Green Flash Palate Wrecker - Green Flash Brewing Co.

Douglas14

California

4.6/5  rDev +9.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Holy shit! God, Green Flash loves its hops. The Palate Wrecker was poured from a gravity cask. It is hazy amber-orange color with no head (obviously because of the cask). Nevertheless, the color profile is phenomenal. The smells is intensely and absurdly of wonderfully fruity hops. The taste is the same. It is right in your face hops. Incredible! The taste also has a strong malty-sweet balance to it. Just amazing. Lots of grapefruit and orange...kind of resin-y. This beer really does wreck your palate. If you are lucky enough to come across it get it. It's awesome.

Serving type: cask

11-14-2008 14:59:16 | More by Douglas14

barleywinefiend

Washington

4.6/5  rDev +9.8%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A: Poured a light auburn color with good carbonation and a nice white cap. Bubbles fade away with no lacing after a few minutes.This beer looks heavy.

S: Wow bittering hops with orange peel, grapefruit, pine needles and some bread. Big nose with a nice booze sting.

T: Immediate hop bitterness with a big pine needle aand grapefruit presence then with some orange peel. Some heaviness in the middle with bread, grapefruit and a light flower note and more pine. Sticky, warm and bitter on the back end.

M: Heavy, low carbonation

O: Very good on taste and mouthfeel, palate wrecker indeed

Serving type: bottle

04-05-2012 14:37:49 | More by barleywinefiend

KickbacksSteve

Florida

4.6/5  rDev +9.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On tap at Kickbacks in Jax. Poured into a snifter. Big, fluffy, off-white head, high retention. Clear, copper body. Aroma includes a ton of grapefruit and pine, exploding from the glass. Taste is extremely bitter, pine dominating, some caramel malt sweetness in the distant background but certainly one of the most biting and bruising bitter beers available. Delicious, despite its out of balance-ness. Awesome.

Serving type: on-tap

12-30-2012 06:56:22 | More by KickbacksSteve

BrianJohnson

South Carolina

4.59/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 3 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 5

Appearance: Nice orange coloring, fairly clear, good off-white two finger head with nice lacing
Smell: Piny, citrusy, some hints of grapefruit
Taste: Very hoppy, but with a slight sweetness underneath. The hop bitterness dissipates rather quickly.
Mouthfeel: Feels almost thinner than I'd like. Lacks the thick malt backbone. Has more backbone than Harpoon Leviathan but less than DFH 90-Minute.
Overall: I like it very much and will definitely buy again.

Serving type: bottle

04-18-2013 22:38:22 | More by BrianJohnson

Pentastar

New York

4.58/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: Coppery amber with light 1 finger head, lacing sticks to the glass.

Aroma: Fresh hops with citrus and pine, very fresh hops!

Taste: Orange rind and intense hops, a definate grapefruit presence, pineapple and unripe peaches. Very intense bitterness in the aftertaste. This is the hoppiest beer I have tried thus far.

Mouthfeel: Good carbonation even from a growler fill. This beer doesn't dissapoint.

Drinkability: I could drink this beer all day, excellent beer, I highly recommend.

Serving type: growler

03-24-2010 18:52:02 | More by Pentastar

rapidsequence

Virginia

4.58/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

12 oz bottle. Just released. $3.80 from Neds-- that's $23.80 a sixpack for those who like math.

Appearance: Clear copper color. Above average head retention and lacing. Nice.

Smell: Just a huge, potent hops aroma with an amazing amount of bitter citrus, pine resin, and dank. Some caramel malt in the background. Pretty incredible.

Taste: Resiny, dank hops bomb. Straight up grapefruit pith and sucking on pine needles. An intentionally unbalanced beer, but there is a bit of sweetness that keeps this thing far from being painful. Harsh, but not in a bad way.

Mouthfeel: Big, sticky, resiny. Finishes bitter and resiny.

