Green Flash Imperial India Pale Ale - Green Flash Brewing Co.

jsulko

Illinois

4.03/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle poured into a tulip glass

Bottle of unknown date (Thanks Green Flash) from Binny's Schaumburg.

Pours an orangish gold color with a robust white head that tends to linger.

Smell is piney with hints of citrus.

Taste is dominated by the pine with a hint of a citrus finish. A odd finish that is almost an earthy taste.

Having tried the original IPA I was a bit underwhelmed. Due to the lack of bottle dating I don't know how great a candidate this beer was but that is how it will always be with them.

Not something I would revisit.

Serving type: bottle

10-25-2012 03:59:35 | More by jsulko

jdhilt

New Hampshire

3.6/5  rDev -12%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Will pour a five+ finger off-white head that fades slowly leaving a good lace. Crystal clear light amber color. Good carbonation and light-medium bodied. Grapefruit nose and flavor is grapefruit hops and almost enough malt to balance. Light bitter aftertaste. $7.59 for a 22oz bottle from Glen Beverage Glen, NH.

Serving type: bottle

10-20-2012 22:08:02 | More by jdhilt

CAMRAhardliner

Ontario (Canada)

4.4/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bomber purchased at the brewery (on Oktoberfest day:)).

Pours a deep clear orange color with a meringue like head that lasts a good while. Massive tracts of lace coat the glass. Bitter, citrusy nose with some light malts and notes of celery and pepper. Huge bitterness in the taste, with some perfumey floral character. Orange and woody, dare I say garlic (or is that just suggestion?) notes mix in there as well. A very beaten down bready malt manages to show itself a bit here and there. The mouthfeel is full bodied and smoothly carbonated. Lots of bitterness in the long finish. Alcohol is very well hidden by the hop barage.

This is a great 'San Diego IPA', very hoppy with a unique hop profile, less piney and grapefruit, more straight up bitterness and other flavors. Give this a try for sure.

Serving type: bottle

10-19-2012 02:06:53 | More by CAMRAhardliner

mpedara429

Massachusetts

4.55/5  rDev +11.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A: Super clear, kind of burnished gold in color. Two to three fingers worth of fluffy off-white looking head. Some serious lacing that won't go away without a serious glass washing.

S: Big smell to it. It really encompasses everything with fruit, citrus, floral, herbal, and malty notes.

T: Very much in line with the smell. It starts off with a mild pine flavor as well. It's pretty hoppy, which Green Flash is known for. I would've never known this was 9.4% abv without looking at the bottle because it blends in so well.

M: Medium to heavy mouthfeel with medium carbonation. It takes a few swallows to fully get down one gulp.

O: This beer has got so much substance to it. It puts so many flavors together and hits a home run. This puts almost every flavor an IPA can have together in one bottle. I've tried most of the Green Flash year round brews and have not been disappointed yet. They really have their beers dialed in. They put a big emphasis on West Coast style hoppiness and definitely deliver. I would have this again in a heartbeat.

Serving type: bottle

10-02-2012 22:19:34 | More by mpedara429

BrownNut

Florida

3.5/5  rDev -14.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottle to nonic, served cool.

A - 3.5 - Dull gold (meh) with with thick, white, textured head (very nice).

S - 3.5 - Faint aroma. Maybe the ghost of a hop note, a rumor of a malt note.

T - 3.5 - Head doesn't taste like much of anything. Beer doesn't taste like much of anything. Mild bitterness, mostly in the aftertaste.

M - 3.5 - Light-medium body. Soft.

O - Overall this comes across as an inoffensive, mild, generic beer without much going on, that you could drink with just about any meal and not have it compete or clash with anything. Except for the aftertaste bitterness, I'd almost expect to get this in a British pub it's so mild. Not at all what I was expecting.

Went back and looked at the date. Turns out it was just over 3 months old. I guess that explains it. Lesson learned - don't trust IPAs that you order online unless the vendor is willing to tell you the bottle dating. I'll come back and re-score this after I can find a fresher bottle.

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2012 18:18:07 | More by BrownNut

Blackwolf

4.08/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a bomber into a pint glass.

A- pours a haze gold/orange body, fluffy 2 finger head with great lacing. some decent uniformed carbonation can be seen in the haze.

