Green Flash Le Freak

Brewed by Green Flash Brewing Co.
Style: Abbey Tripel
Vista, California USA

Bottle...pours out a mostly clear orange hued copper with a moderate fluffy white head. Aroma is a very nice mix of citrus hops, yeast, banana and clove. Taste is complex, notes of banana, clove, yeast and some spice mix well with grapefruity hops. A lingering sticky sweetness melds well with the bitterness of the hops. Slight alcohol on the finish. A marriage of two of my favorite styles.

For me, this beer is the model of the Imperial IPA-Belgian crossover. Pours clear copper with a puffy white head. Rich, spicy aroma characteristic of a Belgian trippel: yeast, pepper, banana, but with a citrus zest. Clean, crisp, yet sweet taste. Good amount of grapefruit and resin, but tempered with the sweetness of the spice and yeast. Spicy and bitter, citrus and sweet; it all formed a great beer with the best qualities of both the DIPA and trippel coming through.

Bottle from River’s Bend. Poured a clear copper color with an average frothy off-white head that mostly lasted with good lacing. Moderate complex citrus hoppy aroma with a alcohol tone. Medium body with a slick texture. Medium to heavy bittersweet flavor with a medium bitter and small alcohol bite finish of moderate duration. This is a good beer.

Appearance: Pours a clear, orangey body with a bubbly, wispy, white head. Smell: A mix of grains and grapefruit held together by mashed bananas and tossed with pine needles and white pepper. Taste: Pale and Belgian maltiness, with a touch of grain, and a brief, though refined sweetness. Tastes of bananas, citrus grapefruit, and pine before a caustic, moderate bitterness is unleashed upon the tongue. Dash of spice. Light yeastiness. Some floral and fruity peach hints to be found during the rare times when the bitterness lets up. Finishes crisp and with a bitterness that lasts well into the aftertaste. Mouthfeel: Medium-plus body. Moderate carbonation. Drinkability: Yep, it’s a bitter tripel, alright. It performed a bit better than expected, but I wouldn’t push over an old lady to get a bottle unless she was really really asking for it (to be pushed, not the bottle).

Yeah I don’t know about this one. They’re marketing the hell out of it over here on the EC and I’ve seen it in lots of taps. But anyway I didn’t know what it was supposed to be. Hops predominated even though they didn’t, except for when they did.

Draught at The Red. Hazy amber-orange color with a thick, sticky head. Huge fruity and hoppy aroma. Floral hops over pear, banana, and spice. Lots of resiny, bitter grapefruit hop flavor with a sweet fruity, estery undertone. Full bodied with a creamy texture. GF definitely succeeded in providing a great hop fix in combo with lots of complex, fruity yeast character. I think that the huge imperial IPA hop load wins out, but the combo melds quite nicely.

On tap at The Red in Santa Cruz. Poured into a pint glass. Hazy orange color with a fluffy white head. Good thick lacing. Tropical citrus aroma with some Belgian yeast esters. A bit of tree sap too. Bready and yeasty malt undertones, mango notes, perfumey alcohol, medium bitterness. Soft carbonation, maybe a little undercarbonated. Semi dry and mostly clean finish.

Pours pale/yellow in color, very clear with a small head. Smells of malt, yeast, and hops. First sip is bitter and hoppy. Nice malty backbone nicely compliments the hops. Strong yeasts also add to this beer’s intense flavor. A strong bitter with above average carbonation. A fine showing