Green Flash Imperial IPA

Bottle courtesy of Naven: Poured a deep copper color ale with huge foamy head with perfect retention and some good lacing. Aroma of red grapefruit is astonishing and up there with the best of the style. Taste is also dominated by some red grapefruit with some medium bitterness and some light caramel malt. Body is above average with some good carbonation. I have to admit that this hop bombs is definitely better then standard IIPA out there.

THOUGHTS: I was looking foward to trying this one. Their West Coast IPA is probably my favorite IPA so I was hoping this would be twice as good. Well, while not twice as goo it is at least nearly as good. This is probably the first time I’ve preferred a brans IPA to their double IPA. Still a great beer. But I had to choos, I’d have the West Coast IPA. TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a light orangey amber with a small, white head that left good lacing which looked like abstract art. The aroma was heavy citrus (grapefruit and orange) hops. The initial flavor was moderately to heavily bitter, while the finsh was moderately sweet and bitter with a long duration. The medium to full body was dry with lightly fizzy carbonation and a metallic finish.

Bottle. Nice orange-yellow pour with a dense head. Good full hop aroma and malt profile. Alcohol is detectable, but matches well with the resiny notes. Full flavored with a long, lingering bitter finish. Very well done. Rerate - had on cask at Blind Tiger. Soapy and really floral. Really an excellent beer on cask.

Date: 11/30/2006
Mode: Draft
Source: Liars Club

Appearance: clear dark yellow, wispy white head, drippy lace,
Aroma: big citrus aroma,
Flavor: lots of citrus flavor, tongue scraping bitterness,
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Date: 04/05/2008
Mode: bottle
Source: tasting
Score: 3.4 to 3.7

Aroma: sweet crystal malt comes through the aroma to balance the citrus hops,
Body: creamy body,
Flavor: more of the sweet crystal flavor comes through to balance the billerness allowing the hop flavor more control,

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.7/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **4

Quite an attractive pour of a brilliant, cloudy golden orange. A thick and fantastically milky crown. Aroma first suggests a salted caramel ice cream. Mildly sappy with a lot of urinal pungency and sweet clementine on the other side. A quick wink of mango. Toffee smacks first on the tongue, thick and sweet. A foul density of catty piss hops envelops this quickly, with a rotted, earthy bearing. Vanilla custard sweetness in turn dominates this with a little warmth, developing a lovely little burnt edge. Syrupy, plastic astringency and some obscure vinegar. Finishes with old orange juice, smacking on a dry punch of gin and lime. Full palate. Heavy alcohol. Not intolerable, but difficult to drink, with few redeeming qualities.

This Imperial IPA pours a slightly deep orange gold color from a 22oz bottle. Medium to large sized white foamy head, with good retention and nice lacing. Aroma is piney and grapefruity. A medium bodied Imperial IPA. Malts are fruity and sweet. The hops are citrusy, grapefruity and a touch floral. The hops are really upfront and somewhat chewy and juicy. Nice balance between the malts and hops, with the hops being way forward. Lots of hop flavors without a lot of bitterness, well there is a lot of lingering bitterness but its all at the finish. Lively carbonation. Nice example of the San Diego IPA. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

22oz, consumed on a hot sticky summer night, which is quite like the beer, this beer slams a ton of hops, however also yields a rather sticky resiny mouthfeel which lingers for quite some time, but the best cure, just drink it fast :D Good West Coast IIPA.

What more is there to say. Pretty much the best of the best. Well priced as well.