Green Flash Palate Wrecker - Green Flash Brewing Co.

barbellsNbeers

Texas

5/5  rDev +19.3%

07-12-2012 02:07:09 | More by barbellsNbeers

SpruceMoose

Australia

4.44/5  rDev +6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

It's bollocks-freezing weather down here in Oz, and thus it was inevitable that I'd make the trek to one of my favourite locals, Acland Cellars, to acquire some super-strong crafts for the evening that awaited me. Something dense, I said, like a barley wine or an imperial stout. The clerk grimaces as he hands me the bottle; the title "Palate Wrecker" staring menacingly into me. At first I'm perplexed as to whether I should fear or admire this creation by notorious San Diego brewers Green Flash, but curiosity meant that I knew this beer would certainly need to be reviewed.

Good luck, the clerk tells me as I walk out into the frostbitten streets. Keep calm. Relax. Deep breaths. Here we go.

Serving Type: 12 oz bottle poured slowly into a 500ml Hobgoblin tall pint glass.

Appearance: The pour generates a modest head with a cloudy golden body, similar in shade to Sierra Nevada Pale Ale with the intriguing density of a Belgian ale. Bubbles race frantically up the glass and contribute to the head, which laces evenly as it lowers itself deeper into the glass.

Smell: A hophead's paradise; intense aromas of citra and cascade (and perhaps even Goldings?) hops are immediately noticeable, and serve as a signal of what is to come.

Taste: The first swallow produces an intense bitterness that lingers not only on the tongue but all around the mouth. It sits there right after your first sip and stays around until the second. As a hophead, I'm naturally in heaven. Some booziness is noticeable after the first few sips.

Mouthfeel: Denser than your average IPA. Carbonation is moderate and the body is gentle despite the intense flavour. Overall very pleasant.

Overall: Hopheads would love it, maltists would scoff at it and lagerboys will run hysterically from it. Green Flash Palate Wrecker is a unique beer with plenty of character and much to offer the hop connoisseur. This is indeed an intense double IPA, and chances are you'd either fall head over heels for it or dismiss it as another overhopped generic American IPA. Regardless, my palate has been wrecked.

Serving type: bottle

05-20-2013 10:31:52 | More by SpruceMoose

Geno206

Washington

4.75/5  rDev +13.4%

05-20-2013 02:08:33 | More by Geno206

Glibber

Idaho

4/5  rDev -4.5%

05-19-2013 21:58:10 | More by Glibber

nick_asian

Nevada

4.25/5  rDev +1.4%

05-19-2013 07:14:39 | More by nick_asian

pengs68

New York

4.5/5  rDev +7.4%

05-19-2013 00:57:57 | More by pengs68

AOShabaz

Massachusetts

4.75/5  rDev +13.4%

05-18-2013 20:18:37 | More by AOShabaz

jbarletto

Massachusetts

4.5/5  rDev +7.4%

05-18-2013 14:34:41 | More by jbarletto

Moose90

Colorado

4.25/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Bottled on 12/17/12
Tasted on 05/17/13
Shit, this is old...Hope for the best.

A – Dark copper orange color. Head is tall initially, but fades to the anticipated thin layer. Lacing is rocky and sticky. Carbonation is adequate, not too high, nor too low.

S – Holy cow, big, sweet, dank, piney, resinous, malty, caramel, bright. Lots going on here. Citrus fruits, orange, lemon juice. Cannot wait to take a gulp of this.

T – Quite sweet, and the hops have faded for sure. The hop notes are here somewhat, they are peppery, white onion, and fresh pine. Interesting. Sweet overall, quite viscous, some more notes of orange and lemon come through, like a lemon curd, or orange marmalade. Balance here is what makes this great, with all the complexities, it is very smooth, drinkable and great.

M – A big beer, for sure, though it remains crisp. It is undoubtedly sweet, but not so much so that it kills you. Just short of a BW. For a IIPA, wow, just wow.

O – I grabbed this at the first chance I could. Too bad it wasn't very fresh, but hey, this is still a great beer. Will seek it out again to try it fresh. With some age it develops a big caramel sweetness, but the peppery, piney hops are still there to cut through it all.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2013 04:22:35 | More by Moose90

AGoodStout

Kansas

4/5  rDev -4.5%

05-18-2013 01:41:49 | More by AGoodStout

Boosnell

Louisiana

4/5  rDev -4.5%

05-17-2013 04:38:24 | More by Boosnell

Sparty55

Michigan

4.75/5  rDev +13.4%

05-17-2013 04:35:01 | More by Sparty55

zeebonic

Virginia

4.25/5  rDev +1.4%

05-17-2013 01:00:07 | More by zeebonic

BarryMFBurton

Indiana

4.43/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Part two in my Green Flash excursion this evening: next up is Palate Wrecker.

