Beer:30... Great Divide's Hades.

Hades, the Greek God of the Underworld. Not your typical namesake for a beer. But, Great Divide Brewing Company is not your normal brewer. Time for Greek mythology:

Hades, the eldest son of Cronos and Rhea, (Titan siblings) older brother of Zeus. After his birth he was devoured by his father to prevent an eventual uprising among the Gods. Luckily for Hades, Zeus freed his siblings, then with the help of Hades and Poseidon (another brother) they overthrew their father. Afterwards, I'm sure a party ensued, and the three split up kingdoms to rule; Zeus the sky, Poseidon the sea, and Hades drew the short straw to rule the underworld.

Fast forward quite a few years, and many Greeks viewed Hades as evil. I believe that in reality he was just misunderstood. From most accounts, he was a just and fair ruler of the underworld. Unless you tried to take one of his constituents, or messed with his wife. You can't blame him for that. Also, he loved dogs. And since his beloved canine was the Cerebus, obviously he was a supporter of his local pet shelter (That was an ugly dog). Take all of that into account, and I bet spending all of that time in the darkness of the underworld probably gave him an insatiable appetite for a good brew.

Whew, that took a little longer than expected. Enough of that, enter Hades, the Belgian style Ale:

Out of the bottle, the beer pours a nice golden hue, similar to the mineral. Since Hades is the God of the Underworld, that includes all minerals, so this is probably appreciated. The carbonation is evident on the pour, and it rushes to the brim of your glass as fast as a cheetah, only to retreat at a leisurely pace, leaving behind very minimal lacing to the glass. The aromas of this beer hit your nose while the glass is still sitting on the table. Very fragrant and strong, with hints of some sweet malts and Belgian yeast. The taste is really surprising, with a small hop bite, but mostly a yeast flavor stays for the duration, and finishes nice and dry. I would call this a great recreation of a Belgian ale, with an American edge to it. I will definitely be buying more of this, especially for summer lawn mowing sessions.

This beer delivers, I would venture to say as well as Charon the ferryman delivers the souls of folks to the underworld.

Once again, well done Great Divide!

Cheers!

Beer:30...Great Divide's Espresso Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout.

Continuing with my recent indulgence with Great Divide, lets take a walk with the Yeti. I will be the first to admit, I am a huge yeti fan. And by huge, I mean obsessed. I love the concept of sasquatch. I am planning a bigfoot tattoo. My dream bicycle is a Yeti 575. My favorite beef jerky is Jack Links. Wait, did I just say I have a favorite beef jerky?

Are you starting to see a pattern here? Bigfoot/sasquatch/yeti is everywhere, and I do believe that they are still walking around today. One can dream right? Anyway, I have been excited to try this beer for some time, and magically, it happened to appear in my local store's beer aisle. So like the good cryptozoologist that I am, I let it walk right into my cart. Enter the Yeti Imperial Stout:

Right off the bat, this beer smells nice. I love coffee, and the mixture of coffee and beer is one of my favorite things that I have encountered. The scent of this beer is similar to walking into my locally owned coffee shop. Nice coffee flavors, with a tiny hint of chocolate hit your nose with full force. Moving on to the taste, the coffee beats out all other flavors to your taste buds, but others start to show their colors as the glass starts to disappear. I am picking up hints of chocolate, and also a tiny bit of vanilla at the end of each sip. There is also a slight oak feel that lingers after each drink, which makes complete sense, and the beer finishes off with you wanting another drink. Overall, I wouldn't mind if this beer was in my fridge on a regular basis.

So, does it fill the big shoes set forth by our favorite hairy hominid? Yes, and then some. While there are many beers that fill this genre, this beer has to be at or near the top of the list. This is a solid offering from Great Divide, and one of the best beers that I have ever had the chance to drink. I will now officially say that Great Divide is one of my favorite beer companies to date. This is a classic, timeless beer.

Cheers!

Beer:30...Great Divide's Hoss Rye Lager.

Flannel has always been a staple in my wardrobe. Ever since I was a kid growing up in the middle of nowhere, flannel was just part of the local uniform. Functional and stylish. At least until the 1990s. Every now and again, much to my wife's chagrin, I break out a few pieces from my rock and roll days and sport it like a trophy belt buckle. Not that I have one of those or anything... anyway, when I caught a glimpse of this beer, I knew it had to come home with me:

Enter Great Divide Brewing Company's Hoss Rye Lager. Right off the bat, with the subtle lumberjack flannel backdrop of the label, this beer screams "I love Soundgarden!" Well maybe not that exactly, but I am sure it screams something.

Normally, I do not get myself all excited over lagers. Sure, there are a few that are quite tasty, and since I have been jamming on Great Divide's products here lately, I thought this deserved a spin. After a sixer of this, here are the thoughts:

Right out of the gate, it pours a nice amber color. I love a beer with a good color palate, and this beer does not disappoint. Beautiful color that you normally would not see on a lager. One of the beers best attributes though is the smell. Flagrant sweet smells hit the nose coming from the malts, and some darker fruits. This leaves a little to be desired once it hits the mouth though. Granted it tastes great, but the smells from this beer are heavenly for a lager. Apart from that little note, the flavors of this beer make it a great Oktoberfest/Marzen style that makes me wish it were fall. Smooth and easy to drink, the rye spiciness gives a different touch to the flavor which then finishes nice and dry. This is a great version of the Marzen style, and I am planning on remembering this beer anytime that I want to pretend it is October.

So take a flannel bottle, and put some Oktoberfest style brew in it, and that makes a winner in my book. It makes me extremely happy that this beer is available year round, so it can be Oktoberfest at any point in the year. So by the transitive property, that also means that I can wear flannel at any point of the year as well. Double win. Now off to drink and listen to Soundgarden...

Cheers to you Great Divide!