Green Flash West Coast I.P.A. - Green Flash Brewing Co.

oberon

North Carolina

4.55/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Ooured a slightly hazy burnt orange with a thinner but sticky white head that leaves spots of lace as it settled.Fresh raw hop aroma comes at ya hard when first opening the bottle extremely piney with big grapefruit notes as well I even noticed a touch of caramel malt as well.Well oddly enough hop dominated hop oils and resin dominate quite piney but that resiny finish is great just enough of a hint of caramel makes it a gem in my mind.A few years ago I would have thought a good beer but a little over the top for me now I take it all in,gotta love the hops.

Serving type: bottle

02-23-2006 02:14:26 | More by oberon

NeroFiddled

Pennsylvania

3.85/5  rDev -9.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Beautiful appearance. Great head retention and lacing. Massive assault of pungent, resinous, grassy, and floral hops in the nose. Medium-full bodied with a perfectly crisp carbonation. Firm, toasty/bready malt base. Layer upon layer of resinous hop flavor. Bracing bitterness. Finishes a bit too resinous, and that tends to hold what bitterness is there for just a little bit too long. West Coast IPA? No doubt!!! Be forwarned then, if you're NOT a hophead, this one will slap you senseless! :)

Serving type: bottle

03-04-2006 00:01:22 | More by NeroFiddled

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

4.38/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Cloudy amber hue, big, pudding-y, lace-leaver of a head, 1/2" and long-lasting.

Aroma: wide-open hoppitude, big, bold and brassy, loads of citric tones, piney resins, lemon rinds, pineapple, bristling bitterness...ni-i-ice.

Big, bad, full mouthfeel. Large occupation of palate. Dominant bitterness, but utterly delicious. Extremeness to the extreme. A blast of flavor, sizzling the tongue, and delivering unremittently, absolutely, astonishingly fantastically...wait, what was I saying? Oh, yeah, ...tastes great!
More please!

(I could go for a few of these, yessirree...)

Serving type: bottle

04-09-2006 08:54:01 | More by feloniousmonk

WesWes

New York

4/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The beer pours an amber color with a thick frothy offwhite head that slowly fades to lacing. The aroma is good. It has a nice malty scent that boasts of pale and light crystal malts along with loads of citrus hops. The taste is good also. It has an intensely bitter hop flavor that goes down slow and warms on the finish. THe malt bill provides a stable balance and an elevated abv. . The mouthfeel is fine. It is a full bodied beer with adequate carbonation. This is a good drinking IPA. It has good malt flavor and a heavy hitting hop character.

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2006 01:14:22 | More by WesWes

drabmuh

Maryland

4.25/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Now this is what I'm talking about. I think the west coast produces the best IPAs in the country, which sucks for me since I"m on the east coast. This beer was served from a bottle into a pint glass in a local bar in the D.C. area. Immediately, I noticed the hop aroma. It was clear and present. The head was there but thin and disappeared as I drank. It was light copper and relatively clear. As I drank the beer, the bitterness grew in my mouth. There wasn't an aftertaste in the classic sense of it, it was just building on me. Even with the increased hoppiness, the beer was still drinkable. A good example of an American IPA.

Serving type: bottle

08-26-2009 04:25:34 | More by drabmuh

Mora2000

Texas

4.43/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

No bottling date, but the bottle is one of the newer Green Flash bottles so the beer cannot be too old.

The beer pours an orange-amber color with a white head. The aroma is very nice and is dominated by hops. I get a lot of pine and orange notes in the aroma.

The flavor is also very nice. I get a lot of pine and grapefruit notes. There is also some nice bread notes in the flavor, but the beer is still dominated by the hops. Medium bitterness and very drinkable.

Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

One of my favorite IPAs, I just wish they would start dating the bottle so I could buy it, as I don't buy IPAs that don't have bottled on dates.

Serving type: bottle

01-11-2011 03:44:11 | More by Mora2000

zeff80

Missouri

4.43/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A - Poured out a clear, golden-orange color with a two-finger, pillowy, head of ivory foam. It left some thin rings of lace on the glass.

S - It smelled of citrus, grapefruit and some bubblegum. A light caramel aroma.

T - It tasted of of spicy hops with grapefruit flavors. It has a great burnt toast maltiness.

M - It was crisp and sharp with a dry finish. A medium bodied brew.

D - This is a great IPA. It really holds up to Pliny the Elder (which I love).

