Definitely not the Abominable Snowman.
During the winter season there is nothing better than sitting by the fireplace with a glass of a nice, dark, roasty stout. There are so many options available but none with the vision or grandeur of the Yeti Series of offerings by Great Divide. “It’s all about creating an image of something huge. It’s kind of funny that we picked a Himalayan folklore creature but it’s what we picked.” Brian Dunn, owner of Great Divide, explains where the name of one of their brewery’s best offerings came from.
In recent years not only has Great Divide become more dominant in the Philadelphia market but so has its incredible, award winning series of Yeti beers. When talking about the origins of the Yeti, Dunn notes, “It was about 8 years ago we wanted to come out with an imperial stout and IPA. The beer was another name in a series called ‘Maverick.’ We had trademark issues and the IPA became Titan IPA and the stout became the Yeti.” Dunn also noted that along with the Yeti, the Titan IPA and Hercules have been some of their bestsellers in the East Coast market. The Yeti started with the original stout, but through a process of slightly modifying the original recipe and adding other ingredients to enhance the flavors, an entire clan of Yeti was born. The Oak Aged Yeti is aged for 5 weeks on oak, while the Espresso Oak Aged Yeti added a layer of coffee. The Chocolate Oak Aged Yeti tones down the hops and adds cocoa nibs to create a dramatic, chocolaty aroma. Finally, there is a very limited release of a Barrel Aged Yeti which will likely only be found throughout the West Coast and Colorado. With exception to the original Yeti, all the other offerings are seasonal with various release periods throughout the year. It is also worth mentioning that the Yeti recently won its third medal at the 2009 Great American Beer Festival bringing in the silver medal.