Green Flash Imperial IPA

Brewed by Green Flash Brewing Co.
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Vista, California USA

22 oz. bottle. Pours a murky old gold color with a smallish light-tan head. A pungent aroma of pine needles, grapefruits, orange rinds, and lemons. Medium to full-bodied and on the syrupy side. Some sweet caramel and oranges at the start. Transitions very quickly to grapefruity flavors and a tongue-stripping drying bitterness that lingers. Pepper is present. Predominantly one-sided and fairly harsh. Delicious!

(Bottle at Pikkulintu, Helsinki, on 2009-01-22) Pale amber and hazy. Small white head. Hops, grass and malts in nose. Full bodied and quite dry palate with warmth from alcohol. Hops, malts, some fruitiness and bitterness in taste. Not in my liking though.

Bottle. Hazy orange body, with almost no head. Aroma is citrus, especially grape, and hops. Flavor is also citrus fruit with grape being the dominating part, some malt and lots of hops. Absolutely a good beer.

Bottle. Aroma of citrus, grass, and garlic hops, light bready malt. Flavor more grassy than anything with some citrus, maybe some pine even shows up, or maybe it’s just more grass, but in any case, the garlic went away once it went into my mouth. Malt is a little weak for a DIPA, without a terribly exciting hop presence to make up for it. Still, can’t say I didn’t enjoy it.

Bottle. Pours a semi-cloudy orange with a thick off-white head. Aroma of grassy, garlicky hops, toasted malt, and sour grapefruit. Flavor of odd garlicky hops/ toasted malt. It’s a strange flavor I sometimes get in IIPAs. This reminds me of DFH 90 min, and not in a good way. Almost undrinkable and rather nasty. Harsh palate. Ick. 6/4/4/2/10 (2.6/5)

Pours hazy orange wtih a tall straw head that has good retention and leaves some lacing. Aroma is citrus hops, caramel, lots of toffee, slightly toasted coconut, some pine. Hop intensity is a little low in the nose for an imperial, alcohol scent is pretty high for a 9% IIPA. Flavor is lots of toffee and dark caramel, toasty cranberry muffins with orange marmalade, grapefruit hops, there is also a berry/candy note that is kinda misplaced, almost artificial. Finish is bitter and fruity with a burnt sugar and toffee backbone, the finish lasts forever and leaves a planty, bitter hop burnt sugar aftertaste. Not a great IIPA but pretty light and easy to drink. I really don’t taste the 101 IBU’s though, maybe an old bottle.

WOW!! This is a really neat IIPA with heaps of fresh tasting hops and a very clean and crisp palate. The colour is quite light amber. The aroma is hoppy with some fruity notes. The flavour is all good: Hops in legio with notes of citrus and fresh grass and a perfectly balanced bitterness.

Strong hop up front. Too much malt sweetness behind it and the bitterness level is too strong and unbalanced. A great over-hopped IPA that would have been much better as a single instead of a forced Double. Still great hop flavors with notes of cotton candy.