Green Flash Grand Cru - Grand Mantis

Brewed by Green Flash Brewing Co.
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Vista, California USA

22oz. Bottle: Aroma of dark ripe fruits, yeast, light banana, cloves, light apples, and some plasticy chemicals. Poured brown to dark brown in color with a large, dense, rocky, tan head that lasted throughout. Opaque. Lightly sparkling. Good lacing. Flavor is lightly sweet and lightly bitter. Tastes of cloves, yeast, tobacco, resin, tar, light caramel, light chocolate, light plums, and some dark ripe fruits. Medium body. Smooth, creamy texture. Average carbonation. Sweet, yeasty, malty finish.

Bomber from Monument. Pours brown with white scattered head. Aroma is banana and vanilla. Flavor is clove, and said aromas. Finishes on a very sweet note - yet this sweetness morphs into dare I say it, a celery note?

Courtesy BrotherGrendel. Clear bodied and dark violet to mahogany in color, this brew sports a crown of foamy, cream colored foam. Fading slowly, the head leaves spots and skinny flares of lacing behind. Aromas include figs, raisins, darkly roasted caramel, and hints of bittersweet cocoa and earthy hops. Full of sweet, dark fruits and caramel, the flavor profile is very much the same. Earthy and floral hops notes are there, but do not completely balance the sugary malt profile. Medium-full in the mouth, with balanced carbonation and a dry, yeasty finish. Overall, a pretty solid Belgian strong, but nothing to get overly excited about.

Bomber from BevMo, La Mesa. Deep ruby-brownish in color. Sweet candyish aroma with some dark fruit and some yeastiness. Sweet and roasty up front. Some yeast, along with a decent amount of hop bitterness. Some sugar with a nice hoppy finish.

22 oz bottle shared at toncatchers house. Darker than I had expected. Sweet malty aromas. sweet bread and fruit. Similar flavors with only a touch of alcohol in the finish. Pretty good.

Color is a near black purple with mellow carbonation and a thin tight head. Aroma is sweet with fruity Belgian yeast scents. Taste is rich and fruity. Starting with a bold medium body it goes down with a rich feel. Finish comes on sweet with dried fruit, Belgian yeast and candy sugar then ends with a bitter bite at the end. After taste is a little sharp with the bitterness building up a touch. Nice brew, big bold Belgian flavors balanced out with a good hop bitterness and no sign of the 9.1ABV.

22oz from Sams, Durham. Impressive, rich, thick dark brown on the pour, with above average carbonation, at least in terms of what I expect from the style. Strong fruity esters in the nose, some fig and clove and banana too. The taste is just tart and yeasty enough to deliver this brew from the cloying sweetness that some folks feel is de rigeur for a GC. A nice modification, that, along with the lively hops that give it some body. Slight heat on the finish, but right now it seems to complement the sharpness of the yeast and spice pretty well. Good one.

Tap at Barcade - 07 vintage - cloudy dark reddish brown - yea, the alcohol is fairly evident in this one - moderately estery - notes of dark fruit, chocolate, plum - a little doughy through the middle - a bit of clove and other vaguely weizenbock-like flavors - quite yeasty - this beer is kind of all over the place.