Green Flash Palate Wrecker - Green Flash Brewing Co.

beagle75

Iowa

3.63/5  rDev -13.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a tulip glass.

A: Clear, light amber color with two fingers of off-white foam head that collapses to a large and persistent pad. Moderate lacing remains on the glass and a few lines of bubbles climb through the center of the column.

S: Syrupy citrus and green herbaceous hops are positioned centrally in the nose, appropriate in quality and intensity for a West Coast-style DIPA. Malt is refined and largely non-contributory, adding just a suggestion of caramel candy. No alcohol is detected.

T: Begins off-dry, with heaps of refined pale and caramel malt that quickly give way to potent green herbaceous and piney hop aromatics. Carbonic acidity is intense into the middle where precocious bitterness surges without regard for balance. Synergy between qualities creates the illusion of flavor similar to how an electrical fire smells. Flavors dry out considerably toward the finish as heavy green herbaceous flavors marry well with the punishing bitterness that lingers long on the palate. No alcohol is detected.

M: Medium viscosity, briefly scorching on the palate due to acidity, with moderate carbonation.

D/O: When naming a beer, the brewer may want to take care not to promise too much. Such warnings aside, this beer fulfills its namesake promise very ably by cultivating an obnoxiously self-conscious level of bitterness. Despite the punishing intensity of its bitterness upon the palate, the dank green flavors match it well, making it an appropriate beer to review on 4/20.

Serving type: bottle

04-20-2012 21:46:03 | More by beagle75

oline73

Maryland

4.5/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a bottle into a standard pint glass.

Appearance: Pours a clear amber color with a finger and a half of fluffy off white head. The head hangs around very well and leaves nice lacing. This is a really good looking beer.

Smell: West coast IPA hop profile is the first thing I'm picking up. Citrus peel and pine notes from the hop bitterness. Just a touch of malt sweetness, but it's almost lost in the hops.

Taste: There is a nice malt sweetness in the background, but the hops are the reason we're all here. Bitter citrus peel hops, just a mild note of pine as well. The finish is crushingly bitter, but very good.

Mouthfeel: Medium body with fluffy carbonation and a slick finish.

Overall: This is a fantastic DIPA. It was much better than I expected. Huge fan and I would definitely have another.

Serving type: bottle

04-20-2012 02:22:07 | More by oline73

hooliganlife

Missouri

4.05/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

pours a clear copper with frothy creamy head. lots of nice retention and lacing.

ripe fruity citrus, very fresh and lush. sweet and slightly bitter.

more bitter in flavor. a prefect complex mixture of pine and citrus bitterness. some nice citrus grapefruit in the finish. some booze also in the finish.

moderate but slightly light carbonation. easy to drink, not too heavy.

pretty decent DIPA. nothing really bad about it. enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2012 23:40:49 | More by hooliganlife

inlimbo77

Delaware

3.95/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

16oz (I thought) normal sized bottle. No bottling information, as per usual with Green Flash. But this just hit the shelves here so I assume it's fresh. Poured this into a Deschutes tulip.

A: Pours a really clear amber orange color. Finger and a half bright white tight bubbled head. Carbonation streaming off the bottom of the glass. Pretty beer.

S: I get lots of fruit: grapefruit, tangerine, mango, overripe peach, etc. Lots of astringency.

T: It's funny. It's definitely a hop bomb. But I really think with all the hoppy beers out there, I'm almost immune. You definitely get punched in the face with a hop bitterness in the tip of the tongue. As it moves to the middle of the mouth where you'd expect some malt balance it's just more fruity hop notes assaulting your tongue. Little daggers of flavor and bitterness. On the close is crisp and a little dry with lingering flavor. It's not boozy, but you do feel some warmth at 9.5%. Especially as a first beer. I would certainly drink this at the end of a drinking evening as it most certainly screws with your taste buds.

M: Medium bodied. Lots of hop coated goodness.

O: A-

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2012 17:10:13 | More by inlimbo77

woosterbill

Connecticut

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

12oz bottle into a Duvel tulip. Big thanks to HopStoopid120 for tossing this one my way.

A: A straight pour yields a towering three-finger head of dense, creamy off-white head that recedes slowly toward the clear copper body, leaving abundant lace. Gorgeous.