S- A complex mild pine hop, floral/citrus (orange blossom) aroma hits the nose immediately, some notes of dark/sweet malt in the end. Didn't pop on the nose as much as I was hoping or expecting, but great at the least!

T- The palate follows the nose with lots of pine, citrus zest, a tiny bite of spice at the end. The malt is very subtle in this dipa, but has a nice balance in it to smoothen out the bitter with a pinch of sweet. Just very hoppy from start to finish.

MF- Medium bodied, medium-heavy carbonation, this has a great bite and resonance to it! The hops are there on the finish and long after.

O- Solid dipa! This beer really opens up too... Not bad at all for the style, but there are so many others I just can't get tired of. This is a great one to try though, very well balanced.

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2012 04:27:42 | More by Blackwolf

Hopheadjnr

4.78/5  rDev +16.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Pouring from a 22oz bottle into a Guiness pint glass.

A...Pours a hazy orange color with a creamy, three finger head. Noticeable med size bubbles comprise head that slowly recedes to, and maintains a perfect 1/2" head with layered lacing. Lacing is like a line mark on glass for each sip.

S...Great bouquet on the nose. Very complex aroma. Picking up earthy notes with pine, citrus and maybe a bit of grass. Smells very nice.

T...Great. Getting hops right up front like I should expect in an Imperial ipa. Hops with a quickly fading bitterness that turns a bit malty sweet with a swallow and finishes with the earthiness that I could smell with the pour. Really a great, full flavor beer.

M...as good as it gets. Full feel with the perfect carbonation. Really works on all levels.

O... This is a spectacular beer. Very robust and complex while maintaining a perfect balance. The taste changes from hitting your lips to the finish. Complex in all the right ways, a lot going on in this one. Nearly a perfect dipa.
I will seek this out over and over again when I want to really enjoy a great beer. I will look forward to pairing this with a cigar in the future. I think it will go nice with something not too strong, maybe a Punch Champion or anything with a corojo or natural shade capa.

Buy this beer, enjoy.

Serving type: bottle

09-24-2012 02:39:40 | More by Hopheadjnr

BlurryVisi0n

New York

4.05/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Served in a snifter.

Appearance: Clear golden amber, an orange tinted white that is thick as it gets. Maybe 2/3" off the body, pretty impressive.

Smell: Light but complex smell, floral and pinety but still you know there is a little more with just another whiff.

Taste: Malty, but bitter with heavy. The taste is one of those that I must admit is addicting. I sip and sip and just a little isn't enough. Lightly sweet but has very strong IPA properties.

Mouth: Easy medium to full carbonation, amazing for a bottled brew. Not really smooth more of a bumpy rise that you want to go back and ride through again.

Overall: To the guys at Green Flash all I can say is thank you. Rarely you meet such a quality brew. I drank this think it would be sub-par and sip after sip I wish I had more. Salud!

Serving type: bottle

09-22-2012 02:17:38 | More by BlurryVisi0n

hardy008

Minnesota

3.38/5  rDev -17.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Clear light amber with a 3 finger bright white head with good retention and lacing. Has the aroma of grapefruit, tangerines, citrus zest, and biscuit malt. The aroma is not real strong.

Has grapefruit, tangerines, citrus zest, caramel malt, and biscuit malt in the flavor profile. Is sweeter than I expected, but also has a good deal of bitterness. Much like the aroma, the taste is also not real strong.

Medium bodied with average carbonation, and not much aftertaste. A decent DIPA, but there are plenty which are better. Worth trying though, and may need to try again sometime.

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2012 01:00:21 | More by hardy008

kylehay2004

Florida

4.23/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A: 3 finger head with nice retention on a slightly hazy golden with amber hues body. scattered lacing.

S: lots of aroma with herbal, floral and predominantly orange peel and grapefruit citrus. A bit of a musty resin as well.

T: pine and grassy hops with citrus trying to sneak in towards the finish. The malt base balances this one out really well. Its not too bitter.

M: medium body and moderate to high carbonation.

Overall: just right degree of bitterness in this well balanced DIPA. The booze arent as well hidden as I would like but still an excellent brew.

