it for me. The best thing i can say is that at 10% i got a buzz, but it was pretty rough.

Serving type: bottle

03-29-2011 03:34:05 | More by dubinsky

dmsohyea

California

2.45/5  rDev -41.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

poured from bottle to IPA glass. Bottle dated 3/06/11.

I'm hoping this is an infected bottle, because this beer just doesn't taste good.

A - The beer is a dark orange brown with orange tinged soapy head. Retention and lacing are both good. TONS of huge floaties all over the place. Big turn off.

S - Smell is decent, brown sugar and piny hops with a touch of grapefruit.

T - Huge yeast flavor upfront and very bitter through mid palate to a very dry, semi bitter finish. I'm picking up some candy sugar and other bready flavors that aren't working well with the hops. It's bitter, but not in a good way that I would expect from a double IPA. It's more about the malt than the hops. I would consider this more of a barelywine. Alcohol on the finish, too. Aftertaste is just terrible.

M - it's ok. Nothing special. Pretty astringent but carbonation is good.

O - I don't like this at all. Sorry GD. Maybe I'll stick to your stouts.

Serving type: bottle

05-01-2011 01:16:23 | More by dmsohyea

PittBeerGirl

Pennsylvania

2.6/5  rDev -37.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 4 | overall: 2

A- Transparent amber body with thick foamy pale rust colored head. Great head retention and plenty of lacing is left behind in the glass.

S- Balanced aromas of citrus, caramel malt, toffee, and hops. Smell is rather welcoming.

T- Citrusy hops are first with a caramel malt and toffee back bone. Seems prety balanced. This is followed by a very agressive crass hop finish that lingers and lingers in the back of the palate. Nothing is at the end to balance out the hops.

M- Medium carbonation and smooth creamy body. Well done.

D- The crass hop aftertaste was over the top for me and I found it hard to enjoy. I tend to enjoy fuller more balanced DIPAs rather than agressive ones. This one just wasn't for me.

Serving type: on-tap

06-24-2007 16:10:12 | More by PittBeerGirl

Cresant

Kentucky

2.63/5  rDev -36.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Poured from a 22 oz. bomber. Achieved a very impressive tan head. Sustained for a good while and then left a nice thick lacing. Clear amber body with tiny carbonation bubbles. The appearance was the best thing about this beer.

Wow, overhyped?

Aroma was a malty sweetness, light hoppiness, and a hint of nuts.

First tastes were of malt up front and grapefruit rinds toward the end. Alcohol (ETOH) veiled but not hidden. As the beer warmed for just a few minutes I began to taste ETOH and some bitterness, nothing else. No complexity, no subtleness, one gear.

Little carbonation, uninteresting mouthfeel.

I did not finish this beer. I kept waiting for a shift away from the ETOH flavor toward something more multidimensional but unfortunately I mostly tasted booze, not beer.

I recently enjoyed a Dreadnaught ( I do enjoy Double IPA's) and had no trouble finishing the bottle. Hercules was strong but not in a good way. Not what I expected.

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2006 02:23:25 | More by Cresant

ericduran

Oklahoma

2.63/5  rDev -36.8%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 3

Had this last night, at $13 for a 4-pack, I was expecting something exceptional.

The color was a nice clear brown but all of GD's beers are crystal clear, so nothing special about that.

It did smell really good, I will give it that, like a boquet of hop flowers.

The taste was really disapointing, this could really benefit from being conditioned in the bottle, not just carbed and poured in. That's fine when it's from a tap fresh, but leave a dead beer in the bottle for two months (mine was bottled in Oct according to the label) and uhhhh....yeah. I didn't see any yeast sediment at the bottom and the beer was so clear it either wasn't bottle conditioned or they use a very miraculous strain of yeast.

Very biting mouthfeel, resiny from all the hops. Like chewing on hops. A little creaminess at the end, maybe but really just jagged, cloyingly bitter, resinous and biting. Flash of green followed by a jolting brown. Unpleasant.

Fairly drinkable, I worked thru the two I bought (asked the guy to half the 4pack for me because of the price) in about an hour because I wanted to get drunk and it does its job pretty well at 9% ABV, but I would not drink it again. May try it off a tap if I come across the opportunity. Horribly disappointing.

