Green Flash Le Freak - Green Flash Brewing Co.

Rzzzzz

California

4.05/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

On tap at Mission Pizza in Fremont (aka "Freakmont"). ABV not listed above, but bartender said it was 9%.

This is definitely an example of worlds colliding. Served in a pint glass, cloudy yellow with a fluffy white head that lingered, leaving behind some solid lacework.

Strong aroma of hops, typical of a west coast IPA. And of Belgian yeast & spice, typical of a Belgian tripel. My brain can't figure out which way to go with this one, as the pull is equally strong from each direction. Tasting only adds to the confusion, as the flavors match the aromas. These are not two styles I'd in any way associate with one another yet there they are living harmoniously in the same glass.

An unusual animal for sure, but with a nice, smooth mouthfeel and a subtle alcohol warming at the end, this stuff is oddly satisfying.

Serving type: on-tap

09-07-2008 14:16:02 | More by Rzzzzz

ewright

North Carolina

4.28/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Sharing a 22 oz bottle the the better half.

A: Pours out clear, nice burnished gold color. A layer of egg-white bubbles forms and recedes to a thin coating with moderate lacing.

S: This smells exactly as advertised. Nice citrus (grapefruit, tangerine) hop aromas up front with spicy clove and faint banana and bubblegum aromas from the Belgian yeast.

T: Amazingly enough, this tastes like two different beers at the same time. Up front, more of the Belgian characteristics show up. Tastes just like a tripel with bready yeasty notes and a bit of spice. Once this hits the back of the tongue, the hop bitterness really kicks in and you're reminded of the west coast IPA aspect.

M: The one drawback here is that I'm not overly fond of the bitter aftertaste over the yeasty spiciness. The hops weaken an already slightly thin body. Carbonation levels are appropriate for either style.

D: This is one more interesting beer. I'm almost glad I'm not having this with food. There's so much going on I wouldn't want to be distracted as I savor the nuances of this brew.

Serving type: bottle

09-07-2008 01:34:07 | More by ewright

rodrot

North Carolina

4.2/5  rDev +4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured a light, hazy amber color with a huge pillowy head. Very nice Belgian aroma at the start-lots of spice, but then a good whiff of leafy American hops. Taste was an interesting hybrid of spices(coriander and anise maybe?) and citrusy hops up front, with sweet peachy malts in the finish. Alcohol was well hidden, so the drinkability was very good. I'll be picking up some more of this the first chance I get.

Serving type: bottle

09-06-2008 17:36:04 | More by rodrot

Tolann

Colorado

3.85/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A - hazy orange/golden color with a fluffy mostly white head. Looks like good lace on this one too.

S - smells...Belgian. Sweet green hops and Belgian.

T - It's an IPA, no wait its a Belgian, finishes like a hoppy IPA. Its kinda odd. It's super hoppy, but has some Belgian yeast characteristics. It finishes with a hoppy grassy flavor

M - light to medium mouth feel. Not too much carbonation. Slightly dry in the after taste.

D - its pretty nice. I'd try this again, but probably would think to make the nite of it. It's not over crazy impressive, but still really good and enjoyable

Serving type: bottle

09-06-2008 03:21:49 | More by Tolann

Hojaminbag

Colorado

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

A copper body with an off-white head.

Smell is mostly hops, piney and citrusy.

Taste is also mostly hops. Some fruitiness up front followed by tons of pine along with citrus and just straight bitterness. In the background, espcially in the finish, I notice a belgian yeast character. Mouthfeel is thicker than an IPA and not as oily.

Fairly drinkable brew, an interesting drink.

Serving type: on-tap

09-04-2008 17:14:34 | More by Hojaminbag

roan22

New Jersey

4.18/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a beautiful hazy peach color, opaque. Smells of ripe melon like Cantelope, or perhaps Midori liquor, also a whiff of straight up booze (yeah GF!), and maybe a slight tartness.

Tastes of sweet peach, melon and grapefruit, at first...followed by a boozy gasoline taste (aka a pine hop resin taste), intermingling/remixing into serious west coast hop bitterness (mm tastes like centennial and simcoe hops to me!), with a tinge of traditional belgian tripel taste. Undercarbonated to me.

Finish is dry, and the lasting bitterness is good IPA familiar territory. Somewhat saison like in mouthfeel, but there's no funk note, and no crazy belgian foam which is kind of a disappointment. Overall Belgian somewhat in taste, but the hops finish first, subtley.

Pretty impressive belgian IPA beer coming from one of the hoppiest brewing areas of California..masters of IPAs, but beginners at belgians... or so I say. Cheers Green Flash, this is another winner!

By the way the ABV is a shockingly high (for me!) 9.2%..its definitely a sipper.