Overall: This is a huge DIPA. A true palate wrecker. Not an everyday beer, but a serious hop bomb for when you're in the mood. Nearly perfect.

Serving type: bottle

03-17-2012 01:46:30 | More by rapidsequence

SawDog505

New Hampshire

4.58/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Poured into a 13 oz tulip glass, no bottle date on bottle or 4 pack. Pours a clear orange red with a three quarters of an inch yeas with awesome lacing. Smell is lots of grapefruit, some onion, garlic, tangerine, grass, pineapple, and pine. Taste wow Devil Dancer and Double Crooked Tree come to mind. Lots grapefruit and garlic, with all those other flavors in the nose, in supporting roles, maybe some booze that lingers with the grapefruit. Body is large, but unlike many Imperial IPAs this all about the hops, the malt barely has a cameo. Plenty of life, not dry, and for me very drinkable. Love this beer, it is not for everybody. This would be a selection in hop head heaven.

Serving type: bottle

04-04-2012 22:18:20 | More by SawDog505

CrellMoset

Virginia

4.58/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

22 oz. bottle from Total Wine, picked up in Alexandria, VA. Poured in to a 22 oz. snifter.

Appearance: Pours a brilliant copper, intensely filtered and absolutely crystalline, the clarity of which showcases countless strings of delicate pearl-like carbonation. A pour of moderate intensity yields half a finger of off-white foamy head with moderately subpar retention, the only knock on this one's otherwise immaculate appearance. After a few minutes, the head has faded in to a thin, foamy collar, leaving a few crusty slips of lace alongsides the snifter in its wake.

Aroma: Dank, oily hop notes, and enough tingling alpha acids to balance the caramel sweet backbone. The sweetness is strong up front, emphasizing the citrus elements of the nose on this one, though they fade as it warms and in the tail end of the aroma, making way for the spiciness elements, more suggestive of pine, rosemary, thyme, and tobacco, themselves mingling interestingly with that faint hint of an alcohol burn.

Taste: What a great hop profile. A fat, heavily caramel base with plenty of residual, lighter sweetness but also a lot of heavier notes provides a solid and broad base to the marathon of individual hop notes present. The herbal and leafy notes are strong here, stronger than they are in many west coast DIPAs (which tend to be more citrus-centric) - this one is dank and tobacco-y, with lots of pine, thyme, and mint notes. That's not to say there isn't citrus - there is, plenty of it, tending towards the heavier side of the gamut, with lots of white and ruby red grapefruit notes, pithy, bitter, and an equal amount of tropical fruit notes, pineapple and nectarine-esque. At points, I almost get a gingerbread-esque note out of this one, with the way in which the malts intermingle with the spiciness of the hops. The bitterness plays a strong counterpoint to the aforementioned hop flavors, creating a unique synergy particularly well with the intense piney and herbal notes. A very varied, balanced, and robust flavor.

Mouthfeel: Smooth and even, but with a persistent and stable amount of effervescence, the aggregate effect of which is to balance and amplify both the citrusy sweetness as well as the bitter astringencies of the flavor profile. Fairly nice.

Drinkability: Easily the best beer I've ever had from Green Flash, which is a brewery that - in my experience - makes consistently good beers, but never a world class beer. This is right up there w/ the Silva Stout from them, a coast-blending exercise in DIPAs, with enough east and west coast influences to make it very enjoyable. The 9.5% is right about where you'd want this one to clock in, but it's hidden well enough that this one's dangerously drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2012 03:20:07 | More by CrellMoset

russpowell

Oklahoma

4.58/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours an effervescent honey color with a finger of cream colored head. Good lacing & average head retention

S: Pine, grapefruit with a little breadyness, plus some booze

T: Follows the nose, in your face hoppyness up front, along with a little dryness. Some breadyness & a touch of caramel as this warms with a ton of grapefruit. Finishes with grapefruit peel, breadyness, pineyness

MF: Fairly thick, slight carbonation, nice balance

A super DIPA, love the agressive hops & super balance lying underneath, easily one the best DIPAs I've had in a while. I've been waiting for a hop ride like this for a whilw, well done Green Flash!

