Green Flash Cellar 3 Series - "Silva Stout"

You got lucky. What I, and a number of others had, was a stunningly poor and costly drainpour.

 

It might be buttery because of bacteria so it would turn sour next. Same thing happened to BA Token. What a coincidence that Green Flash brews Alpine now

 

As I have said earlier in the thread, I'm pretty certain they didn't intentionally release a bad product. To assume that they knew they had a problem and let it go out anyway is just stupid. As people have expressed here, some bottles have had issues, some more than others, while some are ok. Green Flash isn't sitting back and dumping shit beer in the market just for their enjoyment.

Not defending the problem, I just don't get people who think businesses of any kind would intentionally put out a bad product. They wouldn't be in business if they did.

 

Thank you to all that have posted their dissatification, this thread was the reason why i didnt spend 20+ bucks on this beer...because i definetly would have otherwise and probably been really dissapointed.

This site isnt here to sugar coat and be nice to every beer....its to be objective and share information. There is way too much..."DONT YOU BE A MEANIE" in this thread.

 

If you think a business would not knowingly put out a poor product, you are going to be disappointed. I don't know if Green Flash did or not, but many a brewery have knowingly released a flawed product instead of dumping a bad batch. If they feel like the damage to their reputation will be less costly than dumping the batch, the beer is released.

 

Yes, exactly. I wish I could remember specific examples right now but I know it has happened several times to my knowledge.

 

I am no expert on off flavors, but this beer had more butterscotch-y sweetness and a butter-like mouthfeel than I am used to. I thought that these flavors were mainly present in the very front and ends of each sip, alongside many other classic delicious nuances one commonly associates with BA stuff. I just told myself it was butterscotch, a more intense flavor imparted from the barrel aging, and enjoyed this beer. I split the bottle a few ways and we all agreed that it didn't taste like an "off-flavor bomb". It was a little sweeter/creamier/stickier than I am used to in a BA stout, but I have never had anything BA from Green Flash. I could see how some people would find it distracting, but its crazy to me that it caused all this fuss. Moral of the story: 5 or so of us split a bottle, we all liked it, and we each finished our pours. I gave it a 4/5 on Untappd. I would not seek this beer out again, however.

 

Did it occur to you that different bottles have different levels of diacetyl infection, ranging from no infection to undrinkable butter bomb?

 

Batch 1? How is that, when I had some back in 2010 or 2011? Might have been earlier, but I didn't review it, so... my bad.

 

Opened mine over the weekend. The other 2 guys had no idea there were problems or what they were drinking(Blind) and they picked the butterscotch out immediately in the smell. It was heavy on the butterscotch/butter. At the very end i could get a hint of roast a few times. We had about 5 sips each and dumped the rest out. My bottle was no where near what i would expect from a 18 month barrel aged Ale. If this was called "Butter Ale" aged on butterscotch and worthers orginals in oak butter churns then i would probably give it a 4/5. But i wouldnt have purchased it lol..

 

Considering myself incredibly fortunate as I opened my bottle over the weekend and all three of us that tried it reached this same conclusion.

 

This whole thread makes me realize how lucky I was, ha.
Picked up a bottle while on vacation in Knoxville. Paid $21, opened it and was blown away at how delicious it was. A perfect beer treat for someone who was away from his cellar and was seeking a fix.
Seems like an attempt at repeating the experience might be foolish, and I am home with my cellar.

 

Paid $20+ for this... Great. I guess I'll throw mine in the fridge and pop it this weekend.

 

Maybe I worded it poorly, but I again stand behind a brewery not intentionally brewing and releasing a beer they know is bad (infected). You can do all the quality control in the World but once the product is in market, they have no control over what happens. Yes, businesses do put out bad stuff once in a while, but they don't intentionally set out to do so. Things happen, sure, but to suggest that Green Flash knew full well the beer was going to turn even before the batch was bottled, did so anyway, then let it go out knowing it would turn, that's ridiculous. Plenty of people have had good bottles, so there's zero proof that the brewery was certain the entire run was contaminated and sent it out anyway.

 

I came across a local spot selling bottles for $10, so I took the chance. I didn't ask about the price, unknown if it was a mistake or on purpose. It wasn't a butter bomb, but it was getting close.

Tons of butter/diacetyl in the nose, subtle in the taste. My wife noted the same. It was hard to pick out flavors due to the overwhelming butter scent.

 

Would a brewery intentionally set out to brew a beer which was flawed? Probably not. Would a brewery intentionally release a beer it knows has quality issues? Sure. One needs look no further than Lost Abbey in 2009 (I might be off by a year). Pretty much every single bottle of their barrel aged releases that year was completely flat. Instead of eating the cost, they released the beer. If they did any sampling before release, they knew the beers were flat. Again, I never claimed Green Flash did this. But it most certainly does happen.

 

I hope to god Green Flash didn't take anything but recipes from Alpine's barrel aging program. It has been infected for years. Great beers that are pretty much all tainted.

 

Well, there have been several bottles released by Hair of the Dog over the last few years that were either dead flat, over-carbed, and/or full of sediment, but apparently people shouldn't complain because "Beer is more than just bubbles."

 

We opened our bottle this weekend too and had the exact same feelings on it. We were able to drink about 1/2 the bottle and dumped the rest..... on top of popcorn.

 

Another cautionary tale, though less about the taste...

I had a bottle of the Silva Stout explode in my cellar. It did NOT pop the cork and come out the top. The bottom of the bottle just blew out. So, it might certainly be a coincidence that the beer is off and this bottle exploded, BUT I've had numerous bottles in my basement over the years and only one has EVER blown up like this.

That said, it could just be a bad bottle (structurally) and complete coincidence but this seemed like a fitting place to share.

Oh, and both bottles I have opened have been off. The first batch of Silva Stout was spectacular.