Green Flash Imperial IPA

Brewed by Green Flash Brewing Co.
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Vista, California USA

Cloudy light orange beer, with a foamy, sticky lace - stereotypical west coast giant hop nose, orange peel, mango - tastes a bit oxidized - I guess the bottle is a little old - strong pineapple flavor, with apricot and orange - super dry hoppy character, which I prefer to the sticky sweet malt character that many of these beers exhibit - long summit hop finish - a tasty brew.

22oz bottle. Bright gold color with offwhite head. Nose is definitely more subdued than I was expecting given the West Coast IPA-- aromas of citrus hoppiness, orange and pineapple, with some faint earthiness in the background, along with a sugary note, like cookie dough. Flavor is all hops, really fresh and clean, with a faint sugary malt throughout. Deep bitterness emerges in the finish, rounding out the hops explosion. Smooth palate throughout, and the alcohol is pretty well hidden. A bit sweet for my tastes overall. Not all that far removed from the West Coast IPA, and in that sense not as exciting as I was expecting, but darned tasty.

bottle....i’m not getting into this one so much as this doesn’t add to many of the iipas that exist out there....in summary, a decent iipa that is accented by an amalgamation of piney and citrus hops with malt added for balance. i would easily have this again but nothing makes it shine above the rest.

Bomber courtesy of Joey at South Bay! Definitely the best beer I’ve had from Green Flash. A big, bad-ass SoCal DIPA, this one is very piney and peppery, almost too much so at the expense of more floral or softer characteristics. But if it’s a bit more one-dimensional than I’d ultimately like, it’s damn sure another winner from the home of American IPAs!

22oz. Seems like more than 101 IBUs, hops are definitely the main feature here. Moderate to strong Carbonation, the Alcohol is highly evident. Not quite as refined or complex as I like my Imperial IPAs, could possibly do better with a little bit less alcohol.

Bottle, thanks Wetherel! Given Green Flash’s West Coast IPA, I was expecting an aggressive blast of hops all over the place. This really wasn’t that. The nose was hoppy, sure, but nothing ridiculous. I got strong orange and pot in the nose with some sweet floral scents. I gotta say, this one is pretty unique for the style. The bitterness hits me in the back regions of my palate, hard. Nothing really strikes me up front. More residual dryness is noted on this one. It feels like garlic on my tongue, but has a lot of citrus flavor. The bright citrus/pine blast I’m accustomed to from this style is morphed a bit here. I found this to be a unique delivery of bitterness with more emphasis on grass, vegetation, and a very, very dry pine needle finish. This one wasn’t that resinous, all things considered. Now, I’m not sure how long this bottle has sat around, perhaps it did lose a bit of its edge. But as it stands, there are very strong flavors of fresh hops that make me believe it can’t be too old. I liked the unique flavor on this one, but thought it could stand a bit more oomph.

Bomber, thanks to NachlamSie, shared with Tronraner and NachlamSie. Pours a slightly hazy gold with a lasting white head. The aroma is of pine, citrusy fruits such as grapefruit, orange, and lemon, and hops. At a claimed 101 IBU, I’m surprised at how bearable its bitterness is. It actually isn’t really as bitter as I thought it’d be. The flavour is very clean with pine, citrus, and hops and the finish is very dry. The finish isn’t too intense in bitterness either. Reading the previous rates, I’m beginning to believe that this bottle may have been aged for some time to lose its hopsy bitterness. Either way, it’s very tasteful.

Bomber shared by NachlamSie. Pours a cloudy gold with whitish head. The aroma has lots of orange, vague pineapple, some cookies, and even some onion-like acidity. The flavor is an acidic orange with some lemon and honey. Bitterness is strong, but not mindblowing. The malts are clean and sweet throughout, and the hops citrusy. The finish is slightly tart. Pretty good.