Hoss Rye Lager - Great Divide Brewing Company

Murrhey

Montana

3.6/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 12 oz bottle into a pint glass. Reviewed live.

A- One finger cream colored head, dense but with only a little retention. Red-brown color with nice clarity.

S- Rye, some medium malts but the biggest smell is like cherries or some other dark fruit. Nice bold smell.

T- Dark fruits, but light finish into a slight bitterness. Rye and malts, with an earthy tone.

M- Fluffy sort of feel, very light, but substantial. Well balanced.

O- Above average with good parts. No real weakness to this beer.

Serving type: bottle

03-15-2012 21:55:54 | More by Murrhey

Blueribbon666

Ohio

3.38/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Review from notes.
Pours a golden color into pint glass smells like a lager with a mix of malt and hops.
Taste/mouthfeel, malty with a crisp mix of hops and rye that gives it a dry finish.
Overall, very drinkable reminded me more of a bock than what's listed on the site or on the label style wise. Decent just like their scotch ale that I've had, but I haven't found a Great Divide that would make me seek it out.

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2012 13:52:33 | More by Blueribbon666

harrymel

Washington

3.21/5  rDev -14.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

Bottled 17NOV11

Pours an amber color with a transient light cream foam and excellent clarity; no lace. Smells of honey, munich malts and some tea like character. Nice nose. Flavor follows with some sweet honey malts and a little bit of tea like character from hops/malts. Body is a little heavy (expected from addition of Rye) with light carb and a semi dry finish. Nice beer, would drink on a pint special.

Serving type: bottle

03-07-2012 07:21:46 | More by harrymel

yamar68

Minnesota

3.03/5  rDev -19.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

Pours a golden amber with a finger cap of barely off-white head. Great lacing and minimal beading. The nose is big on the rye - earthy spice and nice, toasty malt to balance. Doesn't come across as a Marzen one bit. Taste: there's the Marzen... I wish the rye was highlighted a bit more on the tongue. Still a perfectly drinkable brew. Feel is a bit boring - thin and brief. Overall, not what I was expecting but still decent I suppose.

Serving type: bottle

02-28-2012 02:32:08 | More by yamar68

BurpingtonDC

Maryland

3.03/5  rDev -19.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A - Copper/amber color with a slight off-white head that dissipates immediately

S - Mild malty sweetness

T - Very hoppy, though the scent of hop was strangely not present, bread, rye, and a touch of caramel.

M - Good amount of carbonation is present with a nice medium bodied feel. Its bitterness holds onto the tongue with a vengeance.

O - Overall it's not a bad drink. It doesn't thrill and the bitterness might be a turn off for some without the joyful hop aroma that should accompany it. It makes me wonder if the bitterness is from the rye or from the hops. I haven't much experience with rye brews some I'm, perplexed.

Serving type: bottle

02-24-2012 23:55:02 | More by BurpingtonDC

Halcyondays

California

2.7/5  rDev -28.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2 | feel: 4 | overall: 2

12 oz. bottle,

A: Pours a clear copper/medium amber with a soft white head. Good head retention.

S: Rye spiciness and treacly malts.

T: Good overall malt flavour, but get hampered by the earthy, grungy flavour of the hops. I've encountered this flavour in GD beers before, notably DPA, and I don't like it when I find it.

M: Crisp carbonation, medium-bodied, no real problems.

O: The taste problems make this one a pass for me, sucks since I am a big Great Divide fan.

Serving type: bottle

02-19-2012 03:55:39 | More by Halcyondays

flannelman808

California

3.98/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A: Burnt copper in color with an well retained pancake batter off-white head.

S: Malt driven notes of wheat and rye trickle in along with a slight suggestion of citrus and nearly typical mild note of wet cardboard.

T: Crisp and round with malt driven flavors. this has me imagine dried milled grain and how it sort of floats in the air like sawdust. hints of bread crust and a mild complex spice meet in the middle. The finish is quite clean and crisp tempting the mouth to another sip.

M: crisp and drying

O: Im a fan of this stuff. It's not a style which I frequent however I'm going to be paying more attention to it. This is a fine beer.

