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

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

GeckoPunk

Connecticut

4.83/5  rDev +18.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Copied from another reviewer (hagbergl)
Loved the smell and taste on this exquisite IIPA
would certainly drink again...

Appearance (4.5/5): Green Flash Imperial pours a beautiful golden yellow that has a slight haze to it. It's topped by a bone white head of foam that measures about 1.5 fingers (by the time it gets to our table). The head leaves a nice bit of lacing on the sides of the glass as it recedes.

Smell (5/5): Big pine and grapefruit hop notes escape from the glass. Some herbal hop notes and earthier tones from the subdued malts and yeast character also show, but this is a super hoppy beer so the hop aromas are naturally–and pleasingly–dominant. I'm convinced that the smell of this beer is what hop heads dream about.

Taste (5/5): In one word: delicious. The taste follows the nose for the most part. Huge pine and citrus (grapefruit) hop flavors steal the show from the get-go. Fruity, tart, and spicy hops are supported by a a subtle caramel malt backbone that adds just the right amount of sweetness. Finishes bitter and quite dry. The aftertaste is–curiously–similar to weed (the flavor comes out of nowhere, really). Hardly any alcohol presence to this beer, which is great, since alcohol flavors do not usually, in my humble opinion, add much to IPAs (unlike some heavy stouts and Belgian ales whose flavor profiles benefit). The flavor of this beer is just bitter bliss and a total hop fix. This is one classy, finely tuned Imperial IPA.

Mouthfeel (4.5/5): Green Flash Imperial is medium-bodied, though not very viscous or hop oily. Medium carbonation helps accentuate the hoppiness and lets the bitterness 'pop'.

Overall (5/5): This is a perfect example of a Double/Imperial IPA. It retains the dryness and medium-low sweetness of a regular IPA while reaching a beautifully in-your-face amount of bitter, fruity hop character only possible in a DIPA, and without becoming syrupy sweet or overly resinous and cloying. Just an amazing beer I wish I could find more often. Highly, highly recommended to lovers of the hop.

Serving type: on-tap

08-12-2012 13:18:02 | More by GeckoPunk

jozols1

New York

3.9/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: Hazy, dark golden color. Light head with some lacing.

Smell: Dominant pine and herbal notes.

Taste: Strong herbal pine flavor with some grapefruit and other citrus notes. Lingering bitterness in the finish.

Mouthfeel: Effervescent, medium body.

Overall: This beer has a nice complexity and mouth-feel to it, and the pine flavor is distinctive. But while there was some malty sweetness to balance the pine and hops, I found the finish really bitter.

Serving type: on-tap

08-12-2012 00:09:42 | More by jozols1

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

corby112

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Draft at The Pour House in Westmont, NJ.

Pours a hazy golden orange color with a two finger pillowy white head that very slowly settles into a lasting ring. Large chunks of soapy lacing left behind.

Dank, resinous aroma with a good balance of earthy and fruity hop character. Very floral with hints of grass and line followed by tropical and citrus fruit notes. Hints of orange peel, grapefruit and
mango followed by some pale malt and strong booze.

On the lighter end of medium bodied with a blast of dry, tongue coating hop bitterness that's countered by some faint tropical fruit, pale malt and strong alcohol flavor. Hits of pine needle, pineapple and grapefruit are quickly countered by bread, biscuit and boozy heat. The high abv isn't very well masked and it takes away too much of the hop flavor for my liking. Still, a really solid interpretation of the style. Just a bit too boozy for me.

Serving type: on-tap

07-30-2012 02:42:53 | More by corby112

hagbergl

Massachusetts

4.93/5  rDev +20.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Had a glass of Green Flash Imperial IPA at Lord Hobo in Cambridge, MA last Thursday. This big IPA was pouring very nicely and super fresh hoppiness ensued. Was enjoyed in a tulip glass.

Appearance (4.5/5): Green Flash Imperial pours a beautiful golden yellow that has a slight haze to it. It's topped by a bone white head of foam that measures about 1.5 fingers (by the time it gets to our table). The head leaves a nice bit of lacing on the sides of the glass as it recedes.

Smell (5/5): Big pine and grapefruit hop notes escape from the glass. Some herbal hop notes and earthier tones from the subdued malts and yeast character also show, but this is a super hoppy beer so the hop aromas are naturally–and pleasingly–dominant. I'm convinced that the smell of this beer is what hop heads dream about.

Taste (5/5): In one word: delicious. The taste follows the nose for the most part. Huge pine and citrus (grapefruit) hop flavors steal the show from the get-go. Fruity, tart, and spicy hops are supported by a a subtle caramel malt backbone that adds just the right amount of sweetness. Finishes bitter and quite dry. The aftertaste is–curiously–similar to weed (the flavor comes out of nowhere, really). Hardly any alcohol presence to this beer, which is great, since alcohol flavors do not usually, in my humble opinion, add much to IPAs (unlike some heavy stouts and Belgian ales whose flavor profiles benefit). The flavor of this beer is just bitter bliss and a total hop fix. This is one classy, finely tuned Imperial IPA.