Serving type: bottle

12-28-2008 21:30:06 | More by ericduran

mentor

Colorado

2.63/5  rDev -36.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Four finger tan head over a cloudy red-brown liquid. Smells pine, pith, and soapy. Oranges, tangerine, pink grapefruit. Some alcohol (with some fusel) and seashore.

Tastes potent hoppy with alcohol edge hitting in with the hops. Hop bitter is high and hop flavor is so potent the flavors take on a sourish role. Pine sol with grassy dry to boot. Wet that hits the front of the tongue is wiped immediately clear with grassy hops, edgy alcohol and too strong carbonation. Gritty hop bits into the papillae in the aftertaste turning the alcohol and hops into a fusel mess. WTF is all the hype of this crap. Light body and overcarbonated.

Serving type: bottle

01-17-2009 03:27:42 | More by mentor

Brabander

Netherlands

2.68/5  rDev -35.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

I had this beer on a rainy sunday afternoon today. It began hopefully when i poured the beer in a nice dutch beerglass.

A nice light cooper couloured head with a very nice colour of the beer.

The first sip of the beer made me uncomfortable. My first thought was that the beer was not OK. Tried a few more sips and then the beer gave more feeling in my mouth.

Only....i'm a bit dissapointed. The beer looks good but the tasts does not come along.

This beer gets a lot of high revieuws and i an wondering why. Better luck next time.

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2009 18:15:32 | More by Brabander

beagle75

Iowa

2.68/5  rDev -35.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2

Draft pour into a half-pint goblet at Whole Foods in Tustin.

A: Clear, light amber color with one finger of off-white foam head. Moderate lacing remains on the glass. Bubbles are visible rising in loose streams from the bottom and sides of the glass.

S: Toasted bread, earth, and dark vinous fruit constitute the bulk of this beer's smell. Occasional whiffs of pine foliage, caramel, and fusile alcohols break through (the latter dissipating after a few minutes).

T: Begins sweet, with intense pale and caramel malts soon joined by dark, treacly citrus hop aromatics. The middle remains hoppy, but some astringency and cloying soapiness also emerge. The finish dries out somewhat, with moderate bitterness and grapefruit peel lingering. The flavor of pure alcohol never really stands alone, although it may play a part in creating some of the less desirable qualities found here.

M: Medium viscosity, syrupy on the palate, with moderate carbonation whose presence is felt too noticeably.

D: This DIPA has a lot going on, but some of its sensory qualities are problematic. Flavor-wise it is big but not satisfying--the kind of strong ale that fatigues the palate almost after a single sip. In its defense, it probably pairs with savory food better than some other more noteworthy examples of the style. Within its style Hercules treads near to the barleywine border, cultivating dark flavors over bright--it will not be mistaken for a West coast IPA. It is similar in this sense to Ninkasi Tricerahops or Avery Maharaja, although both are superior efforts to this.

Serving type: on-tap

12-14-2010 06:07:18 | More by beagle75

cnybrewblog

New York

2.78/5  rDev -33.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 1.5

This was poured out of a 22oz bottle.

Out of the bottle I was very impressed. There was an off white cream head that stuck around for a while. The color was a dark amber to copper tone.

The aroma was great! It had a complex malt-hop mix that was different than most DIPA's that are all hops aroma.

The taste was heavy and unimpressive. I most of the flavors melded together into an indistinguishable burn. I think there were some hints of pine, but they were all quickly erased by the harsh alcohol burn. Too much.

Mouth feel was thick and heavy. This drank like a stout and overstayed it's welcome on my tongue.

IMHO Great Divide pushes towards some great big beers, but needs to learn when to say when. I had a Saranac High Peaks side by side with this, both DIPA's and there was no comparing the two. One was thick heavy and a struggle to get down, the other smooth and full of character. I recommend the Saranac HP for anyone looking for a good DIPA.

*I need to disclose that I live in Syracuse (not far from Utica where Saranac is brewed) so I am always a little bias towards the home town brew.

