1001 Beers

Beer No: 34/1001
Page No: 544
Category: Blond

It's somewhat saddening that my journey through Green Flash's offerings with this, their IPA.  They have two listings in 1001 Beers, the other being the inordinately complex Le Freak (a blend of "San Diego Style" IPA and a Belgian Tripel), but despite my Green Flash tastings being done from the book, I do hope to try the rest of them.  Both of the beers I tried from this smaller brewery down in San Diego were top-notch, and heck, who doesn't like an old-time car filled with beer every once in a while? (Flip through the pictures above).

On an unrelated note, today while flipping through my usual reading material, I stumbled across this article from Northern Brewer - Make wine for better beer.  Now, a couple of people have already asked if I have thought about making wine, mostly because they enjoy wine more than beer, but I've always said no.  I'm not the biggest wine fan, however, when paired correctly, they can be amazing.  I'll take my beer pairings any day too (like the one on my last birthday at the Crow Bar featuring Stone Brewing's beers).  Back to the article...it really just focuses on one point of wine making - preventing oxidization.  We as beer makers do that too, but, as mentioned in the article, not to the extend of winemakers.  In fact, topping off the carboy is all but impossible with the way beer ferments so rapidly.  During any aging process though, I can see how it would be beneficial to top off the carboy via CO2 or some other mechanism, but it seems in beer making you really have to go out of your way to get oxidization.  Perhaps beer is a bit more forgiving than wine, but I've never had a brew oxidize (fingers crossed), so either I'm doing something right, or I'm just getting really lucky.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Green Flash West Coast IPA from Green Flash Brewing Co.

Aroma: 8/10
Appearance: 4/5
Taste: 8/10
Palate: 4/5
Overall: 14/20

Rating: 3.8 / 5.0

Had from bottle from Total Wine. Pours a golden orange with good carbonation, small head, and adequate lacing. Very hoppy, yet fruity aroma. Flavors of pine, hops, citrus, grapefruit, and orange. Standard hoppy, bitter finish, but nothing too astringent. Very good IPA. Quality San Diego beer.

Beer No: 10/1001
Page No: 420
Category: Blond

I'd like to say it's been another long week and I'm glad the weekend is here, but, well, it's been busy, but the week hasn't been all that strenuous.  It started out with the slightest of colds on Monday, it lingered 'til Tuesday around noon, Wednesday I watched Clash of the Titans (1981), Thursday was Clash of the Titans (2010), and then Friday was preparation for brewing, and a trip to the wonderful Bruery.  At the Bruery this weekend, they have their amazing Humulus back on tap - a heavily hopped beer, it finishes with the perfect amount of bitterness and just gives you a quick jolt when you take that first sip.  Along with Humulus on tap, they also had it dry hopped on cask three ways - Citra, Centennial, and Simcoe - and all three ways - heavenly.

But as I ran around from task to task today, I never had time to get to my beer, so I took it along with me to the Bruery, and after tasting all four variations of Humulus, I poured the Green Flash Le Freak.  I had picked it up earlier in the day at O'Shea's where Scott and I needed to pick up our four different yeast strains for brew day tomorrow.  We'll be making a pale ale and then splitting it at the end and using two different strains of yeast - California Ale and London Ale.  We'll also be brewing a stout and we'll split that one at the end too, using a Cream Ale Yeast and the Burton Ale Yeast.  It should be a fun, yet busy day tomorrow.

Back to the Le Freak.  Billed as a blend between a "San Diego Style" IPA and a Belgian Tripel, this is most definitely a flavor profile I had never tried in the past.  The aromas are of sugars and citrus as the tripel definitely comes through there, but on the first sip, the IPA smacks you across the palate at the start and then finishes sweet with hints of sugar and spices.  The aftertaste is then slightly bitter again from the IPA, yet it warms you as you would expect a 9.2% ABV tripel to do.  It's a very complex beer, and definitely was an unexpected twist in the night.

1001 Beers describes brewmaster Chuck Silva's strange beer cross-breeding as such: "Le Freak begins with the same malt base as in Green Flash Imperial IPA, rather than the Tripel, and is jammed with hops from the American Northwest...For fermentation, Silva's house yeast, an American strain, combines with a Belgian strain to bring Le Freak forward, creating the fruit-and-spice character common in Belgian tripels."

However he does it, Le Freak definitely surprises you and then lulls you into a happy place as it mixes one of my favorite beer styles with the easy-drinking Tripel.  I haven't had too many beers from Green Flash, a quasi-local San Diego brewery, other than the more common Green Flash IPA, but I will definitely track down some of their more rare and experimental beers from here on out.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Green Flash Le Freak from Green Flash Brewing Co.

Aroma: 8/10
Appearance: 4/5
Flavor: 9/10
Palate: 4/5
Overall: 15/20

Rating: 4.0 / 5.0

Had from 750ml bottle picked up at O’Shea’s Brewing. Pours a deep golden/orange color with a nice head which dissipates slowly and leaves behind a good amount of lacing. The aromas are mostly the tripel - sugars, sweetness, candies, with just a hint of citrus and hops. The initial taste kicks your palate into high gear however, packing over 100 IBUs of bitterness as the IPA half of the beer bowls you over. Once the hops and bitterness subside, it finishes with a sweet, candy flavor and then leaves you feeling nice and warm inside afterward. The mix of an IPA and a Tripel was completely unexpected and a very nice surprise. I wasn’t quite sure how they would pull it off, but it all works very well together, a very nice, tasty beer.