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

TheEremite

California

4.25/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

on tap at the Bistro in Hayward, CA. Served golden/straw yellow, big froyhy white head. Great lacing. Huge pine aroma and some significant catty/garlic/onion. Tons of resinous pine and grapefruit notes. Very dry, but the hops stick in your mouth. Huge hop flavor, more garlic in the flavor. Heavy resinous thick, stick on your tongue hops. It's awsome. Kinda subtracts from the drinkability though. I think I need some water now.

Serving type: on-tap

04-21-2008 02:06:02 | More by TheEremite

akahn

Massachusetts

4.28/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

This beer is everything I ask for in DIPA. It's nice and bitter, fruity (grapefruit), balanced, drinkable, and thankfully, not too sweet. Has some nice girth on the palate, yet goes down easily. A surprising treat, since I didn't know this was even available in this part of the world.

Serving type: on-tap

04-17-2008 02:50:16 | More by akahn

madmanjf

New York

2.88/5  rDev -29.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

I had this from a cask-conditioned woodpin, day #2 of being opened.

This particular batch was a cloudy apricot color with little to no carbonation. Some slight large bubbles were apparent from the initial pour, but they quickly dissipated to a flat appearance. There was a substantial amount of sediment suspended in the beer which was not dropping to the bottom of the glass. In fairness to the brewery, I will admit the woodpin was disturbed prior to my glass being poured.

The aroma was simply outstanding. It had a sweet hop presence which was citrus in nature; however, I found it to be sweetly unique in that it resembled a pineapple moreso than orange or grapefruit.

The beer had a sweet start with a grapefruit presence in flavor which was quick on the tounge. A Flas (no pun intended) of hops with a bitter finish was also present.

The sensation was initially a watery entrance with a slight effervencent feeling on the toungue. The finish was quite dry.

Overally, I'd have to say this beer is not well balanced. There is no malt presence, and it comes off as being a hop bomb for no specific reason other than to see how hoppy a hop beer can get. I like IPAs, but I did not care for this one or it's non-imperial counterpart (reviewed previously).

I had 1 12oz pour which I could not finish.

Serving type: cask

04-16-2008 23:59:26 | More by madmanjf

BretSikkink

Mexico

3.95/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Great appearance for style, looks a little gold, a little orange. White head puffs up a bit, gets out of the way, and then recedes. Very nice.

The aroma, to me, is the real highlight of this brew. Knock you on your ass from a foot away citric hops, running the gamut from Northwest pine to grapefruit zest. Absolutely terrific, although to be sure, a bit one sided.

The flavor thins out a bit, those flavor are still there from the nose, but really they just wreck the taste buds. A bit too potent are the hops, leaving a peppery bitter aftertaste. I still really enjoy it, but they've gone a bit lop-sided on the poor caramel-pale malt.

I think this leads to a mouthfeel that is too thin to sustain overall drinkability. A fine ale in small quantities is my analysis; or if you're really just looking for a nice burst of flavorful hops.

Serving type: on-tap

04-03-2008 06:39:49 | More by BretSikkink

ArrogantB

Colorado

2.15/5  rDev -47.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 1

So I stupidly ordered this today at the Falling Rock after disliking three bottles! I'd drink one, get disgusted, and a couple months later I'd think "nah, must have been a bad bottle" and I buy another which provides the same results. I'm so smart I thought well, I'll try it on tap! It looked great so I can't knock that. The aroma started hoppy and ok but then devolved into black pepper, fuck. The taste was more pepper, garlic, messed up. I cannot understand this beer. It does not make sense to me and I like hoppy beers. It is completely incongruous. Why can't they just make a double West Coast IPA?

Serving type: on-tap

04-01-2008 04:26:32 | More by ArrogantB

Hoppington

New York

4.45/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A: burnished copper orange
S: heavy hop floral
T: clementine grapefruit citrus notes dominate with floral aftertaste
M: bready, substantial
D: refreshing, hoppy - superb!

This stuff is just awesome on tap. Floral and super hoppy - enough to please any hophead. I would order this anytime I see it.

Well done!

