Green Flash Le Freak

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

The brewers at Green Flash Brewing Company have really out done themselves with this convergence of beer styles where American Imperial IPA meets Belgium trippel. The end result is a zesty brew with enticing American hops and Belgian yeast aromatics that lead you to delicious malts and a complex layering of hop flavors that quench and refresh your pallet. When you pour it you notice its orangish amber color with a huge amount of American hops on the nose with notes of citrus. The palate itself feels heavy at first but then leaves you with a silky smooth mouth full of yeast and hops beautifully layered with fruity flavors of banana and grapefruit.

This was a really good take on this new "style." Aroma was citric hops over faint Belgian yeast. Deep gold appearance, nice head. Clear on first pour, cloudy on refills as yeast on bottom got stirred up. Flavor was a really nice surprise. Often I find the hops and the yeast don’t agree on these Belgo-American ales, but they got it right here. Perhaps it was a less phenolic Belgian yeast combined with a low-cohumolone hop? Who cares? Lightly honey malts combined with Belgian spiciness, faint clove, and a really good tangerine hop finish. Really liked this one, drinkable as opposed to just something to ponder over.

[Bottle] Pours a dark golden color with tons of foamy white head. The aroma was mainly fruity, with a slight touch of yeast as well. A decent amount of citrus initially in the taste. More of a subdued malt presence takes over from there. Sweet malt and spice notes seem to clash with the hops in here. I find this is a common problem with hopped Belgians and weizens.

Blind tasting at Papsø’s
Cloudy deep blond color; medium creamy head. Good hoppy aroma, harsh, fruity (grapefruit, oranges…), sweat. Medium body, some malt and toffee flavor, minimum residual sweetness, strong bitterness, resiny and with citrus fruit peel fruitness. Strong final. Aggressive IPA, very well hopped. Very good.

9/19/2008: Le Freak is copper-colored with a foamy off-white head. The beer is hazy and has a mild amount of visible carbonation. Orange/citrus hops, sugary malt, Belgian fruit, peach, pineapple, and cotton candy are all present in the aroma. The beer tastes floral and citrusy with a high bitterness. There is also soft pineabpple, a spicy Belgian backbone, and a high amount of alcohol that is well-contained. This medium-bodied beer has an average body. It reminds me of a Trippel with a soft edge to it. Overall this beer is pretty good and better than the Belgian IPA from Stone.

1 pt. 6 fl. oz. bottle (Imperial Pale/Belgian-Style Trippel; Alc. by Vol. 9.2%) shared by Tmoney99. Thanks Tom! Rating #370 for this beer.

OK, OK, I must confess that I fell in love with Green Flash after taking a whiff of their West Coast IPA. So, a hoppy tripel? I can deal with that. To me, this beer doesn’t disappoint: the big, grapefruity-lemony aroma is there along with some Belgian yeast. The flavors have a hop-sharpness about them, but nicely wed with the more balanced and estery notes of a tripel. Palate is a bit heavier than other more traditional Belgian Tripels, but it goes nicely with the “bigger” flavor. The finish is significantly hoppy, but how can that be a knock for a hophead like me?

Coles Draught - VERY grassy hops per the usual IPA, but with added Triple alcohol, bread and fruit character.

Bottle. Pours a hazy orange/amber, nice, medium sized off-white head. Aroma is hops, malt and caramel. Malt, hops, some vague, sugary citrus notes and very subtle sour notes in the background. A little too sugary on the finish for my tastes.