Green Flash Imperial IPA

I've had the great fortune to enjoy a few bottles of this lately. This beer occupies a special place in the hearts of my brother and I from one magical night in which we found it on tap at Muggs Alehouse in Williamsburg and were just blown away. Anywho, he actually gave me this bottle (the last of a case as I believe) as a gift the last time I visited him down in Philly.

Served from a bomber, slightly below room temperature, into a whisky tumbler.

The Pour: A very colorful IPA, the green flash is a cloudy, dark amber without the reddish tones of some "American Strong Ales" nowadays, a good thing. There is a fluffy pillow of head that forms, about 1 finger, than leaves rather quickly. The beer pours surprisingly smoothly without being syrupy like many ales this heavily malted can be. Visually it resembles a more golden single IPA than many east coast DIPAs. Very pretty but not as nice as I remember the draft being. I think this beer chafes at being bottled a bit.

7/10

Nose: The tumbler gave plenty of breathing room for this but I wasn't quite finding the intense fresh hop scent that I know this beer should have. Again I think this beer is meant for the keg or cask to really get it fresh and tasty. Still, this is intensely hoppy in a unique way and by this I mean it's pure hop juice. If you grabbed a fresh hop bud and rolled it in your hands, it would be less hoppy than this beer can be. Occasionally I get those intensely BIG hop odors from this but not like the draft that you could smell being poured across the room. I wish I could have that again...

6/10 (only because I know what it could be)

Mouthfeel: Heavily sweet without being syrupy which is great. A beer with this much hop oils and malt in it can get very viscous and coat your mouth but not the Green Flash. It's the perfect guest that knows not to overstay it's welcome longer than it needs to. Very nice and well balanced.

10/10

Taste: Mmmm.....mmm... So good. I may have missed the hops in the nose but they are still loud and clear in the taste. This is so potently hopped its unbelievable. The sweetness and the alcohol follow afterwards and remind you just how big a beer this is. Still, from the draft these notes were muted because the hops were overwhelming from all angles. This feels like a much more balanced beer now, more than just a one hit wonder. Unfortunately, this does make it more pedestrian as it now blends in with so many other DIPAs that are hoppy and sweet and delicious.

7/10

Overall: From the bottle I'd give the Green Flash a 30/40. It's just not the same beer as it is fresh from the tap. What makes this beer special is just how heavily hopped it is and how unbalanced it feels, like it or love it, it's unique. From the bottle, however, it balances out into one of the best DIPA's out there without standing out from that illustrious crowd. I'd be interested in tasting a bottle fresh from the brewery sometime as I bet that's much closer to what I want. Or better yet, just find it on tap again.