S: Whoa, that's some intense grapefruit hoppiness - plus just a hint of cannabis. Moderate booze, and a touch of toffee. Quite good.

T: Follows the nose: grapefruit pith, dank weed, sweet toffee malt, and a hugely bitter, boozy finish. Big, bold, and very tasty.

M: A little on the light side body-wise, but with a moderate dose of pleasantly fine carbonation. Not bad at all.

O: The name might be a bit of an overstatement, but it's definitely an assertive DIPA. I appreciated the touch of malt backbone, as it was really necessary to keep the substantial booziness in check. I really hope Green Flash comes to CT, as this would be terrific to drink fresh on tap.

Cheers!

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2012 01:40:09 | More by woosterbill

psuKinger

Pennsylvania

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

12 ounce bottle poured into my Bruery tulip.

A: Pours a very hazy dark orange (almost ruby red) with a big thick frothy slightly-off-white head on top, 2-fingers worth.

S: Pine and Grapefruit, at a moderate volume. More pine than grapefruit.

T: Dry, earthy notes and lots of pine. But that traditional "california IPA" grapefruit is also there. Strong sweetness on the back end, as expected from a "Double IPA" weighing in at 9.5%. This reminds me of a cross between a piney/earthy English style IPA and a California IPA, then kick the sweetness/ABV up a notch.

Strong bitterness on the back end of this beer. One of the more bitter beers I've had, just a shade less bitter than the Port IPA or the Arctic Panzer I've had.

M: Carbonation is a touch light, and the beer doesn't have as much heft as you'd expect at first, but then lots of residue left behind on the finish.

D/O: A little heavy on the "bitter" and pine for my liking. Not quite as much grapefruit/citrus reward as my *favorites*. Overall, a good IPA. Certainly one I'd revisit at a later date, but not something I'd choose to revisit tonight.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2012 00:01:09 | More by psuKinger

Titans77

Maryland

4.55/5  rDev +8.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A - Darker bronze. 2 and half fingers of white head. Nice alcohol lacing and some moderate carbonation floating to the top of the head. Good looking brew for sure.

S - HOPS. Lots and lots of citrus hops. I like the smell, but it really doesn't come off as complex as I had hoped. Lack of noticeable malt backbone might have something to do with that though.

T - HOP BOMB. Exactly what I wanted from this brew. At 149 IBUs I was NOT disappointed. Citrus and pine to the extreme. If it was any more hoppy, it might have been too much. But this damn near perfect for a DIPA. Best tasting DIPA that I have had so far.

M - medium bodied, smooth and drinkable. Nothing spectacular in the sense, but well above average. Very bitter, very good.

O - my favorite beer to date. Haven't had much to this point being a young BA guy, but damnit, my palate is in love with this hop bomb. Must buy for me. Will be picking up more for sure!

Serving type: bottle

04-18-2012 01:28:13 | More by Titans77

hopfacebrew

Colorado

3.78/5  rDev -9.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Don't know much about this one, sounds interesting, Green Flash's version of Ruination? Just a guess based on the name. Poured from bottle pint glass the hop aroma is immediately present upon the pour. The beer arrives a slightly hazy orange color with a good 2 finger white cap, decent retention and lacing. The beer is a hop bomb so the aroma is heavy on the hops. Mostly citrus with a bit of pine. I love hops but this is almost so strong it's uninviting. The beer is bitter, not nearly to Ruination's level but bitter. Unbalanced. Very resiny with pine and earthy tones more prevalent than the nose suggests. Hides the alcohol well though. Hops dominate any malt base. Full bodied. Good carbonation. Overall, not bad but nowhere near balanced. 1 is enough.

Serving type: bottle

04-18-2012 00:18:36 | More by hopfacebrew

JoEBoBpr

Missouri

4.23/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into a tulip glass from a 22oz bottle.

I con immediately get a grassy and citrusy hop punch when I opened this. Good indicator.

Pours a nice golden copper color with some nice clean orange hues. There is a large ecru head that is pretty dense and appetizing. About 1.5 inch tall with some chunkier bubbles at the top. The head recedes very slowly and leaves some nice awesome sticky lacing. Very nice retention.

