Great Divide Brew News

Happy Holidays from the GDBC crew!

The Big News Wow, what a year. In 2009, we celebrated our fifteenth anniversary, released close to a dozen new seasonal beers, won three medals at the Great American Beer Festival (as well as several medals from other festivals - see below), and grew our fermentation capacity by 50 percent.

That's right - after adding two new 100-barrel fermenters in August, just last month we added three more, plus a new 100-barrel bright beer tank. To give you some perspective, each of those tanks will hold 200 kegs or 1,400 cases worth of beer. Our fermentation room is now packed so full that we've had to give our cellarmen acrobatics training just so they can get around, but that's the way we like it.

But none of that is nearly as important as the fact that OLD RUFFIAN IS BACK ON THE SHELVES! WOO! Our huge, hoppy, 2009 GABF bronze medal-winning barley wine works wonders on your palate with its balance of aggressive American hop character and caramely, fruity malt sweetness. This 10.2-percent-ABV, 90-IBU beast will be available in 22-ounce bottles and on draft from December 3 through March 1, so hurry up and hoard as much as you can.

We're also pleased to announce that this year's batches of Barrel-Aged Old Ruffian and Hibernation will be available this month. These (very) limited-edition beers have matured in Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey barrels for nine months, picking up notes of oak, whiskey, chocolate and dark fruit that have transformed these already delicious beers into truly special treats. Barrel-Aged Hibernation is available now, and we'll release Barrel-Aged Old Ruffian on December 14th; both beers come in 75o-milliliter bottles and will only be available in very limited quantities. Watch out for Barrel-Aged Yeti early next year...

We know you think we're awesome (and the feeling's mutual), but we can't help but mention a few more honors that Great Divide has picked up recently: At the Australian International Beer Awards, we won silver medals for Hercules Double IPA and Oak Aged Yeti Imperial Stout as well as a bronze medal for Hades Belgian-Style Golden Ale, and Yeti Imperial Stout, which won a silver medal at this year's Great American Beer Festival, also picked up a silver medal at the Brew New Zealand Beer Awards and a bronze medal at the European Beer Star Awards. And perhaps most exciting, Great Divide was recently named one of the "25 Best American Breweries of the Decade" by Paste magazine.

We'd also like to take this opportunity to wish a fond farewell to bartendress/Q.A. lab wizard Hilary Murphy, who will be leaving us this month after two and a half years of tending to yeast cells, mistreated beer bottles and her devoted following of Tap Room regulars with equal care and zeal. Best of luck to you, Hilary; your departure will render the brewery staff at least 25 percent less photogenic.

As we've said before, we couldn't possibly have had such a successful year without the support of all our fans and admirers, so thanks to all of you for helping us make 2009 one of our best years yet. We wish all of you a very happy holiday season, and here's to an even better 2010!