Green Flash Barleywine

Brewed by Green Flash Brewing Co.
Style: Barley Wine
San Diego, California USA

Serve in Snifter

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Pours the color of leathered blood orange w/ a full semi creamy, spattered froth that recedes slowly. Aroma of huge piney hops and sweet caramel. Full nectar w/ mellow residual effers. This is a hopped up version of the style. When you’re sick of barley wine, drink this one. A generous use of hops hides the sweet caramel all the way to the end leaving bitter scar tissue. I find myself feeling for sloughed off inner mouth tissue. Nuances [is all they could be called after that assault] of cramel, slight cherry, and leather. This is the arena where IIPA meets Barley Wine. A nice change of pace. Finish is blistering w/ the hops really digging in. I highly recommend this brew.

Glass: snifter Purchased at: Joe Canal’s Lawrenceville, NJ Price: $4.79 Size: 22 fl oz ABV: 10% IBU: n/a Estimated Calories: 400C RateBeer Rating: 93 Aural: quiet opening, gentle carbonation, uneventful pour Aroma 10 out of 10 Intensity: strong Balance: sweet and sharp Impression: very nice Malt Aroma: raisin prunes Hops Aroma: rose spicy grapefruit Other Aroma: grapes, sour, cherry Notes: An amazing aroma. Incapacitating. Appearance 5 out of 5 Color: dark ruby Clarity: brilliant Head Retention: average Lace: poor Notes: A menacing appearance - deep beautiful ruby color with brilliant clarity under an off white yellow head. Flavor 10 out of 10 Intensity: strong Balance: bitter Impression: very nice Malt Flavor: barley, pumpernickel, brown sugar, walnut, toffee, dark roast Hops Flavor: flint, tropical flowers, red pepper flake, grapefruit Other: maple syrup, raisins Notes: wonderful, deep, rich, bold, dark, raisin, delicious, favorite Palate 5 out of 5 Mouthfeel Sensation: drying warming Body: full Carbonation: average Finish Length: long Intensity: strong Balance: bitter Notes: bitter, long finish, strong, alcohol General Impression: 20 out of 20 Craftmanship: excellent Freshness: fresh Personal Taste: loved Notes: well done, great price, praiseworthy, fantastic

650ml bottle. 2011 vintage. Looks great when poured into a snifter glass. Layers of deep copper red colours with a tight packed pillow of foam on top. Weighty in the glass which is always a good sign. Caramel, vanilla, butterscotch and toffee in the aroma. Thick in the mouth and long on the palate. The flavour is as good as the rest of the beer. This is a knockout beer and one that will take a while to get through. What more can I say a perfect score.

I found a 2008 bottle at my bevmo. (that’s how bad the place is it’s been there since 2008 and was covered in dust at the back of a shelf.) Anywho. Great beer it aged wonderfully. The malts, caramel and toffee really push through and the hops became almost a pineapple aftertaste. Really enjoyable.

Deep cloudy, mahogany pour, intense creamy head, strong but crisp on the tongue. A delicious treat.

Very deep caramel maltiness in aroma. The flavor is strong on the caramel, almost a very sweet Werthers caramel candy flavor to it, along with a good maltiness and a warming alcohol finish. A great ale all around.

Wonderful hoppy aroma and malt complexity. Caramel and toffee notes. Delicious. Thinking about picking up another and aging.

2008 Vintage bomber... this Barleywine rocks! This is the first bottle I’ve had of this and it is 1-2 years old at this point.... this could keep going in the cellar for some time with more development, but it is drinking wonderful right now... it pours a deep deep red with a 2 finger off white head... the head lingers for most of the time in the glass as a 1/4" lacing... big aroma filled with citrus hops, apple, huge caramel malts, and lots of dark fruit... medium to big body overlaps the tongue... the citrus notes dominate the front of the mouth with some spice and grapefruit hop notes... over the top of the mouth some fruit characters really shine such as: plum, raisin, apple, banana, dates and red grapes.... very smooth sides.... the finish is filled with a burst of alcohol and a huge citrus bitterness.... this is a very hop forward and aggressive American Barleywine and even in the cellar for a couple years, this beer is still very bitter. absolutely brilliant!

UPDATED: JUL 8, 2011 2011-07-06, bottle, vintage 2008, 3 years old, 8-5-8-4-16=41
Beautiful dark amber color; medium sized creamy head. The deep malt aroma start having an intriguing phenolic vein. Although still powerful, the body seems to get thinner, which may improve the drinkability; there is a quite strong flavor of caramel with a side of roasted nuts; the sweetness is moderate; there may be some indirect signs of age, but not much oxidisation; quite strong bitterness, although the hop character is somehow lost; the final also portrays some roasted nuts.
Still very enjoyable, well balanced instead of the bomb it used to be; probably easier to drink so.

2008-02-20, 8-5-9-5-18=45
Beautiful hazy red dark amber color, with a creamy head. Nutty and sweet caramel dominates this beer; the aroma has also a resiny hop and traces of phenol and bitter almonds. It’s full bodied, sweet and extremely bitter, with rhubarb candies, evident resins and bitter almonds. Very long final, satisfying every desire for malt and hop.
Out of my memory, I associate it to Sierra Nevada Bigfoot. Overall is powerful and well balanced, the kind of beer that I need.

2006-04-30, as 2nd Anniversary Ale, 8-4-8-5-16=41
Hazy dark brown color; creamy head. Malty aroma, some aromatic hop, light fruits, light phenol, light pine needles. Strongest malt taste, sweet caramel, strong hoppiness with some resins and light grapefruit. Not really elegant, but very good.

Like a mellow version of that most arrogant of heavily-hopped flagship American micro beers, i.e., less grapefruity-astringent and more smooth and mellow on the flavor as well as finish. Just a slight shade darker and it would be a dead ringer appearance-wise.