Serving type: bottle

06-19-2007 01:49:25 | More by cnybrewblog

shand

Florida

2.78/5  rDev -33.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Poured from a 12oz bottle into a nonic.

Pours a red-amber color with two fingers of head that retains and laces well. The beer has very high clarity for the style. Aroma isn't blasting with hops, but instead well-balanced with hops, citrus, pepper and surprisingly nutty malts. The taste on this? Eh. This is a fairly fresh bottle, but the malts and alcohol really take front and center here, with a bit of a peppery kick. The hops are kicked to the background, giving this much more of a barelywine flavor. And not a great barleywine either. With only a month and a half of age on the bottle, this is a little silly.

The mouthfeel is nice enough, it's fairly full-bodied and a bit less carbonation than I'd like. The drinkability is a bit below average, I found this glass a bit of a slog. The high ABV isn't doing this brew any favors. A below-average DIPA that I'd struggle to recommend.

Serving type: bottle

03-31-2011 05:24:43 | More by shand

NittanyBeerFan

Pennsylvania

2.78/5  rDev -33.2%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Caramel amber in color, the pour yields a sticky head that produces some really solid lacing. Unfortunately, this is about where the highlights of this beer end.

The aroma and flavor are both incredibly disappointing, as sweet and cloying caramel malts dominate both the nose and the palate. It doesn't taste like an old IPA with faded hops, so I wonder if there ever were any hops in there to begin with. There is virtually no bitterness to balance the malt base. Luckily, the booze is subdued, otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to finish it. This is by far a better barleywine than it is a DIPA.

Just disappointing. I figured that out of a keg, the perennial disappointment of this beer would finally end, but it just didn't come together. I don't expect to buy this again.

Serving type: on-tap

12-24-2011 02:13:19 | More by NittanyBeerFan

sellmeagod

Virginia

2.8/5  rDev -32.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

This beer is 100% about the hops and bitters.

From the label (which is the whole Arrogant Bastard brag thing done in a slightly more tasteful way) to the extreme aftertaste - the only thing here is intense hops. It's not even too hoppy for me; it's just that that is all there is. I question this.

What I do not question is the amazing way they packed 10% abv into this puppy, which tastes otherwise like a regular old IPA that you'd always pass up. So, I'm conflicted, but there are cheaper ways to buy mega boozy IPA's.

Serving type: bottle

09-02-2010 00:07:24 | More by sellmeagod

brewdlyhooked13

Ohio

2.83/5  rDev -32%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 1.5

Appearance - slightly dark orange beer. Thick creamy head like lather is very sticky, leaving a thin blanket of lace behind.

Aroma - frangrant - orangey, piny, some malt aroma fighting through the intense hop nose as well.

Taste - good malt presence. Sharp bitter hops, combined with a high alcohol level, make a hot and harsh impact on the palate. Feels raw and boozy, needs more taste and less hootch. Too medicinal, but getting in some of the bottom sediment from the bomber gives it a needed boost of sweetness. Completely stands up to some spicy tamales as expected. Letting it warm up helps balance-wise. The ups and downs kind of cancel each other out on this one, leaving me with an impression more of the downs.

Mouthfeel - nicely smooth and creamy, leaves a pleasant residual to help fight off that alcohol burn.

Drinkability - too mixed up for me to get into and enjoy.

Serving type: bottle

05-04-2005 16:49:56 | More by brewdlyhooked13

tewaris

Minnesota

2.83/5  rDev -32%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Hercules Double IPA
Great Divide Brewing Company
Imperial IPA
10% ABV
OG?
IBUs?
12 oz bottle, bottled August 05, 2010 poured into a Bell's tulip on September 18, 2010.

Appearance 4.5/5
Clear, orange red, with an off white head and medium head retention. Some sticky lacing. Looks almost oily! The head and lacing were sub par but so was my pour so I am going to give it benefit of doubt.

Aroma 4/5
Nice hop aroma in the nose: tropical fruit, mango to be precise; grassy-piney as well. Some malty sweetness is present but it's hard to pinpoint it... perhaps caramel?