Serving type: bottle

09-04-2008 10:45:06 | More by roan22

Patrick

Massachusetts

3.7/5  rDev -8.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: this beer get points for appearing different from anything else I've had. It is the color of old orange juice, a dark orange. Nice head and tons of lacing.

S: lots of hops but even more cloves. The nose is dominated by spiciness.

T: smooth and spicy clove taste at first with an also smooth biterness at the end, interesting.

M: smooth, dry, well carbonated.

D: this might not be my favorite style bit this is an interesting beer.

Serving type: on-tap

09-04-2008 00:57:13 | More by Patrick

largadeer

Kentucky

2.3/5  rDev -43.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

Appearance: Hazy golden yellow with a small white head.

Smell: Estery funk, candy sweetness and hops of the herbal and citrus variety.

Taste & mouthfeel: Candy-like sweetness and fruity esters up front. A bit of yeasty funk is present in the background, lending some nice complexity until the abusively bitter hops begin to rape the palate. This beer has to have the worst balance of hops I've ever tasted - there's little hop flavor or aroma, while the bitterness is completely over the top. Midway through the glass my palate was numb and I couldn't actually taste anything beyond bitterness. Pretty ridiculous stuff, and not in a good way.

Serving type: on-tap

09-03-2008 23:26:44 | More by largadeer

aerozeppl

New York

4.47/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A: Nice weird mix of cloudy triple and IPA. Poured with a finger and a half of head.

S: Very sweet with tons of hops. Nice citrus blast. Also hints of spices and coriander.

T: Very interesting mix of triple and IPA. Definitely heavy handed with the hops. Also the sweetness of the tripel provides a nice balance.

M:Weird body on this. Little bit sticky. Little bit dry.

D: Very nice. Still not as nice as the Houblon but a damn fine example of the style and the best one I have had made in these United States.

Serving type: bottle

09-03-2008 23:17:37 | More by aerozeppl

rgrace99

California

4.33/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 22oz bomber into a Duvel goblet. Big voluminous head, color was a cloudy golden, great lacing. Aroma was yeasty with come citrus. Slick mouthfeel, good body without being heavy. Flavor was that great belgian yeast along with citrus from the hops along with some stone fruit maybe a little peach. Very drinkable and something I'll definitely return to.

Serving type: bottle

09-02-2008 17:59:32 | More by rgrace99

tempest

Pennsylvania

4.05/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

On-tap at The Blue Tusk in Syracuse, served in a tulip. Hazy yellow color with a white head and lacing.

Interesting, the hops don't kick in until the aftertaste. The initial flavor and aroma are of white bread, orange peel, and yellow cake. Then once this beer rolls back, it bursts with citrus and pine hops for an American IPA-strength bitterness. If you're into Belgian IPA's, this one's for you.

Serving type: on-tap

08-31-2008 05:15:08 | More by tempest

atsprings

North Carolina

4.1/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Pours a hazy orange with a decent lasting head that leaves great lacing on the glass. Aroma is crisp citrus hops blended nicely with Belgian yeast. The taste is an interesting blend of hops and yeast with sweet malts present as well. The beer certainly shows its 9.2% but it is still crisp, well carbonated and refreshing. While it's certainly no Houblon Chouffe, this is a very respectable American attempt at the style.

Serving type: bottle

08-29-2008 03:49:32 | More by atsprings

BretSikkink

Mexico

4.25/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Hazy orange-yellow color with a rather magnificent white head that leaps up quite high in the glass, lasts really long, and leaves beautiful stick.

Earthy, piney, Tomahawk-grassy hop aroma on the nose, along with plenty of citric notes, including lemon zest, a bit of orange, and lots of other fruit too. Really interesting, complex, and and with good peppery power.

Aggressive flavor, leads headfirst with pepper and finishes strong with bitter, lasting hops. Up front there is a lot of grassy, European style hopping, some grain sweetness comes up next, and afterward the hops take over til the finish, lending the fruity notes here.

Good, chewy mouthfeel that's about perfect for style, quite dry but still managing plenty of smoothness and body.

I fell in love with this beer on tap, and I adore it from the bottle. This is absolutely my style, and the addition of the massive, American-style heavy hop hand is right up my alley. Sweet.

Serving type: bottle

08-29-2008 03:32:26 | More by BretSikkink

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

4.03/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

The beer pours a rich honey apricot color with very good head retention and lacing. On the the nose this beer is just terrific. I get a complex nose of hoppy citrus, but with underlying honey, fruit cocktail, lime and cinnamon.

Considering the fabulous nose on this beer, I confess I was a bit disappointed by the flavor profile. While there is some light sweet honey, it's blasted out of the way by some very dry, hoppy bitterness. The beer is actually surprisingly light tasting for such a big beer, which I attribute at least partially to the massive hoppiness and minimal malt presence. Drinkability is OK for this beer, though the over the top, excessive bitterness hurts the finish just a bit.

