One Drunk Geek: Yeti Review

-by Brian

Hello all you wonderful people in internet-land! Welcome to the first of many Beer Reviews written exclusively for the BGN network. Today, we do something epic. Something deserved of a first episode that not only sounds triumphant, but delicious as well. That particular beast is "Oak Aged Yeti", a Russian Imperial Stout brewed by the fine gentlemen at the Great Divide Brewing Company, located in my home town of Denver, Colorado. (Go Broncos.) 

The Rundown.
Oak aged Yeti, henceforth referred to as "Yeti", is one of 3 different stouts offered by Great Divide, the others being Espresso and Chocolate oak-aged yeti, respectfully. This particular beer has won 3 different silver medal awards in Australia, and has a alcohol percentage of 9.67 percent. Great Divide classifies it as "An Imperial stout aged on new French and American oak chips." They Recommend it served best with steak, brownies or vanilla ice cream. We would personally recommend coffee as a good match however.

The First Impression.
Yeti pours a dark brown with a nice foam head and a pleasing smell. The initial taste however was not what I expected. Rather than a regular stout such as Guinness, this beer is high on the hops, and it shows. The caramelization and overall characteristics of a stout seemed to get lost in what I thought was an ale. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of overly-hoppy beers. Thankfully, the hops do not ruin an overall good beer, but it will throw off anyone used to a traditional stout. The smell resembles a cola with a mocha spike, and would not be out of place in a bar or pub.





The Whole Shebang-bang.
Unfortunately, I wasn't too impressed. This beer had a lot of potential, and I really like what Great Divide tried to do with this particular beer. Perhaps it's my predilection to enjoy beers that aren't overly hoppy or complicated. Having said that, this beer DOES stick out in a crowd, and I would recommend trying it at least once. If you're a hops fan and love guinness, this just might be your new favorite brew.
The taste was good, but nothing I would order twice, at least in the same sitting.

I give Yeti 3.5 stars out of 5. 

Availability: Nationwide, Year round.

Average Price: $10 a Pint.

Stay Thirsty, my Nerds.