Beer: Green Flash West Coast Imperial I.P.A.
Brewery Location: Vista, CA
Beer Style: American DIPA
ABV: 9%
I am not sure what my blog holds for the future, but I've joined the Hoosier Beer Geeks, and will be doing postings over there as well. My individual beer format doesn't really fit in over there, so I think I will continue to post those here, but any beer news, trips, or events will be housed over there. My whole intention of this blog is simply to help me train my palate and taste some pretty damn good (and sometimes awful) beer. I am happy to hear that some people have gotten something out of this blog at one point or another, and if you haven't, well I can't give you back any minutes of your life.
You know I love my West Coast IPA's and DIPA's, and this one is well respected among West Coast DIPA's. I personally traded for this bottle, but if you find yourself in Ohio it is distributed there, as well as Chicago, and if you really want this beer you can buy it have it shipped to your directly at Liquid Solutions. I've used LS on a number of occasions and they are a great operation.
This is my very first beer from Green Flash.
It pours a wonderful golden hue with a huge billowing three fingered head on it. This had great head retention until almost my last sip, and left decent spotty lacing on my pint glass. The nose is no surprise for a San Diego style DIPA. It has loads of fresh citrus fruit leaning towards mostly grapefruit with pine and a certain earthiness that comes through, but not with much potency, and I think that works well for this offering. This is a very pleasing nose to this hop-head. The flavor profile almost does a 180 though. The pine and earthiness that was more muted in the nose comes out full force upon first sip with plenty of bitterness and pine needles. The citrus flavor comes in about mid-drink with plenty of grapefruit and tropical fruit into the finish. The malt tried to come in, but just didn't have the power to get over the hops. The mouthfeel is bordering on full bodied with low carbonation, and the warming alcohol is quite well hidden. The drinkability is also very good on this beer for one bomber, and I would most likely split this with someone if I had another bottle of it.
This was a pretty good beer overall, but it wouldn't crack my top DIPAs. I would have liked to see a bit more malt on this offering, and slightly more carbonation for my liking. I certainly wouldn't say no to this beer again though, and would purchase more of it most likely if available in Indiana.
Cheers!
Matt