Taste 2/5
Fruity to begin. Malts and hops play well together towards that. That's the only good part of the taste. Some medium bitterness is the middle. Malts don't hold up until the end. For a DIPA, no hops in here, no malts either. Warming. Dry finish. The taste is average. The aftertaste is just bad.

Mouthfeel 3/5
Thin. Not cloying. The slight warming is welcome. Carbonation is medium.

Drinkability 3/5
Goes down easy but the body cannot support the alcohol and the aftertaste is just bad.

Other
Disappointing, and I cannot blame it on the bottle because the aroma was good. Somehow this reminds me of an adjunct lager at the end.

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2010 04:02:33 | More by tewaris

PatYoda

Colorado

2.85/5  rDev -31.5%
look: 5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Great appearance, tons of velvety lacing the whole way. That's about all I was impressed with with this beer though. Both smell and taste were pure hops. Boatloads of citrusy and piney hops. I tasted hardly any malt whatsoever, and very little alcohol. Mouthfeel was very harsh as well, not at all creamy like I look for in a double IPA. I could barely finish my pint.

Serving type: on-tap

06-01-2005 19:32:36 | More by PatYoda

ebin6

California

2.85/5  rDev -31.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A - Dark amber coloring with a decent head which hung around as expected

S - Funky, sweaty hop smell with fruity citrus finishing

T - Deep, throaty malt profile that stays on the lower half of the tongue. Different than most DIPAs I've had, not as hoppy as I expected

M - Unexpected action on the roof of the mouth considering the sub-par taste

D - Very drinkable considering the 10% ABV, though not something I'd have a substantial amount of

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2010 08:40:08 | More by ebin6

suspect

New York

2.88/5  rDev -30.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured from a 12oz bottle into a Samuel Adams Perfect Pint Glass. Bottle date of June 16, 2011.

A: Beautiful amber color. Aggressive pour leads to a slowly building coppery tinted white head that measures in about 1.5 fingers high. Lots of sticky lacing up and down the glass.

S: Malt-forward in the nose, not a ton of hops. This thing is only 2 months old and already it feels like it's lost freshness. The alcohol is present for certain.

T: Follows the nose directly. Malt-forward, poorly balanced and pretty hot. Really disappointing flavor.

M: Hop bitterness is here and finally this is like the IIPA that I like but it's too little, too late.

O: A solid disappointment but I'm chalking this one up to lack of freshness. I'll revisit with a bottle that's as fresh as possible.

Serving type: bottle

08-22-2011 22:09:00 | More by suspect

chicagobeerriot

Illinois

2.9/5  rDev -30.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Pours light copper with a thick head that gradually provides very attractive lacing down the side of the glass. On the nose, this beer puts its sweet side forward: some butterscotch, honey, and a bit of breadiness with citrus and floral notes playing a supporting role. Mouthfeel is too thick, bordering on full-bodied, with only some mild carbonation preventing this from being a beershake. The taste leads with a one-note caramel sweetness that lingers until the beer falls apart at the finish. The finish is too alcoholic for my tastes which provides an acidity that unpleasantly combines with the intensely bitter hop coda. I love a DIPA bomb as much as the next guy, but this is bad combo that's so strong it stays on the palate until you're halfway through your next beer. I'm going to revisit this beer in case I got a bad bottle, but my first impression is that this beer is a bit unbalanced and the finish is a plain 'ol mess.

Serving type: bottle

07-30-2009 01:38:24 | More by chicagobeerriot

benito

Oregon

2.93/5  rDev -29.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Lots of head and some lacing, colored nectarine and sienna with little carbonation. The head hangs on and on and on.

Even before I really start sniffing, I get whiffs of a huge floral nose, especially strong grapefruit scents and hints of cream.

Down the hatch. In one word, it's hoppy, specially in the aftertaste
The floral scents don't carry through onto the palate...it's more
bitter and less sweet. In general, there isn't much to match the
hops. Liquid hops in the mouth with trace maltiness.

For true hop heads this would be heaven. For me it's a little too
unbalanced. The 'herculean' hop isn't a joke.

Overall, this has a full, strong body in the mouth and reasonable
drinkability for something this strong.

I'd recommend this to only the most diehard hopheads.