Serving type: bottle

02-17-2012 01:25:59 | More by flannelman808

denver10

Colorado

3.5/5  rDev -6.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A ruby red/light brown fused appearance with a very small white head. Smooth aroma of rye fused malt. Maybe a little cherry in there but maybe that's just me looking for it because I saw that ingredient mentioned on the bottle. Starts off sweet from the heavy malt base and some cherries. Slowly but surely a little hops kick inn towards the end and the rye asserts itself in the finish. A heavy body to this, kinda syrupy mouthfeel to this with very little carbonation. Overall, this one seemed to grow on me. While I do find it to be a little too much on the sweet side for me the 2nd half of this beer seems to counter that sweet aspect well enough that I found myself enjoying it overall. The taste that sits with you after a sip is a nice combo of the malt, the spicy rye, and a little hops and I enjoyed that. This beer is definitely a sipper, definitely the antithesis to a session beer, imo. I probably won't be running back to the store to pick up more of this right away but it is a beer I will drink again.

Serving type: bottle

02-08-2012 23:46:18 | More by denver10

ChadQuest

Illinois

3/5  rDev -20.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Color is a toasty light brown/dark amber. like a toasted caramel color.
The aroma lets you know there is rye in it, and is pleasent, some malts with noble hobs also.
The flavors are nicely balanced with toasty malts and earthy hops, with the rye adding a nice spiced note.

A nice solid average Marzen. A good winter Lager.

Serving type: bottle

02-01-2012 04:18:48 | More by ChadQuest

hopfacebrew

Colorado

3.03/5  rDev -19.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured from brown 12 oz bottle to pilsner glass.

A - The beer pours an orange amber with and off-white 1.5 finger white head with little retention and lacing.

S - Fairly weak aroma of slight fruity sweetness of grape and cherry and a rye spice. Not much here.

T - The beer starts with a bready and biscuit malt character that seems a bit thin. A mild bitterness with a hint of caramel. The rye spice isn't as noticeable as I would expect. Finishes a little thin with a mild bitterness on the tongue and a hint of rye and malt.

M - Lighter end of medium though rather thin. Decently carbonated.

Overall, I tried this beer last year as it was on Westwords top 50 Colorado Beer List. I remember being pretty indifferent then and I am now too. I don't understand how could be considered better than so many other outstanding Colorado beers. I continue to find it thin and lacking and incredibly mediocre.

Note: This review was a re-post from my former account, jmkratt, which was hacked and I lost all my reviews...sorry for the redundancy.

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 03-17-2011 21:58:26

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2012 13:56:50 | More by hopfacebrew

paperbackfoster

Missouri

3.08/5  rDev -18.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

This one pours a true amber color, head rising to about a finger before reducing to sheeting. Body carbonation has larger than average bubbles, very active.

Caramel malt carries the nose, with hints of sweetness and a little bit of yeasty ester or diacetyl.

The taste is full and rounded, a hint of that rye spice with a raspberry or cherry note to it. The yeast does give it a bit of a rubbery character, I think. Just when spice and more pungent notes start to come across, there's that yeast product. Not sure how to feel about that.

Mouthfeel is full, almost creamy. Finishes dry. Definitely an Oktoberfest style lager.

Overall? I'm not entirely sold. The beer seems unbalanced. Fruit, rye, and yeast seem to compete over an average malt base, and they rarely all seem complementary at the same time. It's not a bad beer by any stretch. I just don't think it has a defining characteristic or drinking experience.

Serving type: bottle

01-20-2012 21:57:19 | More by paperbackfoster

Stinkypuss

Pennsylvania

3.23/5  rDev -14.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Great Divide : Hoss

Pours a bright reddish amber. Aromas of toasted malts and rye bread. In the taste, spicy rye, caramel, toffee, toasted malt and some complimentary spicy hop notes. Peppery, biting, with a good malt foundation. Alittle diacetyl is noted, given the lager yeast, not too out of place. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with a crisp carbonation. Overall, a pretty decent offering from Great Divide. Having had few rye marzens, I consider this a success.

Serving type: bottle

01-11-2012 05:50:24 | More by Stinkypuss

steve8robin

Massachusetts

3.4/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Got this in a mixed six pack as a Christmas gift. Haven't gotten to try it yet, so, score! Let's give it a go. 12oz bottle, bottled on 11/17/11...

A: A perfectly clear, filtered, deep copper with hints of red. A small tan colored head that fades quickly to a small lace around the top edges of the brew. Decent.