Serving type: bottle

07-08-2012 03:16:44 | More by russpowell

Georgiabeer

Georgia

4.56/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

A very solid beer, flush with bitter herbal notes and a long finish. Quite bitter and very distinctive- I'm very glad they bottled this one. Amber in color with a somewhat short head, but that's okay given the abv. It's got that dill/green onion and sour cream thing going on in the nose from the hops- I happen to love those notes, but I know many do not. Really nicely bitter in the mouth, with an almost beefy flavor rife with the herbal and onion notes as well as some pine to give it some backbone. This is no citrus bomb, but if you're into this profile you'll love it. Very firm in the mouth at first, but then with a creamy finish and a long, mouthwatering, lingering bitterness. An all around excellent beer.

Serving type: bottle

03-21-2013 20:18:04 | More by Georgiabeer

YardmanFTB

Maryland

4.56/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

This is beer is for extreme hop-heads only. The maltiness and high gravity of the beer mask some of the extreme bitterness from so many hops in the boil. At 9.5% it is an intense experience. I really enjoy this one, but I like hops more than the average drinker.

Serving type: on-tap

03-26-2013 03:04:25 | More by YardmanFTB

VelvetExtract

Massachusetts

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

A-Pours a lightly cloudy marmalade hue. Head is creamy light the head of a latte. Head leaves more lacing than would be expected from its stature. Head also retains.

S-Absolutely wreaks of citrus flesh. I prefer my IPA/DIPAs citrusy before piney in regards to the hop bouquet. This one truly pleases me. Like ripping into a clementine. Ripe and supremely fresh. Behind the citrus is a nice grain and bread combination. Don't be fooled however, this is one of the most citrus-specific noses I have come across.

T-The citrus is blatantly the flavor forerunner. Also there is an excellent backing of floral, grass, and pine hops. The bread and grain help to balance this out a bit but this is hoppy for days. The flavor is not as course as the name would suggest but it is plenty bitter. The shocking part of this brew is that the flavor is incredibly savory. Palate Wrecker? More like Palate Pleasure (BOOM!).

M-Bitter but not as bitter as I was expecting. Resinous and creamy. Carbonation is prevalent but the bubbles are small. Nice feel; the body is not as heavy as anticipated.

O/D-First off, I must say I only bought a single bottle (12 oz.). The single was over $4 and a 4-pack clocks in at about $15. That is quite a ridiculous price. Regardless, this beer is extremely delicious. This is my style of DIPA. I do not know if I enjoy this than their West Coast IPA, but this is unquestionably one of the better DIPAs I have had is quite a while. Shockingly citrusy.

Serving type: bottle

03-16-2012 21:17:42 | More by VelvetExtract

Jimmys

Pennsylvania

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

12oz bottle into tulip.

A: clear and orange. bright orange. big sticky white head has great retention and tons of sticky lacing.

S: this thing is bursting with spruce trees and pine sap. definitely a solid honey aroma as well. certainly a hop-centric aroma.

T: similar to the nose, a big dose of piney, sap-like flavor to start things off. pine flavor remains throughout the palate. finish is nice and bitter, but definitely not overwhelming or cloying. there is some pineapple in there too.

M: carbonation is fine bubbled and zesty. full-bodied.

D: i have to disagree with the name of this beer. my palate is not wreaked. it is happy. very happy. super hoppy brew is not overwhelmed with a massive malt body. to be honest, i couldnt even detect much malt at all. hard to believe this is 9.5%abv. really tasty stuff from green flash.

Serving type: bottle

03-27-2012 01:41:07 | More by Jimmys

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

challenja

Virginia

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

Served On Tap at the Black Squirrel in ADMO DC.

A: Orange gobstopper copper with a mellow sunset amber glow.