Mouthfeel (4.5/5): Green Flash Imperial is medium-bodied, though not very viscous or hop oily. Medium carbonation helps accentuate the hoppiness and lets the bitterness 'pop'.

Overall (5/5): This is a perfect example of a Double/Imperial IPA. It retains the dryness and medium-low sweetness of a regular IPA while reaching a beautifully in-your-face amount of bitter, fruity hop character only possible in a DIPA, and without becoming syrupy sweet or overly resinous and cloying. Just an amazing beer I wish I could find more often. Highly, highly recommended to lovers of the hop.

Serving type: on-tap

07-26-2012 02:46:08 | More by hagbergl

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

QualityOverQty

North Carolina

4.83/5  rDev +18.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance - thick golden yellow

Smell - Amazing, smelled like piny nuggets. It's the craziest thing.

Taste - It is perfectly balanced in hops, the bitterness is right on point. Great aftertaste as well.

Mouthfeel - pretty smooth, not too much bite, but some.

Overall - My favorite IIPA. I prefer it over Double Trouble - which is a great beer. Green Flash has great beers

Serving type: bottle

07-13-2012 20:57:55 | More by QualityOverQty

ortango

4.98/5  rDev +21.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

My favorite. Signed up just to add a rating to this awesome ipa.

A: not copper. its golden yellow, almost amber.

S: a bit floral, with a nuggety aroma. F'n great.

T: amazing. totally a stoner's beer, really! tastes like nuggets, just like it smells. Being a 9.5%, it's so covert, you don't even notice alcohol.

M: Thick head then a smooth beer. Not thick, but definitely not watery.

Overall: Top notch stuff. Pop the bottle and chase that smell. I've been hooked on this stuff for along time now (years).... the only substitutes i like are maybe Ithaca flower power, troegs nugget nectar, or a good hoppy barleywine ---- all else has been a let down. Even if it's not your favorite i would challenge you to find a 9.5 abv as discreet as this stuff.

Serving type: bottle

07-08-2012 04:36:00 | More by ortango

Edruil

3.98/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

22oz bottle, poured into Stone Ruination 10th anniv. pint glass

Appearance: Opaque, light-copper color. Lovely finger and a half head with good retention and some of the best lacing I've seen from an IPA. Really nice

Smell: Big pine and spice, some caramel malt showing through but the pine, spice, and herbal notes absolutely dominate

Taste: Follows the nose. Pine, spice, and some citrus hops dominate, malt sweetness of caramel and bread lingers in the background but do not really punch through. The finish is long, bitter, and spicy. Hops dominate the game in this brew

Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied, thick, syrupy. Nice but nothing special

Overall: Certainly a different take on the West Coast IPA / Imperial IPA. Rather than big citrus/grapefruit hops, the hop presence comes through in the form of pine and spice. Would like the malt character to show through more.

Serving type: bottle

07-05-2012 02:09:47 | More by Edruil

homebrew311

Illinois

4.2/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Served on tap at Local Option. The appearance is slightly hazy with generous 2 finger head and tons of lacing. The aroma is in your face with tons of piney hops, this enters the territory of spice... Some spruce like character as well a pine sap. Extremely pungent. The taste matches the over the top hop aroma with a huge bitter flavor. Starts slightly sweet with some apricot, this is followed by raw pine and a touch of earthiness. The mouth feel is medium with high carbonation. Overall, this is one of the hoppiest beers I've experienced. Very nice.

Serving type: on-tap

06-24-2012 00:02:30 | More by homebrew311

OdinMcHaggis

4.88/5  rDev +19.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Cooper and clear, nice head good retention and great lacing. Smell is citrus. taste is good, the hops are pleasant not overwhelming. The body is where this beer is great, the malt is sticky and thick. Nice body. Overall, at 9.4% abv this beer hides the alcohol, delivers on taste and satisfaction.

Serving type: bottle

06-16-2012 23:09:02 | More by OdinMcHaggis

IronLover

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Golden yellow in color with a slight chill haze. Poured with a tall frosty white foam that reduced to a soapy cap that left a ladder of sticky lacings from the top of the glass to the bottom. Pungent floral and citrus hop aromas with an underlying sweet maltiness. Medium bodied with a resinous feel from the start through the middle turning oily at the finish Pungent hop smack right up front that slowly tapers from beginning to end. Finishes with a delayed semi-dry pungent, piney, bitter hop aftertaste. Pungent hop aromas and flavors on display with this DIPA

Serving type: bottle

06-11-2012 00:41:19 | More by IronLover

pisano

Massachusetts

4.98/5  rDev +21.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

poured out of 22oz bomber into tulip glass

a: hazy golden orange with half finger off white head that doesn't stick around too long, white ring around glass

s: goddam, is it December? straight up smells like a Christmas tree. Tons of pine with a nice malty sweetness. Some apricot. No alcohol on the nose. Love it.

t: I feel like I'm chewing on pine needless, in a good way of course. Delicious piney hops well balanced with the sweetness of the malt. Some fresh grapefruit as well. No alcohol whatsoever.

m: sticky mouthfeel, medium body with nice carbonation, no alcohol burn.

o: this is absolutely one of my favorite, likely top three, imperial IPAs

Serving type: bottle

06-06-2012 23:01:17 | More by pisano

DavidST

Texas

4/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 22oz bottle into a snifter glass, like all green flash, I have no idea how fresh this is. This is a golden color with a large tight bubbled slightly off white color with good retention and leaves a nice lacing. The smells are of hops, pine, and grapefruit, a little caramel and some alcohol. The feel is medium with a mouth coating resin. The taste is pretty good super high hops with a little caramel backbone. Pretty good, although this is the third one I've bought and the first which is good and fresh.