Aroma starts off with some nice toasty grain and quickly gets enveloped by some awesome grassy, herbal and citrus hop notes. Very crisp and refreshing hop juice notes. Orange peal and some nice grapefruit notes. There is also some tangerines and some mild tropical fruit notes. Maybe some mango. There is also a very nice earthy and tasty grain back note there that leads me to believe this will be balanced ;)

Wow. Intense hop bomb right off the bat. Strong citrus notes with intense resinous bitterness. Grapefruit rind and orange peel. Intense hop resin with some slight pine in there as well. There is a nice slight toasty grain malt note that eases the intensity of the hops. The finish is dry and bitter though. A hop heads dream.

Overall. Great DIPA, extremely hoppy and nice and bitter. As it warms it continuous to be a palate wrecker with some more resinous note notes precent.

Serving type: bottle

04-17-2012 23:17:25 | More by JoEBoBpr

ColForbinBC

New Jersey

4.48/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

12oz bottle poured into a snifter

Pours an orange amber with a thick off-white cap that rises to a little under two fingers. Loads of sticky lace and patches of foam over the top of the liquid.

Heavily hopped. Huge notes of ruby red grapefruit, orange rind, papaya, and pineapple. Big, sticky, juicy hops. A clean, sturdy bready malt bill in the back, allowing these hops to shine.

This guy lives up to its name. Heavy bitterness. This might be the most bitter dipa I have tasted, and with a name like palate wrecker, it better be.

Ruby red grapefruit pummels the palate with oranges, papaya, mango, and pineapple rounding out a juicy tropical fruit profile. The bitterness hits early and often. Big lingering fruity bitterness with a touch of pine needles.

Medium body with perfect carbonation. For a beer this big and bad, the feel is pretty damn close to perfect. Mostly smooth, slightly oily, with just a hint of booze. Huge lingering bitterness.

Fantastic dipa. Once in a while a beer comes by and knocks you over the head. This is one of those beers.

Serving type: bottle

04-17-2012 03:05:53 | More by ColForbinBC

OBeerMeGreatOne

California

4.45/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Pours out a gold/orange. Very nice three finger head that leaves a huge mess of lace stuck to the glass. Tons of visible carbonation.

Grapefruit, pale malts, orange and herbal hops make up the nose.

The taste has a great hop kick. I'd say this one wrecks the West Coast and Imperial they brew. Strong citrus taste up front, kumquat, grapefruit rind, a hint of malt, followed by fresh cut grass and mineral hops. Goes down very smooth for being so hoppy with a high ABV.

My favorite of the Green Flash IPA's. Glad they bottled it up.

Serving type: bottle

04-16-2012 20:39:06 | More by OBeerMeGreatOne

threeviews

New Jersey

4.5/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 12oz bottle (no "bottled on" or "best by" date) into a Brooklyn Brewery etched, 14oz Reidel tulip/balloon glass

A- Pours a clear copper/amber color with a 3 finger, eggshell white, soapy head which sticks around for quite awhile...beautiful lacing as the brew is consumed.

S- Pungent dank hops: bitter citrus, pine resin, sweet tropical fruit and some booze.

T- Pine at the front of the palate followed by citrus flesh and and then bitter citrus rind. In contrast, I don't feel this is as an extreme DIPA as mentioned in previous reviews. Hop forward? Yes, absolutely...but not astringent as some might report.

M- Much like Sierra Nevada's Hoptimum, a fairly slick (honey-like) feel. Chico/American/California ale yeast provides mild carbonation and allows the hop oils to have adequate time to absorb into the palate. A substantial malt backbone supports the hops nicely.

O- If you have a penchant for bitter brews...this might be your weapon of choice. This is my 4th Green Flash brew and I really love this beer (more than their West Coast I.P.A.), not to mention the molded Green Flash logo bottle. Assuming it is fresh, I can see a case purchase in the near future. However, I am worried that the lack of a date code on the bottle that will prevent me from getting fresh soldiers.

Serving type: bottle

04-16-2012 01:03:21 | More by threeviews

chugalug06

Colorado

3.5/5  rDev -16.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Holy cow! Massive hop scent smack floats though the air upon opening... Yum!

iHuge! foamy white head rises from the hazed orange brew. Lots of yellow and some reds. Nice lacing too, A+.

Huge Cascase nose on this brew, almost overwhelming and too much. Strong pine and mild citrus.