Serving type: bottle

07-30-2009 15:09:41 | More by zeff80

metter98

New York

4.22/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A: It poured copper in color with a finger-sized head. There is good head retention and a thin layer of bubbles consistently covered the surface. A light amount of carbonation is visible from the rising bubbles.
S: There is a moderate and complex aroma of citrusy and piney hops in the nose. Smells of grapefruit really stand out to the nostrils.
T: The taste is mainly bitter and has lots of grapefruit flavors.
M: It feels medium-bodied and very crisp on the palate. There is some dryness in the finish.
D: I would definitely try this beer again. It packs in a lot of different hop flavors but isn't overly bitter.

Serving type: bottle

05-29-2010 15:23:24 | More by metter98

MasterSki

Illinois

3.95/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Big thanks to MacDomer for tossing one of this into a trade. No best before date on the bottle that I can find. Served in my trusty Surly pint glass.

A - Murky amber color, with one finger off-white head. Dissipates quickly and leaves a nice lace. No visible bubbles. I was looking for a little more head and better retention.

S - Bitter smell on this one - you can sense those 95 IBUs in there. Pine & lemon, with only a faint malt backbone. The smell doesn't jump out of the glass on this one.

T - Very strong bitterness, only a hint of sweetness at the beginning and in the aftertaste. There's a lot of lemon and grapefruit in this one. It's unbalanced, but that's what I expect from something called West Coast IPA.

M - Kind of dry, but otherwise very smooth. Doesn't leave a lot of resinous character behind. A little bit watery as well.

D - The reasonable amount of carbonation and the sweet aftertaste combine to make this eminently drinkable, even if it isn't among the greatest IPAs I've ever had.

A nice teaser - I'm definitely interested in checking out some of Green Flashes more exotic offerings.

Serving type: bottle

01-10-2009 22:31:10 | More by MasterSki

Gueuzedude

Arizona

3.8/5  rDev -10.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pours a clear full copper color and is topped by a frothy light tan colored head. The aroma starts out with a raw herbal hop note but then moves to softer, sweeter citrus notes of grapefruity and orange peel. The taste has a slight sweetness up front which carries through towards the finish. The malt sweetness accentuates the grapefruit-like citrus hop notes, but there is also a noticeable raw hop note that is a mix of herbal notes and pine. The beer has a solid bitterness to it that slowly builds towards the long astringent, lingeringly bitter finish. This is a nice example of an IPA, perhaps the body is a bit thicker than usual and at this point I might like it a bit thinner, but come another day the body would probably hit the spot just perfectly. Perhaps the finish is a bit too raw and astringent with the heavy handed hops, but it definitely is an enjoyable hop blast of a beer.

Serving type: bottle

10-30-2005 01:19:21 | More by Gueuzedude

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

3.95/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Acquired via trade from Phoicon, so a big “Thank you” goes out to him.
Poured from a 12oz. bottle into a US tumbler pint glass.

A: The beer is a light amber color, with a thin foamy off-white head that fades slowly and leaves thick lace on the glass.

S: The smell is pleasantly intense with your typical IPA blend of hops and citrus.

T: Big hops burst up front as you would expect followed by the citrus sweetness and malt backbone. Finish is filled with hops bitterness.

M: Very crisp, but a little too bitter to be smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, dry finish.

D: Tasty, not very filling, goes down ok, it’s a good representation of style, but not my favorite.

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2006 06:31:17 | More by TheManiacalOne

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

4.05/5  rDev -4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

This beer poured out as a orangey yellow color with a strong looking white head that sticks to the glass very nicely. The smell of the beer is a fruity, floral and piney. Very inviting aroma on this one. The taste is very good also, its loaded with the pine like grapefruit flavors that make these west coast IPA's so special. The mouthfeel of the brew is decent in my opinion. It is fairly light bodied, it goes down nice and easy, it leaves a great dry cotton mouth feeling after each sip. Overall it's a damn good brew, worth trying if you haven't already.

Serving type: on-tap

08-21-2011 17:32:22 | More by Knapp85

russpowell

Oklahoma

4.28/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Had this on tap at falling rock tap house in denver.

Pours amber to brown with a 1.5" white head. Very good lacing & average head retention

S: Loads of piney hops & not much else gets through

Taste: Big piney hops up front that evetually let a little malt sneak in. Finishes with a flourish of grapefruitty hops & dryness

MF:Medium with good carbonation. A little too overhopped to for perfect balance IMO

Drinks easier than its 7.0 abv, hopheads will love this. A very good IPA

Serving type: on-tap

07-04-2006 02:44:16 | More by russpowell

emerge077

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to Weibull for sending this extra in trade!

Pours a hazy copper, foggy with tiny sediment. Rapid streams of carbonation, feeding a dense, creamy head of foam. Arcs of lacing form too, adding to it's visual appeal.

