Green Flash - West Coast India Pale Ale

Dead Soldier

Where to Dig Up More About This Beer

West Coast India Pale Ale

Green Flash Brewing Company

6550 Mira Mesa Boulevard

San Diego, CA USA

Est. ????

www.greenflashbrew.com

Brain Damage Quotient = 7.3 % ABV

Fluid Oz. = 12.0

Postmortem Brew Review

Hazy yellow/orange color tone.

Pleasant, powerful hop scents that are citrus like grapefruit.
Two finger off-white, rocky head.

Head leaves spiderwebs of lace. End of glass still retains a few clumps of froth.
Sticky hops taste that finishes clean without residual bitterness.

Moderate to active carbonation.

Full hops flavor, medium bodied.


Grim Reaper's Eulogy
My second Green Flash, and alas, the last of them in my fridge. I must say that for hanging around 5 months in my mortuary cooler, this beer held up it's hops notes very well. I now wish I had consumed at time of purchase just to see the kind of presence they would have had when freshly bottled. This ale is one to try to get if you want to see what a great West Coast IPA tastes like.

I am now on the hunt for these actively, as they are not sold on the east coast of the U.S. to my knowledge. It is simply a well crafted and tasty ale, like it's brother the amber. Get some. If you fancy yourself a pale ale or India pale ale drinker, you will find that you won't be disappointed.

Columbus, Centennial and Cascade hops make 95 IBU's. Couple that with a 7.3% ABV you shouldn't need more proof as to how good it tastes. But just in case you do, check out the hardware earned on this is a multi-award winning ale:

• San Diego County Fair 
  2008 Best of Show
  2008 Gold - American IPA 
  2007 Silver - American IPA
• California State Fair
  2008-1st Place - American IPA
  2005-3rd Place - American IPA
• Los Angeles County Fair
  2007 Gold - American IPA
• Bistro IPA Festival
  2010 Bronze
  2005 Gold
• National IPA Challenge
  2008 Champion

Anderson Valley - Hop Ottin' IPA

Dead Soldier

Where to Dig Up More About This Beer
Hop Ottin' IPA
Anderson Valley Brewing Company
17700 Hwy 253
Boonville, CA USA
Est. 1987
www.avbc.com

Brain Damage Quotient = 7.0 % ABV
Fluid Oz. = 12.0

Postmortem Brew Review
Slightly hazy, amber color.
Pine and citrus hops nose.
Off-white, two finger frothy head. Dissipates slowly and leaves a nice sticky draped lacing on the glass.
Great biting hops, mostly citrus in taste, cling to the tongue.
Moderate carbonation. 
Medium bodied. Well balanced and easy to drink.

Grim Reaper's Eulogy
Anderson Valley's lineup of beers is now available in my immediate area. The previous two reviewed were fetched from a trip to the desert, some time ago.

While the first two were enjoyable, they didn't exceed my expectations for style, but to be fair they were worthy beers in their own right. This IPA is however, an interesting and quite tasty example of what West Coast IPA's are all about. The citrus and pine notes show up well in the nose and are downright show stealers during each sip.

Do be sure to get this under your belt, soon.

Elysian - Dragonstooth Stout

Dead Soldier 

Where to Dig Up More About This Beer

Dragonstooth Oatmeal Stout
Elysian Brewing Company
1221 E. Pike Street
Seattle, WA USA
Fort Collins, CO USA
Est. 1996
www.elysianbrewing.com


Brain Damage Quotient = 7.5 % ABV
Fluid Oz. = 22.0


Postmortem Brew Review
Deep black color on the pour.
Carmely and roasted malt nose; nicely malty. Good presence of hop aromas.
Short, stout, tan colored head with strings of lace.
Smooth flavors of caramel, chocolate and oats.
Soft carbonation.
Full bodied. Rich, full flavored.


Grim Reaper's Eulogy
I picked this one up on the west coast. Not gonna' lie, the dragon artwork really caught my eye. It is actually done by a Seattle tattoo artist named Joe of Pierced Hearts Tattoo Parlor. According to the label, he's a good friend of the brewery.

Also not gonna' lie, I was in search of a good oatmeal stout. Pretty sure I nailed that quest. This stout uses Crystal, Chocolate and Munich barley along with rolled oats to achieve a sultry smooth and roasty stout. A really great ale to curl up with in the dead of winter. Don't you think so too? Muaaahaahaa!

The bottle lists Fort Collins, CO as an additional location, but I don't see much in the website's credits to match that info. Also, the folks at Elysian have three locations to choose from while in Seattle. That's nice.

And what about the name Elysian? According to Mirriam Webster, it means "blissful, delightful". I agree. Each sip brought me to a state of enjoying the oatmeal stout with elysian ease! With a bit of exploration on their website, I found many of their ales and beers belie the tranquility of their company name. Titles such as Loser, Perseus, Dark o' the Moon and Men's Room, along with above mentioned Dragonstooth conjure up fiercer imagery. But again, I'm not gonna lie...I dig it! After all , I am The Reaper! Muahaaha mUUaHaaHAAA!

Okay, enough of that. Get some of this stout and you'll see what I'm talking about. It's seriously good stuff.