Overly bitter, very little smoothness. Lots of bitterness remains long after brew is gone. This brew is like drinking pine sap. WHOA, slightly overwhelming. Good carbonation and no heat.

Slight mess of a brew, but a west coast hop bomb nonetheless. Flavor is overwhelmingly bitter without enough sweetness or smoothness. Recommended, but for only the biggest of hopheads.

Serving type: bottle

04-16-2012 00:13:52 | More by chugalug06

abrethanson

California

4.33/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

appearance - pours a clear copper, carmel with (1) finger white head. A good amount of lacing left on the tulip glass. Pretty solid looking ale.

Smell - dominating pine bitterness, fresh citrus, and hop hop hop.

Taste - hop bomb all the way but very well balanced with the malts. Hops up front, malty caramel boozy body, and grapefruit / burnt bacon bitterness at the end. Hop bitterness aftertaste definitely sticks. A little dark fruit but is masked by the hops. The booziness is apparent but plays second fiddle in this arrangement. More hops than I generally enjoy but respect the ability to put that much in and still make it drinkable.

Mouthfeel - first sip the bitterness is apparent on your tongue. That is the point of this beer.

Overall - Really enjoyed but definitely not a sessionable ale and lives true to the name 'Palate Wrecker.' A fun and unique beer to taste. Because of the powerful flavors would be a good bottle to split with a friend.

Food Pairing - BBQ, BLT, french fries

Serving type: bottle

04-15-2012 23:34:04 | More by abrethanson

superspak

Michigan

4.1/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

12 ounce bottle into tulip glass, no bottle dating. Pours slightly hazy golden orange color with a nice 2 finger dense cream colored head with fantastic retention that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Some nice spotty lacing on the glass. Aromas of big orange, caramel, pine, biscuit, grapefruit, mango, floral, honey, light herbal, and a touch of alcohol. Nice and well balanced aromas with good strength. Taste of big grapefruit, pine, caramel, honey, biscuit, herbal, floral, and mango. Fairly intense pine bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of citrus, honey, pine, biscuit, and caramel on the finish for a good bit. Despite the intense hoppiness, there is a nice malt backbone to balance it out. Good flavor balance as well. Medium carbonation and medium-full bodied; with a creamy, sticky, and slightly slick mouthfeel. Smooth to drink but it is still a sipper. Alcohol is fairly well hidden with only a good sized warming after the finish. Overall this is an excellent and highly enjoyable DIPA. Nice malt balance and hop flavor profile.

Serving type: bottle

04-15-2012 04:39:28 | More by superspak

AleWatcher

Illinois

3.3/5  rDev -21.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12 oz bottle with no freshness dating of any kind poured into a tulip pint.

Slightly copper-hued orangey amber body with a small slightly beige head of 2 fingers. The head subsided quickly down to 1/4 finger and the proceeded to linger for quite some time, like an embarrassed man hanging around outside the porn section of the video rental store while trying to work up the nerve...

Shockingly malty.
Surprisingly well-balanced... Very bitter, but not over-hopped in the aromatic/flavoring department.
The flavor is rather bready sweet, like reminiscent of an amber ale... Kinda chalky maltiness. The hops are predominantly citrusy with grapefruit leading the pack.

The body is pretty oily and medium feeling.

Overall-- very bitter... I just it were more hop-forward in terms of flavor. Not bad, but nothing here to set the DIPA world ablaze with excitement. It does an adequate job covering the alcohol level.

Serving type: bottle

04-15-2012 03:44:32 | More by AleWatcher

SgunnarW

California

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

Poured from a 22oz bomber into a tulip.

A: Pours a beautiful golden amber with a massive 3 finger off-white head that lingers. Nice carbonation and bubbles creeping up the side of the glass. Minimal lacing.

Sm: Initially very sweet with hints of caramel followed by some citrus. Grapefruit and apricot definitely dominate.

T: Holy hops! The hops don't come through in the nose like they do in the taste. A lingering sweetness up front is destroyed by massively amazing hop bitterness. Slightly tart in the middle, almost mouth-puckeringly so, which is where the grapefruit shines. The alcohol is very warming in the finish, and coupled with the hops, this beer is almost mouth numbing. Awesome.

Mf: Medium bodied with great carbonation. A bit astringent as well.