An interesting beer from GF. Wouldn't want this all the time, but it's a solid beer.

Serving type: bottle

08-26-2008 15:11:40 | More by johnmichaelsen

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a fully fogged in orange with a brown hue. nose is real strong with lemon and seems to smell like Pine Sol. Yeah. I said that. Flavor is smooooth. Real smooth. Meaty hops and meaty citrus. Robust and earthy. Feel is silken on liquid. This is pretty tasty. Surprisingly, it leans much farther to Belgian than IPA, which is good. Well done. Very well done indeed.

Serving type: on-tap

08-24-2008 20:30:31 | More by RblWthACoz

Gavage

New Jersey

4.38/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: pours an orange color with a 1" head that breaks apart slowly to a thick surface foam. Big bubbles stick to the side of the glass. Moderate lacing develops.

Smell: candied sugar, yeast, and a floral hop bitterness are up front. Some spiciness lingers in the background.

Taste: caramel, yeast, pepper, green apples, and a nice bitterness makes up a well balanced beer. The sweetness lingers around a while.

Mouthfeel: crisp from start to finish. Hints of dryness arrive late. Aftertaste is long as the flavors linger in the mouth. Medium bodied beer.

Drinkability: easy to quaff this beer. Tasty, well balanced and somewhat refreshing. Worth picking this one up.

Serving type: bottle

08-23-2008 21:05:16 | More by Gavage

opwog

Minnesota

4.6/5  rDev +13.9%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Now listeing to: Gorillaz - Spitting Out The Demons

I admit it, I have a "thing" for Greenflash beers and while this beer was a stretch from most of their offerings, it did not disapoint at all.

A- Cloudy, golden-yellow color, with firm white head
S- yeast, pear, citrus, straw
T- This is an incredibly balanced beer. Hops help keep the style slightly dry, while you still get all the fruit characteristics
M- For many Beligians, the mouth is my least favorite element, but just as with the balance that the hops add to the taste, that dryness improves the mouthfeel for this style
D- Very drinkable! If there wasn't such a large selection of revolving beers at Beechwood that I wanted to try, I definitely would have ordered a second!

Serving type: on-tap

08-22-2008 00:03:02 | More by opwog

Zorro

California

4.1/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Always interested to try a new offering from Green Flash.

Slightly chill hazed copper colored ale with a good off-white to very lightly tan colored head. Head falls fairly quickly.

Smell is spicy and dry to the nose and quite floral. This is very herbal with a trace of Belgian Candi sugar mostly toffee. Pepper and coriander scent is present, but I'm not sure if any spices were added or if this is all yeast. Minor trace of apple aroma but this isn't very fruity.

The taste starts out very dry in the mouth and quite woody with a trace of toffee aftertaste. Well-balanced bitterness, this doesn't hit you like a hop sledgehammer. Very herbal in the mouth but think English style hops and not North West Pine and Citrus. Quite warming in the chest, this is by no means a low alcohol beer the bottle says 9.2% ABV.

Mouthfeel is good.

Superbly drinkable so long as you like a dry beer, this is very dry. Herbal and dry the only thing I would avoid serving this beer with is anything sweet.

Serving type: bottle

08-19-2008 02:23:21 | More by Zorro

cvstrickland

North Carolina

4.13/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22-ounce bottle poured into a tulip yields a glowing orange amber body crowned with two fingers of creamy ivory foam with orange highlights that settles to a soft, misshapen cloud formation that leaves fat rings of lacing on the glass.

The smell of the drink is fruity, hoppy, and sweet. The aroma is a medley of banana and pine, brown sugar and bitter orange, with resinous herbal notes atop grilled pineapple.

The taste of the drink is fruity, hoppy, and sweet. Flavors of orange and pineapple with piney-bitter lemon rind complete with a rich malty backbone that brings a note of lightly-sweet caramel to the production. Banana and peach flavors compete with a stiff hoppy bitterness for ownership of the finish. A bit of alcohol rolls around in the flavor profile and works just fine for this beer, and a warming in the tummy marks the progress toward the bottom of the bottle.

A smooth and tasty brew with a potent 9.2% abv that probably limits its drinkability, but otherwise I could sip this one all day. An interesting blend of styles from one of my favorite breweries.

Serving type: bottle

08-17-2008 15:05:39 | More by cvstrickland

Halcyondays

California

4.13/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

On-tap at the Beachwood BBQ,

A: Pours a cloudy yellow-orange, with a medium white white head, great thick sticky white lacing.

S: Belgian yeast, pepper, hops, solid scent for the style.

T: Taste is big on the Belgian yeast spice on the first taste. Then the hops come in and combine with the yeast flavour to create a menthol, peppermint flavour, interesting. Hops are filled with a grassy and pine bitterness reminiscent of a spruce ale, but you know they're hops, a strange flavour, but tasty.