Serving type: bottle

09-16-2012 00:56:45 | More by kylehay2004

dmatsui

4.33/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

An aggressive pour from a 22 bomber yields a gorgeous, pillowy bone-white 4-finger head. The beer itself is surprisingly clear. Very pretty.

Smell: DANK. Dank, dank, dank. A nice swirl releases the aromatics of a fresh bag a weed with a bit of pineapple, grapefruit, cooked orange rind and a sweet, toffee-like malt background. really nice.

The first sip really woke me up. The taste is well represented by the nose. I think this is the first SoCal IPA I've had that really comes through with the fruity, danky hop quality. I've had this beer in the past, and for some reason I recall not liking it very much. The citrus character doesn't stay around very long on the palate before the infamous Socal bittering hops take over. The malt bill is understated, yet pleasantly sweet. The finish is extremely dry, sticky and oily.

One of the better offerings I've had from Green Flash. It's a very big, very bold beer, but I think what makes it stand out from the other Socal IPAS is the strong dank and fruitiness. I wish the bittering hops didn't take over so much, but It's still a really nice beer.

Serving type: bottle

09-12-2012 03:34:39 | More by dmatsui

Willytee3

New York

4.55/5  rDev +11.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

22oz bottle into tulip glass

Pours a cloudy bright orange with yellow tinge. Bubbly 1 finger head of white sea foam. Intense lacing with bubbles around the rim.

Smells of grapefruit and tropical fruits with sweet sticky malt and pine. touch of lime peel. complex aroma with a touch of dry biscuit.

Nice mouth feel and balance between sweet caramel malts and piney tropical fruit hops. Grapefruit juice with creamy malts and pineapple. Finishes on grapefruit and pine resign hop bitter with a touch of lime peel.

Very nicely balanced and not overdone without even a hint of alcohol, impressive for 9.4% ABV. Finishes nicely sharp and dry.

Seek this out!

Serving type: bottle

09-11-2012 04:07:36 | More by Willytee3

TBoneJones

Texas

4.43/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a cloudy golden/yellow, great fluffy white head that sticks around.
Smells great of hops! Pine and a hint of fruits. Subtle but solid.
Tastes big up front of funky hops, with plenty of sweaty, cannabis, resinous, somewhat warming at first but i soon realize the alcohol is hidden well for the amount. Nice mouthfeel as it is not as overly thick as I expected. Lacing cascades wonderfully down the chalice as I'm sipping this.
Overall i really like this DiPA. If you're into hops, if you're a hophead, this is ripe.

Serving type: bottle

09-04-2012 02:50:55 | More by TBoneJones

cvm4

Mississippi

3.73/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A - Pours a murky orange or almost amber. Off white, eggshell head.

S - Citrus flows forth! Lots of grapefruit and floral notes along with some hops.

T - Very hoppy & bitter from start to finish. Slightly sweet with a lot of orange peel.

M - Medium bodied & very carbonated.

O - A solid imperial IPA with great aromas & a good taste. Nothing to really wow me though.

Serving type: bottle

09-02-2012 19:37:24 | More by cvm4

daledeee

Iowa

4.33/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A 22 oz bottle.

I opened this bottle expecting another hop monster.

It poured a very good head and dark gold/orange clear body.

Nose is strong grapefruit and floral.

Taste is quite appealing and clean. Grapefruit, apricot, hops, floral, some malt. Really well done. Fresh tasting.

Alcohol is not warming and mouth feel is creamy with lots of head. Quite a nice brew.

Serving type: bottle

08-28-2012 23:51:45 | More by daledeee

BEERMILER12

Maine

4.13/5  rDev +1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

22 oz. bomer dated 06/18/12

A: Pours a slightly hazy yellow color with 2 fingers worth of sticky white head that retains well and leaves excellent lacing

S: Very hoppy, with citrus, pine, and slight grass. Some pale malts also come through, but this nose is pretty much dominated by hops

T: Again, nice and hoppy with some bitterness lasting into the finish. Highlights are citrus rind, light pine and grass, and of course the bitterness. Some alcohol comes through, but the hops do a nice job covering it up

M: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Dry and bitter towards the end

O: A nicely crafted example of the classic West Coast style of IIPA that does a great job highlighting the most important aspects of an IIPA: the hops and resulting bitterness. Definitely worth a shot if you can get it within a couple months of the bottled-on date