O: Yum. A definite hop-bomb for sure. I've been searching for this kind of bitterness in a DIPA for a while now!

Serving type: bottle

04-15-2012 00:17:12 | More by SgunnarW

Bobheed

Texas

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

A: Pours a dark amber color with a thick off-white head, about two fingers.

S: Hops. Smells like crazy, super astringent piney hops knocking me back. Actually almost smells like some dank weed

T: Somehow, even hoppier than the nose led me to believe. once you get past the overwhelming intensity of it, you really get lots of pine and cat piss.

M: Medium body and fairly high carbonation, but the alcohol and sheer amount of hops in this almost numbs your mouth. I quite like it

This is my first offering from Green Flash and I freakin love it. I know not all their beers will be like this, but it definitely makes me want more. Without a doubt, the most hop-intense beer I've ever had.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2012 05:19:32 | More by Bobheed

bstave

Washington

4.5/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bomber poured into New Belgium Snifter

A- Translucent copper orange with nice white head. Moderate lacing. Great looking beer.

S- Big grapefruit and piney hops. A bit of earthy, dank hops. Bit of a caramel undertone. Very big and nice smelling beer.

T- This is a freshy! Big grapefruit rind and pine. Nice caramel undertone, but not enough to make this a balanced DIPA, which is exactly what I expected. This is a wonderful bitter beer!

M- Mouthfeel is awesome. Medium to full with perfect carbonation to create a nice creamy mouthfeel. Bitterness stays a long time on the palate.

O- As the name implies, this is a palate wrecker. Most enjoyable and one any hophead should seek out immediately.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2012 04:55:47 | More by bstave

ocelot2500

Arizona

4.23/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a sun kissed orange color with a tight white head that leaves chunks of lacing.

Smells of big pine and citrus hops with some caramel sweetness.

Tastes of big hops layered on top of some nice malts. Hops lead off with some pine and citrus along with some grassy notes. Not particularly bitter, but it definitely has a bite. Malts slide in and add some sweetness to cut the bitterness with caramel and toasted bread. Some alcohol comes through as it warms, but is pleasant.

Mouthfeel is medium-full with a smooth amount of carbonation.

Overall, this is quite nice and definitely worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2012 03:14:29 | More by ocelot2500

JEdmund

Kansas

4.08/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Surprisingly clear for such a hopped up beer. Nice glowing orange color, with even some tall head formation.

Smell is big, and nice, but I have smelled bigger and better. Maybe my expectations were too high. Regardless, big dank hop aroma with citrusy sweet notes, grapefruit, pine, and a flowery perfume (Cascade?).

Sharp, biting hoppiness that has a lingering flavor; finishes dry. Yet it’s still drinkable. Body feels modest given the ABV. I like that. Definitely not thick and syrupy. In fact, it has a really pleasant fluffy texture, good carbonation. OK, the more I drink, the more it lives up to its name; my tongue feels scrubbed! I really feel those 100+ IBUs in the bone dry finish.

Given the unique brewing method, I somewhat expected to be overwhelmed and not enjoy this. But it’s pretty darn drinkable (for a seasoned hop veteran, of course : ).

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2012 02:21:43 | More by JEdmund

tdm168

North Carolina

3.93/5  rDev -6.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a dark, golden orange with a big, off white, foamy, dense head that has decent retention. The nose is faintly herbal, mildly grassy, and has an underlying bready aroma. The flavor is bready and malty up front, but it quickly changes to herbal, bitter, citrusy, piny hops. The mouthfeel is medium to full bodied, smooth, and well carbonated.

I like what Green Flash tried to do here. As a hop head I will always promote the extreme. The flavor is solid and really does showcase almost all of what hops can do. It's not nearly as hoppy, bitter, or intense as the name would lead one on to believe, but overall it's a good DIPA.

Serving type: bottle

04-13-2012 22:49:48 | More by tdm168

jondeelee

Massachusetts

4.45/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Palate Wrecker, which clocks in at "100+" IBUs, according to Green Flash's website, opens with exactly the kind of nose that IBU level entails, overflowing with grapefruit rind, pink grapefruit, rose hips, pine sap, mint, eucalyptus, dandelion stem, and the aromatic version of the bitterness you get when you suck on non-flavored vitamin C tablets. In other words, the hop aromas are intense, but at the same time, varied and playful, bouncing between several notes and speaking of the kind of balance with which high-wire artists are familiar. There are also massive sugars in here, beginning with deep orange, lemon, lime, apricot, and berry fruit esters, and delving from there into brown sugars, all of which is grounded by toast crust and rising wheat dough. As a whole, the nose is amazing, and at least for a hophead, begs to be put on the tongue.