S: I get a nice heavy munich malt upfront in the scent with some hints of rye and breadiness in the middle. I smell some nice earthy hop on the back. Ok.

T: I get a very strong bready rye taste upfront which segways nicely into a strong maltiness. A bitter watered down hop on the back with a slight boozy taste. Decent.

M: Medium body with a heavy carbonation. A watery dry finish. Decent.

O: All in all, this is a decent brew. I've have many better in the style, but it's still a good drinker. If I was craving a good Oktoberfest though, this would not be what I grab by any means.

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2012 00:21:47 | More by steve8robin

rwrk42

New Jersey

3.25/5  rDev -13.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours an amber reddish color with some nice head
Smell: Nice smell of caramel malt with slight cherry and dark fruit undertones
Taste: Nice taste with caramel malt flavor. Finishes nice with a good balance. Slight cherry and dark fruit flavors. Very smooth but was hoping for a little bit more flavor.
Not bad, would recommend

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2011 19:15:52 | More by rwrk42

tdm168

North Carolina

3.6/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a pale amber with a thin lacing of foamy, off white head that fades after a few seconds. The nose has notes of caramel and a hint of ripe fruit. The flavor is fruity at first with notes of dark fruit followed by some caramelly sweetness. It finishes with a mild, spiciness from the rye used. As the beer warms some toasted malt notes begin to arise in the flavor. The mouthfeel is medium bodied, smooth, and well carbonated though there is a slight syrupy quality to the finish.

This is a more bold version of your standard marzen style beers. The rye adds a spicy finish and the dark fruit offers a nice change of pace. The syrupy finish and the sweet caramel notes aren't overbearing, but do wear on me.

Serving type: bottle

12-31-2011 18:53:45 | More by tdm168

vkv822

Oregon

3.55/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle into tulip snifter.
bottled on Sept. 22 2011

Pours a copper color with a foamy, bubbly light tan head.

The aroma is of sweet malts and bready malts, with some light grassy hops.

The taste is along the same lines as the nose, with layers of biscuit and caramel malt, as well as some earthy rye character.

A decent beer, and though I don't think it was old to the point of being ruined, I would like to try it a bit more fresh.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2011 07:53:30 | More by vkv822

garuda

Pennsylvania

4.03/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

12 oz brown bottle, bottled on date stamped on label

A - Mostly clear copper, white head that retains and laces well.

S/T - A little surprised by some grassy, herbal hops in the nose, then rounds out into the usual marzen caramel malts. Taste starts out traditional with bready malts, and finishes mostly clean, with a dry rye spiciness, and good bit of bitterness. Perhaps a little too bitter for the style, but a nice change.

M - Medium body, medium carbonation, crisp clean, smooth.

O - On an absolute scale, this is a damn fine beer, and a nice twist on the marzen style. However, like others in the style, I don't feel too inclined to drink this one in quantity because of the bitterness level, along with the spiciness.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2011 03:00:51 | More by garuda

damndirtyape

Ohio

3.98/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz bottle (bottled on Sept 15 2011) poured into a Shaker pint glass.

Appearance: Clear coppery-amber beer. Off-white ring of foam on top, with the barest foam skin on the top of the beer. The foam upon pouring died down pretty fast. Some very small islands of foam lacing noted. Not a lot here.

Smell: A little bit sweet with some fruit notes (cherry I think) and an earthy/grainy finish which I suspect is the rye. Doesn't exactly smell like a Marzen, but it's still good.

Taste: Quick up-front sweetness moving into a definite earthy grain rye flavor...the rye really shines out as the beer warms up as does the rest of the malt. The hops are spicy and quite German in character. Once again, this beer does not remind me of a Marzen at all, but it's a nice beer. The rye is a nice touch.

Mouthfeel: Prickly carbonation in combination with the spicy hops does clean the palate, but not fizzy. Pleasantly thick and smooth.

Overall / Drinkability: Interesting take on a Marzen. The appearance is nothing special, but the rye shines out and works with everything else in the beer. Nice and I would probably try again if offered.

Serving type: bottle

12-27-2011 23:17:15 | More by damndirtyape

Hoagie1973

New York

3.78/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Clear amber with a moderate head. Retention is average.

Malty nose with a bit of lager yeast.