Serving type: bottle

10-27-2005 19:47:57 | More by benito

granite

New Hampshire

2.93/5  rDev -29.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

22oz bottle into a pint glass.

A--- Poured a brilliant copper color with a large fluffy white head.

S--- Caramel malt, pine and grapefruit from the aromatic hops make up the aroma. It was very pleasant smelling.

T--- It started off cloying with an herbal astringency and harsh bitterness. Warming alcohol and a salty aftertaste soon followed. It was not very pleasant tasting.

M--- Medium to full bodied with an appropriate level of carbonation for the style.

D--- It looked so promising and polished. The aroma was the perfect balance of malt and hops. Not all hop forward like a lot of DIPAs. Unfortunately it was to cloying and salty. Better attenuation and water chemistry would make it a lot more drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2007 01:31:51 | More by granite

BarrytheBear

Wisconsin

2.93/5  rDev -29.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Me and ShakeyHands splittin a bomber

Looks like a beer

Smells like candied pineapples from a trail mix bag

What's going on here? Very off balance, deisel, and fairly unpleasant. Past experiences with this beer not confirmed. Hops drowned out in a bitter, murky mess.

Either I'm not myself, or this beer's a bummer.

Serving type: bottle

03-28-2009 03:06:52 | More by BarrytheBear

Arbitrator

California

2.93/5  rDev -29.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

Chilled 12oz into a glass. Purchased from K&L in Redwood City. Great Divide just came to CA this month, so I bought the bottle expecting it to be fresh. I got home and realized it was bottled on Aug. 29, 2010 -- a couple of months old.

Not optimal, but it's the freshest I've had this beer. I got two bottles in a trade that were 8-9 months old; I bought a bottle online that was 3+ months old, and when I saw it on the shelves in Portland, the bottles were 3-4 months old. I think this beer simply doesn't exist fresh.

A: Pours a deep, cloudy amber color with 2 fingers of off-white head. Retention is moderate, but there is a collar on the drink and a light film on top of the brew when all is said and done. Some lacing as well.

S: Like a barleywine. Caramel, biscuit, peaches, grass, herbs, and pine. The hops are present, and they impart some pine notes.

T: A strong, rich, malty backbone. Caramel, biscuit, and peaches give it a very strongly sweet character with a light hint of bitterness. There's a small candied grapefruit flavor going on, with touches of grass, herb, and pine. I think fresh, this would be a monster of a beer. Right now it's just satisfactory. It reminds me of Drake's Denogginizer, but not as good. The finish is fairly clean, but it has a sweet aftertaste.

M: Medium-to-full bodied, but it carries medium-to-high carbonation that prevents the beer from becoming syrupy despite its sweetness. Well masked ABV as well.

D: I found it fairly decent, but as is my complaint with all DIPAs: if you can't match what I can get in this state, you're not going to get me to buy it again.

Serving type: bottle

10-22-2010 02:46:49 | More by Arbitrator

sleazo

New York

2.98/5  rDev -28.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

A-Pours a clear amber with a three fingered head. Dissipates down to a nice frothy cap and lacing is everywhere.

S-Biscuity pine cones. Very fragrant.

T-Very strong on the hop character with a biscuity dry malt character. Hops are strong with the pine. Not exactly what I would call well balanced. The alcohol is very evident as well. You really taste the burn on the follow through.

M-Slightly thin and low on the carbonation

D-I am not digging this. Completely one sided with a strong alcohol flaw. It is harsh and I woudl say over rated

Serving type: bottle

08-31-2007 02:05:25 | More by sleazo

match1112

Illinois

2.98/5  rDev -28.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

clear deep copper body with two fingers of thick sudsy off white head, decent retention and lacing. smell is mainly caramel malts and pine hops, little citrus in the background. taste is more malt than hops, still tastes plenty piney, which i dont like. wish it were more citrus forward. has a medium body oily mouthfeel with decent carbonation and a long dry bitter pine flavored finish. this is a pretty standard dipa by many standards and falls short for me because i dont like drinking a christmas tree, prefear citrus forward ipas.

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2012 18:14:14 | More by match1112