Green Flash Grand Cru - Grand Mantis

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

Nice brew. Pours like liquid chocolate with a fuming head that lasts. Strong banana bread and spicy gum aromas. Full nectar and luscious to the feel. Carbonation helps here as it’s perfect for that creamy texture. A viscous malt body ensues carrying a loaf of banana bread gently baked with exotic spices. The finish is long and memorable. Excellent beer!

Decadent and rich for a beer on tap, and considering it is a new beer to 2008, pretty amazing at the balance. Cloves, chocolate, smoke and charred wood flavors complement the slightly ester yeast character, with a strong dark fruit, raisin and fig character. Rich, thick, dark and warm. Best beer of 2008?

Bottle, courtesy someone. Clear black reddish pour, filmy white head and thick lacing. Nose of dark Belgian fruit, some toasty bready notes, pear, chocolate and distant roast. Rich dark fruit flavors, with chocolate, coffee, caramel and molasses, with some licorice, brown sugar and a very nice overall complexity. Smooth body, very balanced and very delicious. Surprised by this one, it’s really good.

This is a surprisingly good beer. I had to lower some of the numbers to not seem out of line. The last beer I had last night was a Rochefort 10 and figured this would be an unfair comparison. The nose doesn’t have the same lasting jolt but is pleasant, fruity and complex. The taste is smooth, malty and fruity. Very drinkable. Love it.

bottle @ gen. lafayette inn w/ chuck silva - pours a ruddy brown, a tan head that vanishes quickly. Aroma was ripe with malt sweetness, along with dried fruit (fig?) notes. Flavor is good and malty, not overly sweet or cloying. Some spices and herbs, more of the dried fruit flavors, some molasses flavors. Finishes crisp. Very drinkable and very good.

22 ounce bottle purchased from the Co-Op in Davis. This immediately has a bit of a tart, vinous aroma with hints of cherries, strawberries, and raisins. This yields to a sweeter, chocolate maltiness and a little ethanol retronasally. The aroma gets and holds my attention. Moderately transparent cola-colored boy with a smallish yellow-brown head that has some ok legging and lacing. Starts sweet with some chocolate notes before it becomes massively nutty with some moderate roastiness. Finishes with a bit of a burnt flavor and a bit of grassy hoppiness. Coats the mouth well, and this is a pleasure to drink. I certainly don’t think this is very Belgian like at all, and it is definitely not "to style", but I enjoy a bit of a sweeter beer. This one strikes my fancy.

Pours dark brown with 1-finger off-tan head. Nose is rock syrupy malt, figgy fruit, perfumy florals, blackberry, slight funk, peaty earthy. Tastes of candi sugary caramelly malt, with peaty earthy notes, molasses, dark fruit, maple syrup, hops, and brown sugar, Very smooth, with a complexity that rivals most Fantome offerings, and a real cohesiveness for a brew that throws this many aroma and flavor variables at one. At 7-9 bucks a bottle, I’d gladly buy this by the case if I could. Do yourself a favor and procure yourself one of these (or 6) today. Yeah Man!

Had a lusciously creamy pour. Mysteriously dark. Smooth and weighty on the tongue with a milkshake-like finish. Extremely flavorful, rich and decadent. Roasty aromas carried hints of various dark fruits, especially raisin, fig and dates. A full sweetness … toffee and maple … rounded things out. Subtle nips of anise, pepper and grass added to the complexity. Great stuff.