Green Flash Barleywine

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

22 oz bottle from Secret Santa, thanks david! Green pine aroma, heavily bitter and citrusy. Hot and malty, not particularly balanced (and not that that’s the goal) but it’s a brash combination of grain and hops, not a brew you could drink daily.

Acquired last year, so probably a year old. Pours a deep dark dense ruby to reddish brown with a decent tan head, settling to a thin dense layer. A big popping hop nose. There’s no mistaking this for an IIPA though. The hops are well matched by ample malt, particularly developed towards the dark malt end of the spectrum. Big deep caramel, cut by alcohol and again, those big ass American hops. Theres a hint of toast and a good deal of creaminess up front in this unexpectedly complex beer. These isn’t completely original complexity complexity though, I recognize this formula from Bigfoot and even more so Old Crusty. But it is perhaps better executed in the fresh state. Leather lingers. As it warms more fruit comes out up front, giving rise to dark fruit in the back end. Perhaps a touch of tuttifruiti. A long lingering dry bitterness. Now I just hope I can grab another bottle of this during my drive back east!

Bomber pours clear dull copper with light tan head and sheet lacing. It has a light IIPA rather than a barleywine aroma with hints of dark fruit and an out of place pine hoppiness as well as some alcohol. The pine hops almost smell wet. The flavor starts malty and slightly sweet with dark fruitiness. Then the pine hops hit pretty hard then a pinch of alcohol also surfaces. I also get a hard citrus candy note that borders on being medicinal. Near the finish there are mild caramel and toffee notes that feel very barleywine like. I think this is worth a year or two aging and a re-rate.

Poured a deep copper-ruby with a thin white head. Sticky, piny, hoppy barleywine with a substantial amount of sweet malts, too. This plays like a step up from the imperial IPA. Yes, a barley wine, but definitely more of an imperial IPA. Super imperial. No taste buds after this puppy,

This poured a copper color with a small thin white head that laced well.Huge piney , sweet hop nose.Another barley wine that was closer to a double ipa.Hop fest in a bottle.This was average at best.Hoppy bitter finish.

Aroma is a sweet roasted caramel scent. Color is a deep amber with good carbonation and a thin very tight head. Taste is rich and sweet. Its got a full body that goes down with a rich feel. Finish comes on with a sweet caramel flavor and a faint hop taste, then ends with a sharp feel that fades into a gentle bitterness. This is a very easy drinking yet full flavored and complex Barleywine, I thinks its very good.

On Tap at Barclays. Dark Ruby. Thin white head. Smells like nail polish remover. Tastes like nail polish remover, rotten cherries and crystal 120L with hop oil dribbled on top. Yuck. Redeeming qualities: It will get you drunk, I suppose, started to taste a little bit better after letting it warm up for 30 minutes, but not much.

Brown bottle, 1 pint 9 ounces, via Philippe Boutin, savoured on November 12 2007; eye: brown with burnt orange reflections, hazy, no effervescence, a bit of beige head, lacing; nose: lots of resinous hops, pine, caramelized malt, brown sugar, black liquorice; mouth : powerful, lots of resinous hops, pine, good bed of caramelized malt on which lay all of that hops, alcohol, light brown sugar, black liquorice, finale with lots of hops and a good presence of caramel and alcohol, mildly sweet, quite bitter, full body, sticky and slightly oily texture, not much carbonation, average astringency; overall: quite liked FRANÇAIS Bouteille brune, 1 pinte 9 onces, via Philippe Boutin, savourée le 12 novembre 2007; œil : brune avec des reflets orange brûlé, voilée, pas d’effervescence, petite mousse beige, dentelle; nez : beaucoup de houblon résineux, pin, malt caramélisé, cassonade, réglisse noire; bouche : puissante, beaucoup de houblon résineux, pin, bon lit de malt caramélisé sur lequel repose tout ce houblon, alcool, légère cassonade, réglisse noire, finale avec beaucoup de houblon et une bonne présence de caramel et d’alcool, moyennement sucrée, plutôt amère, corsée, texture légèrement huileuse et collante, pas très carbonatée, astringence moyenne; en résumé : bien aimé