S: Hoppy sticky resin pine cone. Sweet grapefruit with candied orange bitter leavings.

T: This is one for the Hook Books. You can really taste 6 different Hop varietals flowing through this brew. Ruby red grapefruit forward. Orange rind and sappy pine cone. White confection sugar with coconut biscuit leavings. (tasting alot of biscuit lately...mmmm biscuits...)

M: Really descent medium carbo on this one. Very swisher feel to this one. NOt to heavy, not to light. It's jusssstt right..

O: A real winner for Green Flash. It takes 1st place in my taste book for them, beating out their Imperial and West Coast IPA's. A seriously goof treat for serious IPA coneheads.

Serving type: on-tap

07-02-2012 23:09:02 | More by challenja

buddha8

New York

4.54/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

A: Thick head diminishing to picture perfect lacing.

S: Hops.

T: Resiny hops

M: As a previous reviewer noted, this beer was not brewed to be balanced. This is spot on the mark for my expectations. A bit puckering, but enough alcohol to be nicely palatable.
A good brew.

More than anything, I'm concerned that this is what wakes up my palate these days.

Serving type: bottle

02-25-2013 00:58:45 | More by buddha8

PhiloPsych

California

4.53/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

I had this on cask at Pizza Port in Carlsbad yesterday and took notes. The smell is herbal, slightly spicy hops. The color is bright, clear copper in the glass with just a small bubbly head. The mouthfeel is so smooth and soft! The taste is woody and hoppy with a semi-sweet grainy malt in back. If there is such a thing as a non-sweet honey taste, I'd attribute that to this beer. It has a lovely apricot finish, too. I wish I could go back today for another round.

Serving type: cask

08-15-2011 20:34:50 | More by PhiloPsych

BeerDawgs

Georgia

4.53/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

A 4 pack picked up at Total Wine in Columbia, SC

A - A deep bronze color, with tons of head and sticky lace. Yes, this is what a DIPA should look like

S - Piny hops in your face. Very strong. Well done...

T - Hops in your face. Hops in the 1st taste, middle through, and total kick you in the rear on the aftertaste. It doesn't get much hoppier or tastier than this.

M - Very well carbonated, medium/full bodied

O - Maybe the most tasty DIPA I have ever had. Yes, a palate wrecker. Anything you drink after this one is doomed. Sick brew...

Serving type: bottle

07-22-2012 05:40:38 | More by BeerDawgs

RonaldTheriot

Louisiana

4.53/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Green Flash Palate Wrecker has a very thick, frothy, cream-colored head, a mostly clear, golden-amber appearance, some ascending bubbles, and a bit of splotchy, thin lacing left behind. The aroma is of very intense grape fruit, with some sweet breadiness riding along. Taste is sweet, toffee-like, super bitter, and piney. Mouthfeel is medium, oily, and chewy, and Green Flash Palate Wrecker finishes dry, mentholated, and full. Well, it didn’t wreck my palate, but I still find it to be wonderful and delicious.

RJT

Serving type: bottle

02-14-2013 15:54:50 | More by RonaldTheriot

ProudBeerSnob

New York

4.51/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Finally found this bad boy at Hegedorn's (a local indie grocery store). Poured from a 22 into a tulip glass. Nice light copper color, but head is sort of sparse.

Aroma is wonderful. Piney citrus notes as expected. Tastes good as well.

Overall, a quality brew. I will seek it out again.

Serving type: bottle

05-02-2013 01:32:44 | More by ProudBeerSnob

plaid75

New York

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

Poured a dark copper hue with a one and a half finger frothy white head. There was very good retention and sticky lacing.

The smell featured a juicy orange and grapefruit hop.

The taste consisted of a full blown citrus hop with some pine and herbal elements.

The mouthfeel was typical of the style.

Overall a superior hop bomb.

