Green Flash Le Freak

Brewed by Green Flash Brewing Co.
Style: Abbey Tripel
Vista, California USA

Pours a glowing hazy orange color with a white head. Smell is belgian yeast, fresh spicy pepperiness, and hops. Taste is nicely hoppy and moderately bittered. Some peppery fruity spicy belgian yeast plays a big part in the flavor as well. I liked this probably the most of all the belgian IPA crosses I’ve had.

Pour is a murky, golden color with a full, white, creamy, and fluffy head; head is mostly lasting with minimal sproatic lace. Nose is nice with notes of pear, estery yeast, some clove, light pepper, faint pine resins, and faint cookie. Flavor is an unapproachable turn of events; yeasty notes disappate quickly to harsh, dry, earthy, woody notes that do not compliment the Belgian notes at all. Palate is medium, soft to lively and harsh. Finishes with the same earthy, woody, dry notes almost becoming herbal and an off putting lingering flavor on the tongue. A decent look to the beer and an interesting nose, but once the beer hits your lips, it is utterly despicable with poor IIPA notes filling the palate. Beyond smelling tis one, it is a drain pour.

Bottle. Pours a deep orange with a hazy ring of white head. Aroma of lots of sweet melon rind. Flavor of more melon rind and light fruits with a bitter rind finish. Heavy mouthfeel. More of a Belgian strong ale than an IIPA...I’m not very impressed by this beer. There are much better hoppy Belgians, this one is a little boring and bland.

Bottle. Aroma of grassy/herbal bitterness, spiciness (spices? hops? anybody?), sweet citrus, a hint of other tropical fruits. Flavor sweetly fruity with that herbal bitterness growing in the mouth and upon swallow. Herbal bitterness is the lasting impression, as though that wasn’t clear from the rest of my review. DIPA certainly does not fit its style, but then again, Belgian Strong doesn’t either. Hard to rate for me, but quite tasty and certainly very interesting.

22 oz bottle. Lightly hazed pink orange with a fluffy white head leaving lacy rings. Nose is pine, floral yeast and spearmint bubblegum. Fresh, crisp and enticing. Prominent but fuzzy carb; a little oily and resiny. Substantial stuff. Taste is honey, basil, orange, grapefruit and lime peel. Certainly the most hop forward of the recent Belgian fusions and maybe one of the best.

Poured a hazy amber color with a medium sized, white head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of pine, floral hops, citrus fruits, some caramel, resin, grass, and light spices. Taste of sweet, resiny, toffee malts, pine, citrus fruits, light tobacco, citrus, and a dry, bitter, grapefruit hop bitterness, with a bit of alcohol as well.

Bottle from Monument in Corcord, CA. Label indicates 9.2%. Commercial description reworded slightly. Pours a hazy ripe apricot color with a decent white head that failed to persist for long. Smells like tripel candi with spice and fruity hop. Tickles my nose. Medium+ body with creamy carbonation. Flavor is quite bitter, balanced with candi, and the fruits are notable. The finish is more bitter than not, and it’s quite a taste treat. It’s definitely worth a try.

650 ml bottle from Bev4less. pours a slightly hazy copper color with a big sudsy/clumpy off-white head that had good retention and plenty of lacing. The aroma is medium in strength with Belgian yeasts, light esters, spices, and grassy hops. The taste is hops forward, with biter hops at the forefront, followed by a brown sugar/rock candy middle and a bitter-sweet hoppy conclusion. The mouthfeel is full, and satisfying. The finish is long and piney-biter. Overall: Very tasty stuff, and it begs a comparison to Stone’s Cali-Belgie and Coronado’s Hoppy Daze. They are all winners, but I prefer the fresh hoppy daze.