Serving type: bottle

06-04-2012 02:44:45 | More by DavidST

siradmiralnelson

Iowa

4/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from 22oz bottle into Tulip.

A. Poured 3 fingers of head. Thick lacing. Good retention. Color is a virbrant yellow orange. Nice color.

S. Smells like a hoppy DIPA. Citrusy tropical hop aroma. Decent bitterness. Smells like what I like a DIPA to smell like.

T. Tastes like some apricot, orange, marmalade. Nice hoppy tropical taste. Pretty sweet taste. Bitterness comes out on the tongue.

M. Medium bodied. Medium carbonation. Nice lingering sweet bitter flavor.

O. Good DIPA. Has most of the qualities that I like in a DIPA. Has a nice marmalade flavor.

Serving type: bottle

06-01-2012 21:50:56 | More by siradmiralnelson

Jaynuze

District of Columbia

3.53/5  rDev -13.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 22oz bottle; crisp golden coloring and very clear. Nice frothy head, that thinly laces the glass as I sip.
Nice light nose, not as floral or citrus as I usually like, but pleasant.
The taste is the same as the nose, not overbearing, but pleasant. A little more mild than I had expected, but it certainly does not have the mouth full of pennies effect that some DIPAs have. A really nicely balanced beer ... crazy to say when talking Imperial styles A really nice mouthfeel and it is almost impossible to tell that it is 9.5% ABV ... maybe that will be easier to tell once I've finished the bottle. Decent beer, glad I finally had the chance to try it out!

Serving type: bottle

05-31-2012 23:03:50 | More by Jaynuze

LXIXME

New Mexico

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

Poured from a bit above the glass gives the beer a big off white head that falls. but kind of slowly, into a decent lacing above a clear rich golden colored IPA.

Big citrus hops aroma and as it sits a tiny bit of malt creeps into the nose.

Citrus to almost grassy hops, lightly bitter, backing malts taste.

A citrus dry aftertaste with lasting light citrus bitterness on a medium bodied Imperial.

A pretty good beer at 9.40% ABV I really didn't smell or taste the alcohol which is one thing I like about beer. The lack of an outward presence of alcohol in aroma and taste and more complexity with the combinations of hops, malts, and yeasts.

Serving type: bottle

05-26-2012 00:34:32 | More by LXIXME

ncketchum

Wisconsin

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

Served chilled in a Sierra Nevada pint glass

A - pours a clear yellow, big head which fades quickly.

S - piney citrus hops with a solid amount of malt on the nose

T - like the nose, lots of hops up front, good amount of malt backbone. Not purely a hop bomb.

M - very smooth, not too thick, not a whole lot of alcohol burn

O - very good offering from Green Flash. Definitely will seek this out again.

Serving type: bottle

05-25-2012 01:45:04 | More by ncketchum

jeremy13586

Pennsylvania

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

Poured in to a Duvel glass

Big fluffy light tan head. The beer was a dark and cloudy orange color with very minor translucence. Left a bit of decent lacing.

Lots of piney hops. Citrus and resin and a sweet backbone. Minor hint of booze

Nice bitter hops that finish fairly citric and resinous. Not too much difference from the nose. A bit of a sweet backbone

Lighter in body as far as a DIPA goes. A bit oily. Left that resinous feeling on your teeth.

An incredibly drinkable IPA, but getting through 22oz of it can be a bit daunting. Still very delicious with enough flavors and aromas nicely laid out, but they weren't fighting for any kind of dominance.

Serving type: bottle

05-24-2012 22:43:29 | More by jeremy13586

sevenarts

New York

2.38/5  rDev -41.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

A: Pale golden orange, fluffy white head with moderate lacing.

S: Lots of well-blended hops: sweet citrus, pine, some vegetal, almost grassy aromas.

T/M: This is all over the place. Some sweet, citrusy hops up front, followed by pine bitterness and an at-times overwhelming garlic/onion flavor that comes and goes throughout, and is sometimes especially dominant in the aftertaste. Very weird, bordering on unpleasant.

O: This is very disappointing. I love the Green Flash West Coast IPA and Palate Wrecker, so I had high expectations for this one. But the hops here are kind of unpleasant, and are dominated by a strange, sickly garlic/onion/vegetal character that leaves a nasty aftertaste behind.

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2012 22:07:42 | More by sevenarts