Aroma takes awhile to surface, even at a cool temperature, there's just the barest hint of earthy hops. edit: subsequent bottles have delivered a cannabis hop blast!

Deep earthy herbal hop notes, leafy. Very vivid flavor, hop vegetation set against a blanket of malty toffee, striking a nice balance. A resiny bitterness lingers long into the finish. Body is more substantial than your average IPA. Fairly low carbonation with a creamy feel.

Mmm, great stuff! I could see this as a fridge staple in the summer.

Serving type: bottle

03-14-2008 03:26:39 | More by emerge077

Halcyondays

California

4.5/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

12 oz. bottle, bought at the Hi-Times Wine Cellars in Costa Mesa, CA,

A: Dark amber-brown, with a thick white head which lasts for the whole glass, excellent lacing.

S: Great smell, with fragrant whole-leaf hops, with abundant pine and citrus.

T: Hop dominated, done well, with mostly grapefruit, there is some bit of malt in the aftertaste, very robust and powerful for an IPA.

M: Smooth, creamy, and quite resiny.

D: A great West Coast IPA, very hoppy and tasty, a stellar production, will definitely buy again. Great job by Green Flash!

Serving type: bottle

07-29-2007 22:18:26 | More by Halcyondays

Gavage

New Jersey

4.58/5  rDev +8%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Appearance: crystal clear orange in color with a 3" fluffy merangue like head. The head lingers quite a while.

Smell: loads of hop bitterness leap out of the glass. Citrus tones are more laid back.

Taste: a pleasant sharp pine bitterness nicely balanced with malt sweetness. Lighter orange and grapefruit tones rounds it out. Overall a very hoppy IPA.

Mouthfeel: crisp from start to finish. Long aftertaste of pine bitterness and citrus. Medium bodied.

Drinkability: this is a wonderful IPA that applies a pleasant assault on the tastebuds. Some may consider this approaching a DIPA, but the lighter malt levels makes this a super easy drinking IPA.

Serving type: bottle

10-13-2006 12:32:02 | More by Gavage

jwc215

New Jersey

4.43/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to Wasatch for including this one in a trade -

Pours clouded copper with a one-finger head that descends to half the original size and stays.

The smell is of West Coast hops for sure - piney and citric.

The taste is of juicy hops - piney and citric - with enough support from a caramelish and pale malt to tie them together. Smooth. Alcohol well-covered with just a touch in the bitterish finish.

It has a firm medium body.

A hoppy delight here. Carefully balanced to give support to the hops that take center stage.

Serving type: bottle

03-06-2008 01:37:54 | More by jwc215

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

4.43/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I picked up a bottle of this in Austin, Texas, as I've been coming to appreciate the efforts of San Diego-area brewers' take on the West Coast IPA style.

This beer pours a hazy dark orangish-amber, with lots of puffy, creamy white head, that recedes after a few minutes, leaving lacing around the glass. The aromas of grapefruit and orange are strong out of the glass, and there's a mild sweet caramel malt essence mixed in there too. The flavour starts with a heavy dose of bitter citrus hops - grapefruit, orange rind, and carries it through to the finish, stopping momentarily to allow a moderate malt body to get on board. The carbonation is quite light, allowing the hops to shine through on their own. There is a slight warming after the fact from the elevated alcohol. I find I'm drinking this rather quickly, it's so tasty, and alas, I've just got the single bottle. Definitely a winner for the hopheads who like at least a modicum of balance in their beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2009 23:34:37 | More by biboergosum

tempest

Pennsylvania

4.35/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On-tap at Liberty St. Tavern.

Bottom line: big hops yet drinkable. This toes the line of being too hoppy, but doesn't cross. Maybe my pour was just had the CO2 turned down, but there was zero head and lacing on this pint. The aroma was of big juicy, reisinous grapefuit with floral notes. The flavor expands with more citrus rind that is a nice mix of rough and smooth hops. I can't say enough about the balance here. Not of the mix of hops and malt, but enough hops and too much. Reminds me of Masala Mama of Town Hall in Minneapolis.

Serving type: on-tap

03-01-2008 16:57:18 | More by tempest

akorsak

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -17.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Served on-tap at Al's prior to KBS.

A: The IPA is an amber color, rustic in its brown copper color while still retaining its clarity. No head sat atop it.

S: The nose is citrusy and jagged, dominated by an excessive dose of grapefruit and a heaping load of caramel. Very strong, with the caramel often getting in the way.

T: Each sip reveals a pretty strong dose of peppery grapefruit hops. Those hops are sweet but they have a rindy fullness to them. For as much as the hops stand out, they could be much stronger. The problem is that caramel maltiness gets in the way, too strong and overpowering on some of the more flavorful floral hops. Too bad, beacuse I can tell that the flavors are lingering but they just can't make it through. There is also a fair amount of booziness lingering around.