M: Very yeasty, light phenols, medium-bodied, has a bit of chalky character to it.

D: Another very good beer from Green Flash, is it possible for this brewery to make a beer that is not delicious? Great example of the new style, glad I finally found it.

Serving type: on-tap

08-16-2008 22:33:54 | More by Halcyondays

Kraken

Maryland

4.33/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Le Freak poured from a 22oz bomber into a massivly oversized pint glass. Firm pour provides for a 2 finger head that quickly fades to a thin skim. minimal lace. Color is a orange amber that screams west coast IPA.
Nose- Its like a bunch of hops are trying to jump out of glass. Citrus, grapefruit, orange tangerine. No hints of banana or bubble gum in this bad boy, some of the belgian sutblties have been sacrificed for pure hoppy goodness.
Taste- Hops are in your face both comming and going. Hop forward with very prominent citrus, again with the oranges grapefruit and tangerine. Belgian charcteristics come through in the middle, candi suguar, nice body, somewhat smooth. Massive hop bitters in the finish. Finishes long bitter and dry. Just a faint bit of heat from the 9% alcohol.
Mouthfeel- Keeps you interested for the duration. Nice blend of both styles.
Drinkability- Le Freak is as drinkable as 9% beer can be. After an hour walk with the dogs on a hot august day this is very nice. Wish I had another.

Serving type: bottle

08-15-2008 23:11:32 | More by Kraken

drunkmonk

North Carolina

4.33/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Picked up bomber at Sam's Quick Stop for $8.

Pours murky golden peach color. Nice thick frothy head, gives way to a firm steady sheet of lacing. Nice combination of spicy phenols, clove, sweet belgian candi sugar, and Belgian yeast aromas. Also some pine and citrus hop aromas layering underneath. A definate west coast spin and I like it. Taste is much the same, nice clove, candy sugar, and spicy phenol and yeast flavors to start. The finish however gives way to a nice citric, piney, grassy hop bitterness. The warmer this got, the more the hop bitterness started to come to the forefront. Body and carbonation are spot on. Phenols are there, but in a more spicy character and not detracting at all. Hey, you got your triple in my Ipa, no you got your Ipa in my triple! A San Diego style Triple, you betcha. A really nice balencing act, that hit me in my wheel house. Seek this out.

Serving type: bottle

08-07-2008 02:03:36 | More by drunkmonk

dbONE

California

4.4/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Enjoyed at the tasting table on site at Green Flash.

A nice deep pale near golden looks crisp and clean, as the very carbonated head has trouble staying put in the glass.
They dont forget about the hops in this creation they are place well behind a fruity and spicy aroma
The flavor creeps in with a hint of spice then picks up the pace with fruityness, then sprints in to give a heafty hearble bitterness. They said it was 9% but it went down way easier than that.
Nice mouthfeel but the carbontaion was enough to take away from the heavier taste.
This is a nicly balanced beer and a catagory that is sure to keep growing. Get your notes in on this one first, then enjoy it with a Ashton VSG cigar, holy ----!

Serving type: on-tap

07-09-2008 16:02:00 | More by dbONE

sloejams

California

3.7/5  rDev -8.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

On tap at the Belmont Brewing Co

I was happy to see that nestled in amongst the BBC's own beers they had a few from Green Flash, including this one that I've not had previously. It pours a golden color, looking a lot like a tripel. Smell-wise too, I would have guessed this a tripel: there was clove, Belgian yeast and slight citrus. The hops didnt really come out until the bitterness of the taste. It took me awhile to warm up to it as it didnt have the bouquet of say an Urthel Hop-It or a Poperings Hommel. I will say that as it warmed it warmed up to me.

I will say the high ABV came out in the taste a bit which had me switch beers after just one.

Serving type: on-tap

06-13-2008 22:16:23 | More by sloejams

rajendra82

Georgia

4.43/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Traded to me in a brewer bottled 22 oz. bomber by Eyedrinkale as part of the BIF 2008 Race package, Le Freak was poured into a Duvel tulip. The beer looked very clear, golden in color, and had a two finger thick head of foam. The initial smell provided an enticing whiff of hops similar to an IPA, but deeper breaths revealed floral, yeasty, and spicy scents more typical of the Belgian styles. The taste was also a near 50/50 mix of the two influences, with the hops up front, and tropical fruits and yeasty funk shortly thereafter. Candi sugar like sweetness was also apparent and the subsequent peppery phenols were finished off by a bitter aftertaste. I love that this marriage of two styles has managed to present the essence of both in a melded yet distinct manner. Seems like such an ordinary concept on paper, but others that have tried it don't seem have pulled it off quite as well as Le Freak.

Serving type: bottle

05-24-2008 04:28:26 | More by rajendra82