Great Divide | Rumble IPA

Rumble IPA, an oak aged IPA from one of my all time favorite breweries, Great Divide out of Denver, Colorado. Rumble is a seasonal IPA, that is "gently aged on French and American oak resulting in a wonderful balance of bitterness, caramel sweetness, vanilla, and undertones of pine and citrus."

Poured into a pint glass, Rumble has a deep orange amber color and a frothy finger of beige head. Full on sticky lacing coats the glass.

The aroma is an even blend of slightly bitter citrus and spicy hops mixed with a very biscuity/doughy malt character. The oak adds a hint of vanilla to the mix, but there isn't too much else to notice from the oak.

The taste starts with that hint of vanilla becoming a little more prominent, and it mixes up front with resinous hop bitterness. The doughy malt flavor takes over with some nuttiness and more vanilla thrown in. Rumble regains its bitterness in the finish, but still relatively smooth. Great mouthfeel on this beer, a good summer sipper.

Rumble is an interesting beer. It's an oak aged IPA, but the oak isn't very strong, and the hops aren't too intense either. The end product is more like a complex pale ale with a hint of oak. Definitely worth a try, since just about everything Great Divide brews is good, but not really a home run.

Personal: 8/10
Style: 7.5/10