Green Flash Hop Head Red

Red Ales and Red IPAs interest me.  In my head, they should be bitter, hoppy sweetness.  Each sip should be a mix of hops and syrup.

The best example of this is Flying Fish’s Exit 9 Hoppy Scarlet Ale (Named after Rutgers)–now renamed Red Fish.  It was exactly what I described.  A ton of hops, with a nice syrupy sweetness mixed in.  So, yeah, I pretty much expect every Red IPA to be like that.

Unfortunately not all of them are.  They’re usually not too hoppy, and very malty, with leads to a bready dry taste.  In fact, for a while I gave up on buying them.

But, I’m on a Green Flash kick, so I decided to try this one.  The odor is hops, pure hop goodness.  In fact, when I smelt it, I forgot I was drinking a Red IPA and thought it was a West Coast IPA.  That made me extremely optimistic. Maybe I’d get another beer to match with Red Fish.

First sip:  Hops… Hops followed by caramel.  The malt is there, the bread is there, but it’s faint.  No instead, it’s like eating a hop covered in caramel.  Sticky, gooey, sweet.  Delicious.  It’s not a thin beer either.  It’s heavy when it’s in your mouth.

It’s going to take me a while to finish this one.  But that’s a good thing.

If I can’t get me some Red Fish, I’ll gladly be a Hop Head Red….

Won’t you?

Green Flash West Coast IPA

Green Flash is a Brewery that’s pretty new to me.  They’re from San Diego, and their beers are mostly organic.  The beers have been available in the NJ area, but I haven’t picked them up before last week.

Not sure why, mostly because they come in four-packs, and I usually avoid those.  But as I shift my focus from less on quantity and more on quality, I’m moving more towards four packs or single bottle purchases.  I’d rather have 1 good beer on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, than a bunch of good ones.

Plus, Green Flash has created something called Palate Wrecker, a double IPA, that I missed out on.  I saw it in the store and passed it up.  When I went back for it, it was gone.  Haven’t been able to find it since.  Quickly becoming one of my white whales.

That said, the West Coast I.P.A. is nothing short of spectacular.  It is a solid India Pale Ale, one with a crisp, citrusy hops taste.  The odor isn’t strong, but it’s appetizing.  This is the perfect beer to have with a spicy food, buffalo wings or Thai or something of that nature.

It’s not a bold beer.  The taste is solid and refreshing.  It’s a laid back and clean beer.

It’s West Coast.  It’s cool.  No hurry.  It’s the kind of beer that says excuse me.  The kind of beer that smiles at you when you walk down the street.  It takes a weekend trip to the coast.

It doesn’t go down the shore.  It doesn’t do sarcasm.  It doesn’t bump into you on the street and then blame you for it.  Sometimes I want East Coast, but not today.

It’s not pushing its way among your taste buds, complex, with 800 different flavors to catalog and 400 more to sort out with your nose.  It’s exactly what it says it is.  Hops, bitter citrus.  Perfect.

On a summer holiday afternoon, that’s just what I want.