M: The mouthfeel is abrasive, carbonation with bitter hops and lots of malt; all conspire to overload the senses. More hop & less malt would be nice.

D: A nice beer to sip on but not an IPA that I'd make a go-to.

Serving type: on-tap

06-24-2010 21:26:45 | More by akorsak

WVbeergeek

Ohio

4.28/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Appears copper orange whitish cream head lacing streaks evenly in specks. Aroma contains deep citrus and pine heavy hop dose here mild biscuit malt sweetness comes through with a touch of the seven percent alcohol. Taste is more pine cone and citrus fruit hop bursts mixed with a nice sugary coating of malts aggressive yet mixes well together nice West Coast IPA here with a tinge of alcohol thrown into it. Mouthfeel: Slight oily texture to it medium bodied nice natural carbonation nothing is to harsh here glides on the palate. Drinkability is refreshingly west coast in nature a true gem from the SoCal San Diego County city of Vista nice find in Pittsburgh, PA.

Update: 12/16/11
I'm shocked that this beer is only getting a B rating. One of the widely distributed West Coast IPAs that is always consistently awesome. The bad part about this beer is that it went from being served in a 12 ounce six pack to a four pack and costs more now than I ever remember it being. Pours a bright copper color with light khaki cream colored head, forms even speckled lacing evenly coating my chalice. Aroma is great packs in Simcoe, Centennial, and Cascades probably a couple more hops...but it packs the aromatics in with pine, earthy, floral, citrus grapefruit peels, even a touch of pungent marijuana like smell, very green. Rolling aggressive hop bitterness with ample caramel malts to balance out the heavy handed hops. A really nice aggressive West Coast IPA with balancing hop bitterness to dance with. It's a shame that the beer is running around 14 dollars a four pack or I would gravitate this IPA much more often than I can currently afford to. Flavor offers an earthy herbaceous, grapefruit peel ridden hop bitterness/flavor with a lingering hop bitterness that makes you feel like you brushed your teeth with hops. Ample sweetness from the malts makes this more palatable than your average unbalanced hop bomb. Mouthfeel is coated with hop oils and is medium bodied with a flowing carbonation level. Overall very drinkable beer that brings joy to hopheads across the country, although I prefer Port Brewing hoppy offerings to this I can't seem to get any of their beers locally.

Serving type: bottle

02-01-2006 19:36:54 | More by WVbeergeek

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

3.98/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a dark amber. No head at all. Nose is saturated pine and peaches. Extremely intense. Flavor is areal zingy concoction. Thick resin edges. Earthy citrus tones. Feel is slick on liquid and the carbonation is low. Feels nice though. Drinkable, but there is a lot of edge to this though that I'm not sure I remember experiencing on the bottle.

Serving type: cask

02-25-2008 11:55:27 | More by RblWthACoz

barleywinefiend

Washington

3.03/5  rDev -28.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

A: Poured a goldenish deep orange color with almost no head to it.

S: Pine and citrus notes

T: Caramel malt, pine, citrus and Dawn dish detergent. Grassy

M: Heavy for a single West Coast IPA and soapy, bittering on end with pronounced booze

O: Average is generous

Serving type: growler

08-14-2011 21:26:24 | More by barleywinefiend

smcolw

Massachusetts

4.15/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Hazy orange-amber color; impressive four-finger head with a long settling time. Spotty lace as the head recedes.

Fresh pine cone smelling hop aroma. The malt takes the backseat, but the bitterness does not overwhelm. Very inviting.

Strongly bitter right from the initial sip. Definitely a hop head beer, perhaps could be placed in the extreme category of bitterness. The body is very rich with a minimal amount of carbonation. This seems to enhance an already strong hop presence.

While flavorful, this may be a little too much of a good thing. It is not balanced for an IPA, but it is still tasty and worthwhile to seek out.

Serving type: bottle

06-12-2008 23:04:46 | More by smcolw

Wasatch

Utah

4.5/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours a cloudy orange color, nice carbonation, nice small off-white head which lasted awhile, some nice islands and sticky lacing throughout the drink. The nose is slightly sweet, hoppy, slightly malty, grapefruit, and some caramel. The taste is hoppy, and plenty of grapefruit/caramel going on. The finish is slightly dry. Medium body. Very drinkable, I heard many good things about this IPA for about a year now, well it is a mighty fine IPA at that, will definitely buy more of this in the future.

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2007 23:56:08 | More by Wasatch