Serving type: bottle

08-24-2012 00:59:17 | More by BEERMILER12

DocJitsu

California

4.05/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Pours a slightly hazy, bright golden color with an eggshell colored head. Head retention is about average. The competing vibrant aromas of pine, citrus, floral, and roasted grain with a little sting of alcohol in the nasal passages comprise the bouquet. Mouthfeel is soft, full, wet, smooth and is balanced with a slight carbonation scrub and hop burn at the end. Nearly no alcohol warmth, flavor, or booziness. Dominating flesh flavor, cannabis, and peat up front imparted by resinous hops with peppery spice. It finishes with a little more of a sweet citrus. I'm digging this one. And for under $5 for a bomber at Fresh & Easy, I'll be digging this one often.

Serving type: bottle

08-18-2012 22:14:35 | More by DocJitsu

TrappistJohnMD

Mississippi

4.15/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours an orange amber with thick white head in Duvel tulip. Lots of sticky lacing.

Smell is a hop punch to the face. Wow this is strong. Could smell it when I popped the top. Pungent tagerine and resin. Tons of grapefruit.

Taste is all hoppy bitterness. Mild malt character is present, but bitterness predominates. Lots of grapefruit notes.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied with heavy carbonation.

Overall this was good. I like IPAs, but this was almost overpowering.

Serving type: bottle

08-18-2012 00:45:37 | More by TrappistJohnMD

claspada

New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev -14.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 3.5

Pours a yellow-orange color with a white head that recedes leaving quite a bit of lacing on the way down.

Aromas begin with a plethora of resiny, dank hops. Strong citrus, pine and floral notes. Little to no malt profile in this beast.

The taste begins with the same assault of wretching hop bitterness. A punch of resiny dank bitterness highlighted by grapefuit and pine. My problem is that is doesn't have quite that much actual hop flavor; just a bruising bitterness.

The mouthfeel is medium bodied with medium carbonation. Finish is super sticky, bitter and resinous. Palate wrecker for sure with little to no malt sweetness to balance the hop bitterness.

Overall this is not my cup of tea. Way too bitter to enjoy more than a few sips. No my style of an enjoyable DIPA.

Serving type: bottle

08-17-2012 16:50:58 | More by claspada

acevenom

Louisiana

4.4/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bottle dated 7/10/12. This is still less than 30 days old.

Poured into a brandy snifter. Pours clear golden amber with a big white head and plenty of tiny bubbles rising from the bottom of the glass. The head dissipates at a moderate pace, leaving some lacing behind on the glass. A small cap of head is left behind atop the beer. I pick up aromas of citrus hops with that typical West Coast smell of orange and grapefruit. There is some sweet malt in the background. I can pick up some of the pine aroma as well. The citrus hops are more forward here, followed by some piney bitterness. The grapefruit and orange flavors are juicy. The sweet malts provide a nice backbone. There is a piney aftertaste, leaving some lingering bitterness in the mouth. Even at 9.4% ABV, the alcohol is not very noticeable. The body is medium with moderate carbonation. The finish is dry. This is an excellent DIPA.

Serving type: bottle

08-06-2012 18:39:04 | More by acevenom

Kisejohn

3.88/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Aroma:  Moderate pine and herbal hop notes.  Some caramel in the background.

Appearance:  Hazy, golden honey color.  Half a finger of head with excellent lacing.

Flavor:  Pine, herbal, some citrus notes balanced nicely with malt.  Each swallow is a nice sweet-tart flavors beginning, middle and end.  Some lingering bitterness in the finish.  Alcohol flavors hidden well.  Very nice.

Mouthfeel:   Medium body, with a slight syrupy mouthfeel.  Carbonation is good.

Overall:  A very enjoyable Imperial IPA.  Big pine, herbal flavors balanced nicely with a solid malt backbone.  Well balanced and easy drinking for a 9.4 ABV beer.  Well done.