Bready malt with a touch of caramel and a slightly sour twang in the finish that holds on until the next sip. Finished dry with a flash of balancing hops. I was looking for a bit more Rye in the flavor; perhaps that's where the twang comes from??

Crisp and smooth mouthfeel. Medium body.

Not quite as malty/heavy as most Marzens, but drinkable and enjoyable. Nothing to write home about but I'm glad for having tried it.

Serving type: bottle

12-21-2011 15:02:13 | More by Hoagie1973

Chaney

District of Columbia

3.55/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

I never even knew that Great Divide made an Octoberfest. How about that? They call it a rye lager.

Bottled on April 20, 2011.

A: Very clear, yet peppery orange color, with very little head, which was disappointing - white sawdust.

S: This is definitely an American Marzen - caramel upfront, along with sweetbread and very little German malt.

T: Yep.... pretty sweet for a Marzen, and not bitter, spicy, or angry enough to my mind.

M: The carbonation was fairly low, but I didn't mind that, and the lacing was splotchy and barely even relevant.

O: This was okay, and I would like to try this again next year early just so that I can give it a fair shake. However, the bottle I just tried didn't do much for me.

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2011 23:53:19 | More by Chaney

brentk56

North Carolina

4/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: Pours a clear amber color just a shade darker than honey; the cap was only a finger's worth but it left a few strands behind

Smell: Fruit (cherry and raisin) and caramel malt aroma

Taste: Malt forward, with the caramel and fruit flavors from the aroma dominating from start to finish, though there is a bit of a spicy character toward the tail end

Mouthfeel: Medium body with moderate carbonation

Overall: A Märzen with a spicy twist, this is another winner for Great Divide

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2011 01:01:55 | More by brentk56

kojevergas

California

3.38/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 2 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Served on-draught into a Great Divide sampler at the Great Divide Taproom yesterday. Not paired with food. Reviewed from notes. Expectations were that it would be average. Cost was $1.00 USD.

A: Pours a half finger head of fair cream and thickness, but terrible retention. Colour is a nontransparent copper.

Sm: Lots of fruity tones, a light air of vinegar, and malt. Moderate in strength. Very pleasant and inviting.

T: Quite bright and fruity, with some hops over the rye foundation. The rye doesn't come through a whole lot in the flavour. It's more complex than expected, and quite balanced. Built well and with care.

Mf: Smooth and wet. Light on the palate. Complements the flavour. The rye adds a touch of welcome coarseness.

Dr: Very drinkable - especially for a rye beer. I'd maybe have it again, but it's nothing special.

I don't know that I agree with its current classification as a Marzen, nor do I think would the brewery.

Serving type: on-tap

12-18-2011 19:43:33 | More by kojevergas

jayhawk73

Maryland

3.95/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a dark copper color with a thin off white head. Average lacing on the side of my snifter glass. Very clear in appearance, despite the darker color. The nose is very nice- malt, caramel, toffee, bread, and some rye. Very pleasant- especially as it warms. Taste is the same profile as the nose, with some burned toast added to the mix. Very tasty, with caramel, toast, and rye out front on the taste. Feel is medium- w/ little carbonation. Very clean and refined feel. Overall, a totally solid brew for the style. I would drink this again. Cheers.

Serving type: bottle

12-16-2011 21:53:00 | More by jayhawk73

wcintula

New York

4.15/5  rDev +10.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Bottled on: Nov 25, 2011

Poured into a Pilsner glass, amber body with a scant head that leaves wet lacing. Smell is sweet with a clean grain aroma. The taste follows through with a nice breadiness on the tail end. This is a great-drinking Marzen with a nice twist adding the rye. I will definitely seek this one out more.

Serving type: bottle

12-15-2011 21:44:07 | More by wcintula

iSip

Colorado

4.03/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Great Divide Hoss Rye Lager: This one is worth a try! The color has a tinge of red and a fair amount of carbonation. The head is off-white, about a finger thick and multidimensional. The head does fade, letting the beautiful beer color shine through, but is does lace the glass nicely. Aroma is subtle and yeasty, and as you near the bottom of the glass, a scent of iron filings comes through. The flavor is well balanced, the malt and bitter nicely cancel each other out. The finish is very dry, and it is only in the aftertaste that you get the rye. Very easy drinking beer that goes well with food.

Serving type: bottle

12-02-2011 18:17:53 | More by iSip