Serving type: on-tap

01-23-2008 02:28:40 | More by Hoppington

dfillius

Michigan

4.68/5  rDev +14.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Enjoyed in a pint glass at O'Brien's Pub in San Diego.
A: Crystal clear and over-flowing with head. 1 finger of head remained inthe glass when I got the glass from the bartender. This subsided into a perfect coat of foam on top. Color was golden-amber, like the mineral amber
S: Marijuana - fully. Spicy aroma actually tingled my nostril!. Wow - strong hops.
T: Marijuana then garlic then a nice malt backbone. The second sip leaves a biting bitterness.
M: Tingly, a little numbing...Do hops do that?
D: Strong but very tasty.

Serving type: on-tap

12-28-2007 06:41:57 | More by dfillius

chefscott79

California

4.08/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

appearance-looks good....not a ton of brussels lace

Smell-great hoppy smell...smells like nugget and summit hops....yummy

taste-great hoppy taste....lots of hop complexity...great stuff

mouthfeel...semi prickly carbonation and great mouthfeel

drinkability-well I drank quite a bit of this beer at the greenflash 5th anniversary and then I went to stone for more beer afterwards...and got denied beer because I was slurring...so I would say it is drinkable but watch out!

Serving type: on-tap

11-21-2007 01:50:46 | More by chefscott79

WVbeergeek

Ohio

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

Appears a copper apricot cla see through color off white head forms thick leaves even lace behind. Aroma has heavy grapefruit citrus and some tropical fruit flow touch of pineapple as well as some sugary malt biscuit sweetness and evident alcohol in the nose. Flavor is raw west coast hop character with leafy, citrus grapefruit hop flavor and bitterness hits hard big hop burps after one or two sips, light biscuit malt character with some sugary sweetness underlying. Mouthfeel is medium to fuller bodied resinous oily slick texture even abonation flows pretty well grapefruit peel lacquer is left on the palate. Drinkability a solid west coast DIPA I'm glad I finally had the opportunity to meet up with this bad boy.

Serving type: on-tap

07-09-2007 22:44:13 | More by WVbeergeek

rallison

California

4.35/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I've already reviewed this in the bottle. This is just an update basically - sampled on tap at Beachwood.

Tons and tons of citrusy hops are at the forefront. Strong, sweet caramel malt base never overcomes the hops presence. Nice bitterness. Mouthfeel is rich and fulfilling. An excellent DIPA, both on tap and in the bottle.

Highly recommended - San Diego - and Green Flash - sure know how to brew 'em. And, for a more in depth review, so my bottle review of this one.

Serving type: on-tap

06-08-2007 08:01:28 | More by rallison

BWMKappaSig

Connecticut

4.35/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

One of my favorite West Coast IPAs, Green Flash has an amazing hoppiness to it, in both smell and taste. The bitterness is slightly overwhelming at first, but this beer is amazing at slightly under room temperature. I was able to get a growler of this being directly poured from a cask down in Maryland. It had about 1/2 inch of yeast down at the bottom, and an amazing cloudiness to it.

Serving type: growler

04-28-2007 15:45:34 | More by BWMKappaSig

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

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

Pizza Port in Port Carlsbad. Good hop juice, piney. Drinkable though over 100 IBU. Orangey colour with white head. Citrus taste. Satisfying though assaulting as it is. Summit and nugget hops. A change of pace, but their IPA and most IPA are more my speed. Had a bottle 15 months later and it was certainly as good, and mellowed as aged a year.
A year and a half later, in bottle. Good, orange, average DIPA. And on tap 1.5 years later, even better. Lots of lace.

Serving type: on-tap

02-12-2007 05:30:54 | More by northyorksammy

sideshowrob

Maryland

4.28/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This was one of the better imperial IPA's I've had in a while. The color was a bit on the light side, and very well filtered, which left me somewhat suspicious at first. The nose was great, with lots of piney and sweet resin notes. The taste was great - this is the type of beer that first got me hooked on big IPA's - a big west-coast style that's all hop and no balance. Stuff is hop juice. Mouthfeel was good, a bit undercarbonated and almost flat though. Very drinkable. I still don't really think it was a 9%er. Had this stuff on Tap at Friscos in Columbia. Cheers.

Serving type: on-tap

12-24-2006 19:32:51 | More by sideshowrob