Green Flash Imperial IPA

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

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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UPDATED: JAN 16, 2007 Pours a brilliantly clear, full copper color. It is topped by a frothy, initially three-finger thick, light tan colored head that has some staying power to it and even leaves some lacing on the sides of the glass as it recedes. As I pours this a hit of hop aromatics hit my nose; it even has that sort of rank hop character. Ah yes, the aroma is definitely massively hop driven. In addition to the characteristic fruity American hop character there is a touch of the rankness that almost has a sort of garlic-like, maybe onion-type, but certainly herbaceous; a sort of hop reek if you will. A hop reek that seems to be characteristic of a hop like Summit, though this beer is not overly Summit driven, which can get too distracting. Don’t get me wrong though, this beer is dominated by the typical fruity hop driven notes; I get notes of grapefruit, concentrate apricot, lychee, peach and even some light tropical fruit notes. If you really dig for it you can notice some biscuit like malt character, but by and large the malt aromatics only play a supporting role for hops that are the focus of this beer.

Served at a cool, 58°F (14°C), this beer has a bracing hop bite to it from the get go. A long lingering bitterness finishes this beer off, though I would not say that the bitterness is over the top. Lightly sweet from the underlying malt, this serves to accentuate the fruity hop notes. The herbaceous, green hop character from the aroma is a touch muted here in the flavor, but is most certainly still noticeable. The hop character actually has a nice balance between fruit & herbal notes; both are over the top (as they should be in a good Double IPA) and in fact this beer actually leaves a touch of hop burn as it flows down to my stomach. The hop character communicates flavors of candied orange peel, peaches, lychee and tropical fruit as well as notes of basil, a touch of onion, and herbaceous pine. What this thing hits perfectly is the mouthfeel / body; it remains light and drinkable and does not take on that sticky sweetness of many examples of this style; certainly this is a west coast version, and that is certainly the stylistic version that I prefer. It is by no means dry though, there is just enough malt to add some sweetness that really helps to carry the hop flavors.

Deliciously hoppy, yet at times aggressively burning; this is certainly an exercise in self flagellation. I had forgotten how enjoyable a raw, aggressive hop bomb could be, but at the same time it makes me remember that this (and most examples of the style) is not something I would want to be drinking every day.

Purchased: <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp? Liquors, Tucson, AZ

Draft at Lucky Lab. Pours dark yellow with a finger of white head. Aroma is very astringent with some floral notes and caramel maltiness. Taste is medium bitter with a lot of hop resin present. The finish is smooth and the alcohol is well hidden.

22 oz bottle. Pours a honey gold with white head. Aroma is very hoppy. Taste is overwhelming, tart and a bit bitter. Tastes of pine and grapefruit. I was expecting more based on its high ratings. Much prefer IPA from Stone in San Diego

22 fl. oz. bottle from Sailor’s, Helsinki. Pours clear golden with a white head. Hoppy, fruity and malty aroma with some floral notes as well. Somewhat sweet, malty flavour with overwhelming amount of hoppy bitterness, grapefruit and floral tones. A bitter finish. An exquisite IPA.

On tap @ Chuck’s 85th. Pours light golden amber with super thin head. Very faint aroma of hops. Taste is sticky sweet, resinous hops with well balanced malt. Hops are surprisingly in check for a SD IIPA, but I guess that’s why they came up with Palate Wrecker. Really balanced for the style. The sweetness does hint at the strength, but kinda nice in a world of crazy hopped IPAs.

A really very nice IIPA. Didn’t have a massive amount of hop aroma but big in the hop flavour department. Good malt too to bring it all together.

Great aroma and mouth feel. There was something about the flavor that didn’t seem quite right. Maybe I had a bad night with the palette, but this wasn’t a 99 beer. Not sure I can describe what I didn’t like, but it wasn’t a bad flavor. That being said, I still like it quite a bit. Very good and I’ll definitely drink again if I can find it here in Indiana.

Very tasty, not surprisingly, I-IPA which is still very subtle. It does not double-barrel those 9,4% of alcohol, but is a very smooth drink. Aftertaste is nicely resiny reminiscent of the West Coast IPA. Winner!

Tap at Rattle & Hum NYC. Darkish amber with a thin white head, good lace. Nose is lovely and floral, like floral gums, fresh cut damp grass. Mouth is nice and bitter, grassy, touch of aniseed, touch beef stock. Lasting dry bitter hoppy freshness, that lasting smell when you've had your fingers in a bag of wet hops. Wonderful beer. Only thing that could possibly be better is for the floral taste to last longer. Excellent. ---via BeerBuddy

Bottle. Fantastic hop aromas. A very hoppy beer, but not as bitter as i thought it would be considering the IBU level, but no mistaking it as a double IPA. A very well made beer.

Pint @ Collin’s. This is the one everyone’s been raving about, eh? Yes it’s a rather delicious imperial IPA and it knocked me down more than I care to admit. Beautiful citrus aroma and and ever so slight malty backbone make this a highly drinkable beer.