To every yin there is a yang. Nowhere is this more true than at Great Divide Brewery in Denver, where something even bigger than their amazing beer is brewing: balance.

Dicitionary.com defines balance as "a state of equilibrium or equipoise; equal distribution of weight, amount, etc;" specific to winemaking, "the degree to which all the attributes of a wine are in harmony, with none either too prominent or deficient." Equipoise is a beautiful word to illustrate how complimentary, harmonious flavors commingle on the palate, no?

In the spirit of genuine solidarity it is the seasoned beer brewers of Great Divide who straddle this volatile line with perfection. The award-winning brewer has proven a worthy adversary to even the most accomplished breweries. Great Divide has received such high honors as being labeled one of the "Best Brewers in the World" by Rate Beer and one of the "All Time Top Breweries on Planet Earth" by Beer Advocate. Balance is the key to their success.

Balance is necessary in all walks along the culinary promenade. As we add sugar to our lemonade to balance the tart of the lemon, we add hops to our beer to counter the sweet of the malt. The best chefs understand that the right amount of delicate seasonings can bring out the more subtle flavors of their food, while too much of any one flavor can be a detriment. The precise ratio of ingredients to achieve desired results is not only a matter of personal taste, but one of practice, patience, and wisdom through experience. The best brewers in the world don't spring up overnight (and those that do, have probably been practicing in their basements for a while).

In the much larger sense, there is the all-encompassing figurative or interpretive definition of balance. There is the idea of stasis or parity that brings equality to the universe; the individually balanced beers at Great Divide are but a microcosm to a much greater balancing act.

Balance, Wikipedia style:

In the metaphysical or conceptual sense, balance is used to mean a point between two opposite forces that is desirable over purely one state or the other, such as a balance between the metaphysical Law and Chaos — law by itself being overly controlling, chaos being overly unmanageable, balance being the point that minimizes the negatives of both.

This type of balance truly exemplifies the yin and yang, the black and white, good and evil. These are the opposing forces that find themselves intertwined in the natural world - and for our concerns, the balance of stylistic approach.

The American (craft beer) Revolution

Some time ago I reviewed Weyerbacher's Blithering Idiot, an English Style Barley Wine. To recap the style, a Barley Wine is a beer - typically very high in alcohol and full-bodied. The English version of the ale is sweet and malty with very little bitterness, while the American version is aggressively hopped: the yin and the yang. With each leaning toward opposite ends of the scale - one bitter and pungent, the other smooth, mild, and malty - we find equal footing somewhere between two extremes on the spectrum.

While 19th century England was the birthplace of the Barley Wine style, Americans have redefined tradition (as we do so well) by taking the original and cramming it full of hops. Such is the way American beers have stood their ground over the last 20 years or so - as seen by the success of the Americanized IPA's, for instance; and we've done so without too much contention or opposition from originating sources.

See, while it is the American craft beer revolution we celebrate in my country, the world can often see eye to eye when it comes to innovation, particularly in beer. It is the world economy that allows us to play off of one another's styles and evolve this marketplace into what has become, arguably, the best age this world has ever seen for great beer.

Americans have taken several-hundred-year-old Belgian traditions and English styles like Barley Wines and IPA's, transformed them,and exported them back to their native lands where they see further revisions in the motherland; and ultimately the consumer benefits from a swirling cycle of international creative reinvention. Beer, the great equalizer, is bringing balance to the world.

Experience

Great Divide's Old Ruffian claims to be an American version of the Barley Wine style, aiming to become one of my favorites in fact. Prior to this recent purchase from a small bottle shop I have had this beer on one other occasion. I recall loving it, so I wanted to check my impressions before offering it up for review. I stand by my conviction to review only beers that are rich in history/editorial-value or beers that are world-class. This is the latter. 

Great Divide Old Ruffian pours a hazy ruby-brown, erupting into a frothy, creamy off-white head.

The nose smells of sugary sweet ripe fruit; malty and almost chocolatey background notes are prominent. I use the generic term "fruit" because the sweet fruity flavors are indistinguishable and perhaps married with a little alcohol sting on the far back end - nothing jarring or overwhelming. Overall the brew offers up a very attractive and welcoming nose.

On the palate: intense sweet malt up-front sweeps in with a whisper of a chocolate backbone. There is a slightly delayed wave of hops that follows, carrying a full, warming, lasting bitter and some alcohol tinge. A sharp lasting citrusy backbone persists for another sip. An interesting almost earthy/peaty and spicy hops presence exists in the aftertaste as my belly warms and I stare at the lacing.

And oh - the lacing is immaculate: it sprays the flares of the glass like a Pollock, emblazoned in permanent statuesque poise - impenetrable and unmoved.

Final Thoughts

Personally, I am challenged to call this a traditional American -OR- English style, rather a hybrid of sorts. An assertive hops presence on the tail makes it known that the brewer was not shy in the finishing douses - typical of the American barley wines, but the nose and up-front sweetness temporarily disguise this brew in the English style. It is, however, the powerful hops presence that puts this more on the American-style side of the argument.

This is a great beer to illustrate the pure and consistent level of talent from Great Divide. I never really liked strong hops in my barley wines, but the balance is so artfully executed, and the flavors twist eloquently from front to back. Sweet, spicy, hoppy, and attractively bitter this is a big beer in every sense of the word. This is my favorite time of year for barley wines and I'm confident that I'll be coming back to this one before the seasons turn again.

As a final note, I am aware of my proclivity to offer glowing reviews for big/imperial beers. While I do try to approach different styles with equal footing, my palate tends to favor bold, extremely flavorful beers (like barley wines and imperial stouts) over the clean, mild, subtler ones (like pale lagers). I offer this reminder that while I keep an open mind and an internal Rolodex of tasting notes to reference, the idea of "good" and "bad" beers remains very much a matter of personal taste. I am as objective as I can be, knowing my gravitation toward these styles; but I keep my process and methodologies transparent because anything else would be rather, well... unbalanced.