Serving type: on-tap

03-23-2010 16:55:34 | More by plaid75

argock

Virginia

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

Poured from 12oz brown bottle into a Duvel tulip. No freshness date. 4-pack purchased at Wine Warehouse (Charlottesville, VA) for $13.99.

A: Burnished amber with thick, rocky off-white 2-3 finger head with decent retention and spotty formations of lace.

S: The hops aroma is raw and explosive with tons of resin, pine, and grapefruit rind finishing with some wet hops herbal notes. The maltiness is provides some caramel and burned sugar notes.

T: The flavor is very bitter but very complex from a hops standpoint with resin, wet hops earthy herbal notes, and intense grapefruit rind. It is hefty but really well done without puckering bitterness -- there are layers of flavor that come through with intensity but without being overwhelming or overbearing. The maltiness is mostly sticky without being overly sweet. It provides the backing this kind of big hops blast needs.

M: The body is medium-to-full with low carbonation giving it a layering, slightly sticky feel. The aftertaste is herbal, wet hops with resin and grapefruit rind.

O: I was really surprised at how good this beer was. Green Flash WC IPA is a really good beer, but I have had some dogs from them (Barleywine for the worst example). This beer is upper tier for DIPAs -- intense, complex, hops-forward, with huge aroma and flavor.

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2012 01:57:27 | More by argock

PeprSprYoFace

California

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

Poured into a pint glass. Pours a very nice clear honey color. Nice white head pretty much stayed the whole time. Nice lacing too.

Aroma is nice and hoppy. Very citrusy. Bit of maybe pineapple. Reminds me of knuckle sandwitch.

Tastes great. Very hoppy. Guess that's why they call it palate wrecker. Nice maltyness to it though. After a few sips the bitterness really destroys your tongue. Bit of honey sweetness. It's kinda knuckle sandwitch-ish but a lot more bitter.

Mouthfeel is nice. Nice balance. Nice carb.

Overall a tasty beer. So bitter. Wouldn't drink a ton of it but it's a good beer for sure

Serving type: bottle

03-28-2012 05:55:44 | More by PeprSprYoFace

dunit697

California

4.5/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Hell yes, That's all I want to start off saying. I just tried this beast last night and was so glad I did. I found it at a home brew shop in orange and I coincidentally was going there to buy a bag of hops. I simply just love the smell of hops, nothing better. I have really grown to like IPA's as of recent because of the mix between different hops and aromas that really come out. This beer smelt like a true hop king. I wanted to sit there smelling it all night. The appearance was good, but with a smell like it had, i didn't much care what it looked like. The taste was great too, again, if your a hop lover, otherwise be prepared for a smack in the face. I am not going to say there is nothing else to the beer, but the hops are so prevalent it was hard for me to taste much else. Mouth feel was good, strong. Bitter enough u didn't want to let it sit there terribly long. Overall a must try for IPA fans!

Serving type: bottle

03-29-2012 15:48:09 | More by dunit697

DevilsCups

New York

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

Served from a fresh bottle into a Founders Tulip.

A - Beautiful in the glass. Deep to medium amber with a frothy, fluffy bone white head that lasts for a while. Legs for days. Only the slightest bit of haze.

S - I smell this one from 2 feet away. As soon as I popped the cap, a huge citrus grapefruit aroma leaped out. Massive pine notes with a touch of tropical note.

T - Outstanding beer for hopheads. Unless you love hops, steer clear. If you're like me, this one is a clear winner. Massive grapefruit notes with hints of citrusy tropical fruit. Grapefruit is the big flavor here. Dank, delicious hops. There's malt in this?

M - Carbonated very well. I remember seeing yeast at the bottom of West Coast IPA. Is Green Flash still bottle-conditioning? Minimal sediment in this one, but carbonated great. Slightly thick, which works for this beer.

O - Massive, massive hop-bomb of a DIPA. If you want to know what chewing on hop-cones feels like, pick this one up. Highly recommended.

Serving type: bottle

04-06-2012 03:00:34 | More by DevilsCups