Great Divide - Belgian Style Yeti

Alright Great Divide, step away from your brew kettle and come over to the corner here with me.  We need to have a chat... People love your Yeti stout, we get it.  Its creamy, smooth, full of flavor and easy to drink.  In fact, we even reviewed it and thought it was great!  But here is where you and I are at a bit of an impasse.  You have taken this Yeti and made, last time I counted, at least 751 different iterations of a brew that does fine as a stand alone stout.  How is one supposed to keep track of all the flavors???  Its like trying to keep track of the different flavors of Jelly Belly's - IT CANT BE DONE!!!  But here I am, crawling back like an addict.  What's next Great Divide... a blueberry infused, whiskey barrel aged Yeti with vanilla bean extract???  (Side note - please don't do this... I was just joking around... I beg you!)

I had always thought the yeti is a mythical creature - a cryptid if you will.  And yet, I have found three species of the yeti in the last few months!  My most recent blurry photo of this beast is of Belgian origin.  Great Divides Belgian style Yeti is created by adding a Belgian yeast strain to the Yeti base brew at fermentation.  Simple enough, right?  Well, as is with almost all Belgian yeast strains, the yeast is where a majority of the flavor comes from.  Spicy, clove, and banana are all flavors you can find in Belgian style brews.  Lets see if these flavors are imparted on this Yeti beast.

This Belgian Yeti is dark and thick.  Light has no chance at breaking through.  A soft, milk chocolate colored foam hangs around the edges of my mug.  The smells are very unique.  You get the chocolaty and roasty from the stout intertwined with that distinct Belgian spice.  I like it!  The flavors are bold, and there are plenty of them to go around.  The base Yeti is full of roasty, coffee and bittersweet chocolate essence.  Then, as the base Yeti lingers, the Belgian spices come through with some black peppercorn, clove, and candied fruit.  Some molasses sweetness starts to become noticeable as this Belgian beast warms.  The 9.6% ABV is hardly a factor.  If anything, its there to make sure the overall flavor is not too sweet.

Overall - Of the three Yeti's I've experience since writing these reviews I'm going to say I like this Belgian style Yeti the best.  This is a huge beer packed full of flavor.  There is a lot going on here.  Roasty, spicy, chocolaty, coffee-ee... its the epitome of a bold RIS.  And yet, its not too sweet either!  I had originally said I liked the espresso oak aged Yeti the best because the additional flavors toned down the sweetness of the base Yeti.  This Belgian style does the same and adds another dimension of flavor.  Give this species a try!