West Coast IPA | Green Flash Brewing Co.
Brewed by:
Green Flash Brewing Co.
California, United States
greenflashbrew.com
Style: American Double / Imperial IPA
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 8.10%
Availability: Year-round
Notes / Commercial Description:
As craft beer pioneers, we embarked on an expedition to brew the benchmark West Coast IPA. We ventured into the unknown and struck gold, discovering a tantalizing menagerie of hops. Simcoe for tropical and grapefruit zest, Columbus for hop pungency, Centennial for pine notes, Citra for citrus zest and Cascade for floral aroma are layered throughout the brewing process. West Coast IPA® exemplifies the Green Flash spirit of adventure and discovery.
95 IBU
Prior to 2014 7.3% ABV
2014 and later 8.1% ABV
Added by xlperro on 03-26-2005
View: Beers | Place Reviews | Events
Ratings: 7,894 | Reviews: 1,888
3.52/5 rDev -16%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Poured bottle into snifter glass. 8.1% abv
Appearance- Pours a dark orange/amber with medium white head. Very cloudy.
Smell- Caramel malt, Orange, pine
Taste- Grainy malt, becoming citric. Grapefruit and orange are the predominant fruit notes. Is also earthy, ending in a grassy flavor. Finishes peppery, herbal, and intensely bitter.
Mouthfeel- Heavy in body with medium carbonation.
Overall- A fair double. I thought this one would be a bit more complex and smooth however. Still a good solid double, but there are many better out there.
544 characters
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Poured bottle into snifter glass. 8.1% abv
Appearance- Pours a dark orange/amber with medium white head. Very cloudy.
Smell- Caramel malt, Orange, pine
Taste- Grainy malt, becoming citric. Grapefruit and orange are the predominant fruit notes. Is also earthy, ending in a grassy flavor. Finishes peppery, herbal, and intensely bitter.
Mouthfeel- Heavy in body with medium carbonation.
Overall- A fair double. I thought this one would be a bit more complex and smooth however. Still a good solid double, but there are many better out there.
544 characters
3.95/5 rDev -5.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
4.25/5 rDev +1.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.85/5 rDev +15.8%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
4.14/5 rDev -1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Poured into a small chalice: color is copper/light amber, head is off white, presenting about 1/2 inch thick then dissipating to a spotty top with a ring on the glass and some spotty lacing on the glass.
Smell is where you want a double ipa to be: emphatic bitterness, good earthiness, solid pine, and great lingering citrus rind.
Taste is similar to the aroma: hop flavors are forward with pine, citrus rind, herbal notes and earthiness; malt is a good backbone but not over done/cloying or missing, solid pale malt all the way.
Mouthfeel is a feature of this ale; big bitterness, solid malt backbone, moderate carbonation.
Overall: a very good DIPA, big hop flavors with a lean towards pine/herbal/floral with just enough bitter citrus rind and maltiness.
763 characters
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Poured into a small chalice: color is copper/light amber, head is off white, presenting about 1/2 inch thick then dissipating to a spotty top with a ring on the glass and some spotty lacing on the glass.
Smell is where you want a double ipa to be: emphatic bitterness, good earthiness, solid pine, and great lingering citrus rind.
Taste is similar to the aroma: hop flavors are forward with pine, citrus rind, herbal notes and earthiness; malt is a good backbone but not over done/cloying or missing, solid pale malt all the way.
Mouthfeel is a feature of this ale; big bitterness, solid malt backbone, moderate carbonation.
Overall: a very good DIPA, big hop flavors with a lean towards pine/herbal/floral with just enough bitter citrus rind and maltiness.
763 characters
4.25/5 rDev +1.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.57/5 rDev +9.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
Little bit pricey compared to Space Dust IPA, which is essentially the Elysian version (and slightly tastier version) of the brew.
L: A gentle pour gives a good finger of head, but there is tons of sediment. It's nearly impossible to get none of it. Amber body and beige head, those floaters are real buoyant and they dance around the brew, teased by the carbonation.
