We finished up with work, and I’ve extended my work trip in Denver for one extra day so that I can attend the Great American Beer Festival. As a beer lover, this is an event I’ve always wanted to attend, but never thought I would actually be able to. The timing of this trip worked out perfectly. However, since GABF didn’t start until the evening, I had to find something to do with myself for the afternoon. I saw that Great Divide was within walking distance of my hotel, and had an event going on for GABF, so I walked over to check it out. After a tour of the brewery, I went out back and grabbed an awesome happy hour beer for $2.
Rumble was clear and had a reddish/brown tint to it. The head was thin, but there seemed to be plenty of carbonation coming out of it in the cup. There was a light piney hop aroma, with some very light hints of oak.
The body was medium and it had a fairly creamy mouthfeel. There was a slighly caramel-like malt flavor up front, which gave way to a piney hop flavor. The oak flavor came through in the finish, but it was a much more subtle oak flavor than I was expecting.
As far as a food pairing, my mind jumped to pad thai or a similar dish. I think the malt, hop, and oak flavors would grow even more complex with the addition of peanuts and pasta in the pad thai.
Overall, I thought this was a very interesting beer with a nice flavor. The drinkability was OK, as I’m not sure I could have more than one or two of these at a time, but the complexity of the added hop flavor was something I enjoyed.
My Rating: 
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