Finally, a bottle date: “Bottled on 12/18/12.” Damn, that’s old. Ah well, so was Le Freak, and it was still alright. To beer with a high life expectancy!

A: Deep hazy orange with a hefty head of beige bubbles. The foam is thick and fizzy, popping at every opportunity, though falling pretty slowly. Low amounts of retention but high amounts of lacing, climbing everywhere in a chunky web.

S: A magnificent testament to the glorious, aromatic hop – a noseful of pine, lemon juice, orange pulp, and sweet wildflower that promises to wreck your palate upon first sip. Smells hoppy enough to peel paint. Not much else can be found under the cloud of hop oils other than a straw-like, barnyard graininess, a rustic quality that grounds this huge IPA in a place of natural, homegrown sentiment.

T: Rides in bright with a swift metallic tinge as puckering hop notes of citrus oil and grapefruit rind send fire across the taste buds – a spicy, peppery bitterness, but bright and fruity nonetheless. It has a certain bright air to it, a charm that only juxtaposition can bring: that is, bright hops over an orange marmalade and lemon drop not-so-thick-but-still-pretty-viscous sweetness. There’s something to this beer that other DIPAs don’t have…Ruination is set apart by its crispness, Hopslam by its thick honey/resin combo, Dreadnaught by its syrupy residual sugars. It seems that Palate Wrecker is unique because of its extremely drinkable balance; it has a certain mixture of stinging hops and grainy afterbite, a bready wheat flavor that gives this a finish that is unbelievably mild.

M: In all the right ways, this beer is crisp: a bit of bubble to its dryness, but not enough to overwhelm. And in all the right ways, this beer is sweet: a meaty thickness, but not enough weigh it down. Let’s just tell is like it is: truth be told, I drank half the bottle before I realized I was doing it. This is one hell of a drinkable DIPA.

O: One of my favorite IPAs of recent memory – and that’s not just because I’ve wiped out my recent memory with beer. Green Flash has bottled pure hop essence in a container that can barely hold it, as I found out with just a single whiff. I can honestly say that this is one of the hoppiest beers I’ve ever had, which is a distinction I don’t take lightly. I think the last time I awarded that was for Stone’s Ruination…and this is even hoppier. If this were available without a huge drive, I’d be drinking this All. The. Time.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2013 00:52:43 | More by BarryMFBurton

pknyc

New York

3.5/5  rDev -16.5%

05-16-2013 23:32:03 | More by pknyc

DrewShalvoy

California

4.75/5  rDev +13.4%

05-16-2013 23:15:58 | More by DrewShalvoy

stanowsf

Connecticut

4.25/5  rDev +1.4%

05-16-2013 02:54:50 | More by stanowsf

scotv

New York

4/5  rDev -4.5%

05-16-2013 00:05:16 | More by scotv

Popp24

California

4.25/5  rDev +1.4%

05-15-2013 21:51:30 | More by Popp24

Zimm

New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev -10.5%

05-15-2013 18:39:06 | More by Zimm

Zbeetleman

California

3.75/5  rDev -10.5%

05-15-2013 03:24:13 | More by Zbeetleman

Stiffler

Oregon

4.25/5  rDev +1.4%

05-15-2013 02:25:34 | More by Stiffler

jpd7374

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +7.4%

05-14-2013 22:29:25 | More by jpd7374

boozeplease

Maryland

4/5  rDev -4.5%

05-14-2013 16:08:29 | More by boozeplease

RickS95

Indiana

3.69/5  rDev -11.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

22 ounce bomber

Pours a light copper orange, a soft apricot color. There's little head in the pour, unless you give it a bit of a swirl, and then you're left with a finger of dingy white head and a spotty lace.

It's got the style down pat in the nose. A combination of pine, grapefruit and pineapple. In the nose there seems to be enough malt in the background to hold up to the hops. There are layers and complexity because you can smell the citrus, as well as sweetness.

The taste falls a bit flat. The complexity is gone, the layers nowhere to be found. There's a biscuit, malty taste, but all is overshadowed by the hops. Unfortunately, I don't taste much West Coast influence. There's some pine, some earthiness, but no citrus...nothing for balance.

I don't have a problem with hop bombs, but there needs to be some complexity and balance or the beer is simply uneven and not all the good to drink. This is all hops, and not really in a good way. While I appreciate the name, it's a bit hard to drink because it's just all hops. The malt in the nose doesn't come through and the beer is just bitter from beginning to end, with a dry finish. Your tongue/palate never get a break.

Not all the easy to drink. After a few sips, you can't feel anything and your taste buds are shot for the immediate future. I like the ABV, but it's not an easy sipper

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2013 02:31:49 | More by RickS95