On the tongue, it's immediately apparent why this beer is called "Palate Wrecker": the hop flavors--dandelion stem, pine sap, grapefruit rind, mint, anise, eucalyptus, pepper--are so intense that I doubt any other beer would have much flavor if imbibed after this one. The hops wash over the tongue in such power that the mouth's soft tissues tingle and burn in response, and even the nose fills with slightly eye-watering (but in the best way possible) vapors. There are sugars somewhere deep, deep beneath that hop blast, bringing brown sugars, orange, apricot, berry, and toast crust, but they're present in much the same way that your underwear is: you know it's there, but you're really not paying that much attention to it. The beer does come across as imbalanced because of this, but the hop flavors are so intense, varied, nuanced, and delicious that it doesn't particularly concern this drinker. There's only the slightest touch of alcohol vapors in here, mostly coming through late in the mouthful, but even these blend nicely with the hops, much like the alcohol in a good martini. Even the aftertaste, which can still be nicely detected a good sixty seconds after swallowing, is hops, hops, hops. Mouthfeel is a lightly syrupy medium, and carbonation is medium (though it feels like medium high, thanks to the burning effect of the hops).

Overall, if you're a hophead, then this beer should be at the very top of your "must try" list, because you're really not going to find a brew that better showcases what can be done with a skilled, intelligent application of this ingredient. Just don't expect to taste much of anything when you're done--if the hops don't take care of that, the 9.5% ABV will.

Serving type: bottle

04-13-2012 21:44:11 | More by jondeelee

fmccormi

New York

4.35/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Straight pour from 22oz pry-off bottle to a large Hill Farmstead stem. No bottling date, but I picked this up the first day it hit the stores here so I’m assuming it’s as fresh as it’ll get.

Appearance (4.5): Beautiful clear, orange-gold body with an off-white head starting at two and a half fingers and fading slowly, leaving a sudsy web of lace. Surface of the head is rocky, with a mix of big fat bubbles and little bubbles all over the place. Looks great for the style.

Smell (4.0): This is an awesome, pungent mix of lime juice and weed with sweet citrus notes thrown in there—but there’s a strong lime juice thing going on here. Grassy. Great smell.

Taste (4.5): What really caught me off guard here is the grassiness of it: there’s a lot of other stuff going on in the hop profile, but the grassy character comes in right at the beginning and hangs on forever. The finish is a skunky, bitter flavor that walks the line between intense herbal, grassy notes and chewing on grapefruit rind. There’s a sweet pineapple / mango character in the background that mixes in with a pale, understated malt body—bready and plain, it comes out a bit more as it warms but it really doesn’t hold a chance next to the hops. This is great, and I’m enjoying the hell out of it.

Mouthfeel (4.0): Very good mouthfeel, finishes dry as hell (probably thanks to the booze) and it has a medium to lighter-side-of-medium body to it; carbonation is relatively understated but balanced. It’s an easy drinker, if you can handle the hops.

Overall (4.5): Great beer. Love it. It could definitely be a bit more balanced, and I’ve had DIPAs with a more nuanced or complex hop profile, but this beer promised an unrelenting hop experience and that’s exactly what it delivered. Very, very happy to have enjoyed this bastard, and I look forward to wrecking myself again in the future.

Serving type: bottle

04-13-2012 02:21:44 | More by fmccormi

CuriousMonk

Virginia

4.33/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured from 12oz bottle into a tulip glass. Pours amber in color with large white head. Lacing lasts well throughout the session. Aroma is lightly malty, caramel, toasted grain, resiny/hoppy, and grapefruit with alcoholic notes. Moderately acidic, moderately to heavily bitter finish. Full body, creamy texture, lively carbonation, and moderately alcoholic. A very nice hoppy beer!

Serving type: bottle

04-12-2012 18:38:39 | More by CuriousMonk