Is it me, or is Green Flash West Coast IPA more along the lines of an East Coast IPA? Lately I have had HopSlam, Hercules, Centennial, etc., and their general maltiness over robust fruit/hop notes, seems directly in line with Green Flash. Thoughts? On a side note, East Coast IPA's... I don't get them. They're More like a strong Ale's or an English style Ale's.
you must have gotten an off bottle. The West Coast IPA I know is very floral, has awesome subtle piney notes, and even has a pineapple and good citrus taste to it.
Thanks everyone. And to the haters, lets please keep this to a friendly discussion (including myself).
They def use more malt in West Coast IPA than other SoCal breweries typically use. But that is really the only thing "East Coast" about the beer.
there are a ton of ipas on the east coast that are way better than the ones you listed that has the "west coast" hop profile your talking about. heady topper, flower power, double galaxy,
I have had Heady and it is nothing short of amazing. As far as those "East Coast" IPA's I have listed, those are it as far as non west coast IPA's I have had. I would love to try Flower Power, and I'll look into Double Galaxy, thanks.
Exactly. It's the same way as with pizza, hot dogs, pastrami, bagels, hamburgers, pasta... oh, wait...
Green Flash West Coast IPA is actually much different than Hopslam. East coast definitely has plenty of good IPAs though.
Drinking a Heady Topper right now. Not like a Strong Ale at all. But also not like the westies either. I have some Pliny coming so I can try them side by side.
There are very few "friendly" discussions on the Internetz. Most folk take advantage of the anonymous (sic) nature of it to show off their "prick" side. BTW, I know what yer talkin' about. I prefer Malty these days, over Hoppy.
Agree with the other posts about find a fresher bottle and try again. I've found that to be the true nature of IPA's in general. I've gotten several 1/6 kegs of the same IPA's from local breweries that have tasted completely different because of their age. Temperature also plays a major factor. But that's just from personal experience, I don't have a beard, fancy mustache, or tattoos to back it up.
as much as I want to support beers from the west coast... Green Flash IPAs aren't very good... they're okay but not good enough to be compared to the greats from either coasts
Oh shit its turning into a East Coast VS West Coast thing again Might have got a old bottle. The hops should dominate in this beer, tho I find its a tad malty for my liking. But its still a solid beer imo.
Well now. I should make it clear now that I've never had Hopslam, but I've had all of the others listed. And while I absolutely reject the "West Coast" vs. "East Coast" divide when people talk about variation between IPAs, I'll play along for now. Mr. Mondesi, I absolutely and wholeheartedly disagree with you. I've had plenty of both "styles" of IPAs, and to me a very good, fresh bottle of GF West Coast IPA more or less typifies that sub-style at its peak, in terms of combination of appearance, aroma, taste, feel, and drinkability. It's what all IPAs more or less wish they could be, with the exception of those going for super-fruity late-hop juiciness kinda deals like Sucks. WC IPA is not an overly malty IPA, by any means. And Hercules? Jesus hell. That shit is as malty or maltier than almost any "East Coast" IPA I've had. And I think you need to look into what characterizes English ale styles, because it's not just the proportion of malt to hops. Plenty of hoppy English IPAs out there.
Okay gentlemen, before this thread devolves any further: West Coast IPAs: Very hop forward, dry and crisp. (Usually) East Coast IPAs: Hop forward, but definitely a bit more balanced between the bitter hops and the sweet malts. (Usually) Neither style is better than the other, as everybody's palate is different. I tend to greatly prefer West Coast IPAs on most occasions, but I do enjoy a 90 Minute IPA every once in a while. Now lets all act like adults and not bicker over which coast is better than the other. Oh, yeah almost forgot.... WEST COAST GANGSTA RAP > EAST COAST GANGSTA RAP NWA 4 LYFE SUKAHS
Do yourself a favor and trade for Fathead's Headhunter from Ohio, yes, Ohio. It will change your mind about East coast IPA's.
It's like George Carlin said- the size of the assholes depends on how far away from you he is. When he's standing next to you, you whisper "look at this asshole" when he's in a car and your in a car you scream "asshole". Now with the internet forget about it.
The whole "East Coast" "West Coast" thing is nonsense. There are so many great (hop forward) East Coast IPA's out there, but every time there is a great one, it gets labeled a "West Coast IPA". You can match up some of the Hill Farmstead IPA's, Heady, Flower Power, Jai Alai and many others against anything from the West Coast and choose a side. I don't get the geographical labeling thing at all when it comes to beers. I will take the Atlantic Ocean over the Pacific any day of the week though.
It's more of an Alchemist, Lawsons, Hill Farm unfiltered ipa/DIPA/pale ale style. The other "east coast" beers of the same variety are not the same. So maybe the category 3 brewers in VT style vs rest of country or VT style ipa? I used to believe that the big 3 of VT couldn't be touched, but after trading out a few cases of headies it became clear that the IPA/pale kings are everywhere. Hill Farm gets the edge on them all with so many home runs, but FFF, RR, Alpine, Kern etc are great! Green Flash not so much...
Go buy a Dogfish 60 or Smuttynose IPA then drink a Green Flash, you will see the two coasts are nothing alike and Green Flash is west coast style.
Green Flash West Coast IPA tastes very similar to Stone IPA to me. Both very much west coast in style.
Yeah that could cost a pretty penny, but they don't come close to the best around here. Vito & Nick's or Joe's Italian Villa. We cut our pies in squares not slices.
Because everyone loves a good dogpile... I've had quite a few so-called "West Coast" IPAs and I thought Green Flash's version is not only very representative of the substyle, but one of my favorite versions. So I would second the recommendations to try it again and make sure it's fresh. It's really quite a good brew.
