Reviews: Green Flash Trippel & Grand Cru

Alright, two more beers from Green Flash Brewing (@greenflashbeer), a microbrewery out of Vista, California which is really close to San Diego.  I reviewed their barleywine as part of a trio of reviews recently and this time I have the Trippel and Grand Cru to check out.  Both are Belgian-style ales, which is a little bit of a departure for a West coast brewery, but the barleywine was great, so here's hoping these deliver as well.

First up, the tripel.  True to the style, I poured from a bottle into a Chimay goblet... and if lives up to the Chimay name then I'll be one happy camper. It's a bright orange color, hazy with a small white head.

This beer has a very floral aroma, with hints of honey and citrus. Not bad, and a typical flavor profile for the tripel style.

The taste is about the same but a little bitter with the floral hops coming through. The honey notes aren't as strong, but it's still a pretty good beer.

All in all a decent tripel. Not the best American version and not as good as the Belgians but I like it and would have another.  

My rating: B

BeerAdvocate: B

Tripel

Second beer on the menu... the Green Flash Grand Cru.  "Grand Cru" is a non-technical beer term typically used with Belgian-style ales, indicating a more elaborate and usually stronger version of a beer.  Oddly enough, in this case the Tripel was 9.7% abv while the Grand Cru weighs in at 9.00% abv.  Still though, both are pretty strong beers, so watch out!  This one is listed as a Belgian Strong Dark Ale (BSDA) which is a very similar style to the quadrupel ales. 

Just like the tripel, this one was poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a goblet. It's a dark Brown, a little hazy with minimal head.  A very typical color for a BSDA and such a high alcohol content lends itself to less head.

The aroma is faint but what I pick up is good. A little chocolate, followed by some plum notes.  The taste also has a bit of chocolate in there. A little odd for a BSDA but it's not bad. Theres even a little roasted note on the end. Double checking... yep this is the grand cru.

It's very drinkable and I like it but it's just a little out of character.  The chocolate and roasted notes were a little odd for me, and I see a lot of BA reviewers were getting similarly odd flavors.  Despite all that, it's not a bad beer, just different.

My Rating: B-

BeerAdvocate: B+

Belgian Strong Dark Ale

In conclusion, neither of these are bad beers, but for my money there are much better Belgian style ales out there, including the real things from across the pond.