Today's tasty, cold beverage comes from Great Divide Brewing Co., a fantastic brewery in Denver. In 2008, BeerAdvocate (one of the leading beer review sites, and my personal favorite) ranked them as the 7th best brewery in the world. Great Divide adamantly believes in brewing strong beers, which are characterized as having 7% alcohol or greater. Founder Brian Dunn had this to say about his creations:
"Brewers like to sell the beer that they like to drink...and as people who can and do drink beer all day long, it’s obviously more interesting for us to drink big beers that are long on flavor and complexity."
They have won a lot of awards since 1994...However, the beer with which I decided to start my relationship with Great Divide hasn't won a single trophy.
Claymore Scotch Ale is, well, a scotch ale - otherwise known as a "wee heavy." As most scotch ales are supposed to, my Claymore poured deep copper. I stuck my nose in the glass and smelled a lot of sweetness, almost as if I had poured a porter. In my first taste I wasn't sure what to think of it. It felt like a mix between beer and scotch, blech! I decided to let it sit a bit and warm up.
When I came back to it about 10 minutes later, it had a fantastic smoothness to it. It seemed a bit thin to me, but I certainly enjoyed the malts and boozyness. By the end of my glass, I could really feel the warmth from the alcohol - as if I had been drinking a spirit rather than a beer. Overall, I enjoyed it, but this isn't really a style of beer that I'd find myself purchasing on a regular basis.
Music:
This has to be one of the best band names I've ever seen. Seriously? Fitz and The Tantrums? Wow.
Listening to this song just feels like a guilty pleasure. Very classic sound and an 80s look from the lead singer. Enjoy "Money Grabber."
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