S: And well worth keeping around if they help make brews that smell this fresh. Tons of papaya, grapefruit, and pine. Super tropical otherwise, with passion fruit, kiwi, pineapple, blackberry, guava, green tea, cane sugar and whole wheat toast.
T: Follows the nose. Way easier to detect the notes from the smell though. Papaya, grapefruit rind, grapefruit juice, pineapple, apple, blackberry, then that green tea, toast, and sugar are detectable, but grapefruit rind dominates heavily.
F: Almost syrupy, but good carbonation and lots of hops keep it crisp and fresh. Gotta sip quickly to finish this one. Gets caramelly and a tad cloying as it warms.
O: Amazing brew. One of my favorite DIPA's.
1,069 characters
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
Little bit pricey compared to Space Dust IPA, which is essentially the Elysian version (and slightly tastier version) of the brew.
L: A gentle pour gives a good finger of head, but there is tons of sediment. It's nearly impossible to get none of it. Amber body and beige head, those floaters are real buoyant and they dance around the brew, teased by the carbonation.
S: And well worth keeping around if they help make brews that smell this fresh. Tons of papaya, grapefruit, and pine. Super tropical otherwise, with passion fruit, kiwi, pineapple, blackberry, guava, green tea, cane sugar and whole wheat toast.
T: Follows the nose. Way easier to detect the notes from the smell though. Papaya, grapefruit rind, grapefruit juice, pineapple, apple, blackberry, then that green tea, toast, and sugar are detectable, but grapefruit rind dominates heavily.
F: Almost syrupy, but good carbonation and lots of hops keep it crisp and fresh. Gotta sip quickly to finish this one. Gets caramelly and a tad cloying as it warms.
O: Amazing brew. One of my favorite DIPA's.
1,069 characters
4.35/5 rDev +3.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
3.89/5 rDev -7.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Nice copper/orange hue. Small head about 1 finger. Excellent aroma. Nice hoppy smell. Fruity smell like grapefruit. Good flavor. Hard to pick it out. Still studying my IPA's. Lots of hoppiness and not too much bitterness. Goes down easy and leaves me wanting more. Another fine IPA from California.
On draft at BJ's Brewhouse.
327 characters
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Nice copper/orange hue. Small head about 1 finger. Excellent aroma. Nice hoppy smell. Fruity smell like grapefruit. Good flavor. Hard to pick it out. Still studying my IPA's. Lots of hoppiness and not too much bitterness. Goes down easy and leaves me wanting more. Another fine IPA from California.
On draft at BJ's Brewhouse.
327 characters
3.66/5 rDev -12.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 4
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 4
4.18/5 rDev -0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
4.4/5 rDev +5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
3.72/5 rDev -11.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
3.7/5 rDev -11.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
4.06/5 rDev -3.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 4.5
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 4.5
4.03/5 rDev -3.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
3.95/5 rDev -5.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
4.25/5 rDev +1.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
3.93/5 rDev -6.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
This was poured into a snifter. The appearance was a slight off colored amber body with a quickly dissipating white foamy head that left some light lacing here and there. The smell had some light sweet citrus to caramel - ness arousing and combining together as it warmed. The taste was mainly sweet but wanted to try to have a slight bittersweet - ness to it. Light grapefruit does eventually show its face in the taste. On the palate, this one sat about a medium on the body with a fairly decent sessionability about it. The carbonation was there but somewhat subdued, harsh but smooth - makes a good DIPA. Overall, I say this was a pretty good DIPA to have again.
666 characters
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
This was poured into a snifter. The appearance was a slight off colored amber body with a quickly dissipating white foamy head that left some light lacing here and there. The smell had some light sweet citrus to caramel - ness arousing and combining together as it warmed. The taste was mainly sweet but wanted to try to have a slight bittersweet - ness to it. Light grapefruit does eventually show its face in the taste. On the palate, this one sat about a medium on the body with a fairly decent sessionability about it. The carbonation was there but somewhat subdued, harsh but smooth - makes a good DIPA. Overall, I say this was a pretty good DIPA to have again.
666 characters
West Coast IPA from Green Flash Brewing Co.
4.19
out of 5
based on 7,894 ratings.
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25