Green Flash Barleywine

Brewed by Green Flash Brewing Co.
Style: Barley Wine
Vista, California USA

Reviewed 1/14/2009 (bottle 2008 Vintage): Pours a pretty dark clear rep color. Small off-white bubbly head. Dark fruity fig aroma. Sweet molasses. Some dustiness too, but not an overwhelming aroma. Alcoholy brown sugar taste. Hoppy bitterness too. Creamy heavy body. Some nuttiness as it warms up more. Tasty. Aging will probably do this one better.

It is a vintage 2008 and now it’s January 2009. It is dark, red copper and the head is huge, creamy and lasting. The aroma has notes of spruce, fruity hops and caramel. The flavour has sweetness and notes of malt, caramel, grapefruit and other citrus, spruce, mango and the finish has a good bitterness. It is much hoppier than what I expect from a BW.

22oz Bottle. Pungent glowing nose fresh with pineapple, tropic fruit and some lychee. I can’t tell if that’s coming from the malts, the yeast or the hops. Probably a combination. Pours a hazed ruddy-tan with a light creamy head. Flavor is fresh and distinctly Green Flash. A house yeast marries with a distinct combination of hops, glowing fruit alcohols and a backbone of malt. Balanced. Soft and relatively complex. Interestingly enough there wasn’t quite the hard biting edge of hop bitterness I expected to balance the really juicy fresh tropical fruit flavor. I kind of like that. Fruity is the word here. Nice. Thanks Dale and Martin!

Courtesy beerlando. This one pours out a dark reddish brown color with a thin off white head with minimal lacing left behind. The aroma shows citrus hops of orange and grapefruit on top of a caramel malt backbone. The flavor follow suit with the orange and grapefruit hops coming up front with dark fruits and caramel malts adding balance on the back end. Medium full bodied and a touch syrupy with a good amount of carbonation that leads to a bitter sweet finish. A solid barley wine.

Pours medium amber, caramel, malty, dark fruit, alcohol, harsh hops, little molasses.

Fairly fresh 2008 bomber. The body is mostly clear, rusty red-brown in color. A thin, swirly, off-white head leaves minimal, spotty lacing behind. Aromas show like a classic SoCal barleywine, ultra hoppy orange, grapefruit, and green grass bitterness countering the underlying caramel and toffee malts. Flavors follow suit, again very hoppy and citrus based, to the point of essentially being a triple IPA of sorts. Grapefruit and orange rind overpower notes of dark fruits and toasted caramel. Medium-full and sligtly syrupy on the palate, with above average carbonation. Finishes peppery. This is a solid American style barleywine.

Bottle marked "2nd Anniversary". Poured golden red with brown and a thin tan head. The nose was a bit oxidized and subtle hop, with caramel and some toffee. Same as the nose, the flavor was those influences with much less oxidation.

Pours a dark copper. Nose is full of pine resin and hops, with a few caramel malt notes. Taste is of heavy caramel malts, with a lot of nice hop bitterness. Very dry and considering alcohol is 10%, it is hidden well. Pretty solid offering.