Serving type: bottle

08-03-2012 22:14:43 | More by Kisejohn

TheBrewo

Michigan

3.45/5  rDev -15.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

We pop the top and pour a pale, cloudy honey colored brew, with orange flecks when against the light. The head is one finger tall, white, and made up of massive bubbles. This shows lower-end retention, leaving spotty lacing around our glasses. Carbonation is medium, with a thick haze but no sediment. The beer appears sticky. The aroma is sweet with hops that are citric and floral. Sharp phenolic plastics crash in for a surprising and overdone jab. The metallics are pale, with metallics, wheat, and biting booze with warmth. Overall the beer has a very sweaty quality to the snout. Our first impression is that the flavor profile is very peculiar, and the huge booziness is not well hidden. The flavoring opens with soft pale malts and a light toast, to add grit and bitterness. Citric hops, plastics, and burnt clove add up and enhance the bitterness into a wild whirlwind of flavoring. Pine and resin bring us to the peak, where citrus rind, floral honey, and white sugar cut some of the initial power. Burnt plastics and bitter phenols continue, with a sickly sweet strawberry character. The finish is with the same floral hops, but here they take on a dirty quality. They are met by raw pine cone and more of those burnt flavors, for an almost equally as bitter finish. The aftertaste is way bitter with piney hops, pale malts, and light minerals. The body is medium, and the carbonation is light to medium. The mouth is left with a powdery coating that proves ultimately drying. There is nice creamy slurp to each sip, with a bit of a pop and puckering. The abv is up there, and the beer has okay drinkability, due in part to the bitterness and odd flavorings.

Overall, what we enjoyed most about this brew was the variety of hops. These were great, but they just got lost amongst that madness that is the rest of this beer. The aroma is so strange, with sweat, dirt, and plastics as the primary trifecta. This carries over to the mouth too, where those components present the same problem. It would have been nice to have the sweetness appear a bit sooner, to better balance the bitters, rather than having a strong one-two knockout with two separately intense flavors.

Serving type: bottle

08-03-2012 16:01:47 | More by TheBrewo

ryan1788a5

Massachusetts

4.23/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22oz bottle poured into a New Belgium globe. No freshness date. Consumed in honor of National IPA day.

A: Pours a mildly hazy golden-orange. Thick, creamy white head settles a little, but a firm half inch always remains. Lots of lacing clings to the glass in small wispy patches.

S: Dank, citrusy, and ever-so-slightly catty. Lots of pineapple and clementine, blood orange, and pulpy grapefruit with sugar. Gumdrops. Hemp and some green, oily scents too. Toasted biscuit and dough malt aromas.

T: Pine resin and pine tar envelope the palate right off the bat. Bitter grapefruit rind. Impressive bitterness. Hop tastes turn very green and oily, but never lose their aggressive, bitter bite. Clementine, ruby red grapefruit juice, gummy candy, and a very slight hint of pineapple are barely detectable underneath the blanket of bitterness. Malt base is slightly sweet and doughy until it dries toward the finish. The finish is all hop bitterness. Resin and hop oil grip the tongue in a vice for a long time after the swallow.

M: Medium bodied. Creamy and smooth with moderate carbonation. Good.

O: Probably one of the top 10 most bitter beers I've ever had. A west coast style IPA all the way, and exactly what I expected from Green Flash. Basically their West Coast IPA amped up.

Serving type: bottle

08-03-2012 02:08:53 | More by ryan1788a5

andrewinski1

Maine

3.95/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured into a tulip. The color is clear golden. There is a half inch bubbly white head.

The aroma is full of sweet pineapple with mango and peach. There is a hint of orange zest also.

The taste has some subtle mild malt flavor offering mostly sweetness to enhance/offset the hoppiness. I get a lot of citrus and pine in the flavor. Good stuff.

This is medium bodied with a lively carbonation. Very delicious.

Serving type: bottle

08-02-2012 04:08:00 | More by andrewinski1

rodlavers

Pennsylvania

4.23/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured from bomber into perfect pint glass

A. Huge fluffy off-white head, cling unexceptional. Light orange/golden color. Translucent.

S. Pine, floral, citrus hops.

T. Some sort of nutty flavor, well blended with piney hops and malt-sweetness. A bit of bitterness on the end.

M. Creamy smooth, refreshing.

O. I enjoy this beer quite a bit. Not as vicious on the palette as Wrecker, but still does one. Glad I tried it.

Serving type: bottle

07-15-2012 20:07:20 | More by rodlavers