Green Flashes of Spring

 I have no common theme for the beers below. However, most were enjoyed in the window seat of my apartment, a cat anchored on the sill and breeze drifting in.

Green Flash Trippel
 Sampled: April 15, 2012
Burnt orange has little head beyond a thin lace. Lots of orange-related flavor resides in the bouquet, led by orange blossom honey. Green Flash does not shy from it label as a New World Trippel. At 9.7 percent ABV, it has the same deceptively drinkable approach found in most examples of the style. The mix of Styrian Golding and Czech Saaz give it more hop presence on the finish than many tripels, Green Flash sports an upswing in bitter floweriness. A few slices of lemon zest amplify the hops. There is always room for another strong tripel on the market, but not sure I will revisit.

Victory Whirlwind 
Sampled: April 14, 2012
American craft brewers don’t always do justice to the Belgian white, a style steep in nuance not extremes. The store shelves swell with double white ales, but aside from the now-legendary Celis White, not enough brewers go the session route. So hail our friends at Victory Brewing for adding Whirlwind as a spring seasonal.

Not as cloudy as Amadeus or Wittekirche, Whirlwind has the goods and isn’t afraid to show them off. Pear, pineapple, lemon and hints of passion fruit all swirl in its body. The yeast sticks around, giving Whirlwind a bready character at times punctuated by the fruit. Don’t bother looking or anything orange in this Belgian white. Its authenticity might scare off Blue Moon fans. However, Victory mostly hits the mark with Whirlwind. I prefer a cloudier Belgian white, but Victory more than overshadows most craft brewed attempts.

Ghost River Blonde Ale 
Sampled: April 6, 2012
Even it’s just three hours to the east, Memphis rarely drops craft brew in Nashville. Thanks to a generous coworker originally from Memphis, we sampled this light brew from Ghost River. My trepidation about the possible use of muddy Mississippi water in this brew was quickly alleviated; Memphis draws its water from an aquifer, not the murky, barge-infested river.

Forget any apprehensions. Ghost River does just fine with the aquifer’s soft water. The blond develops nicely through its lemon character and notes of coriander. The Munich and caramel malts also aid drinkable qualities. Not a complex ale, but if this is your first splash into the Memphis craft beer market, it refreshes and quenches.

Green Flash Palate Wrecker Hamilton’s Ale 
Sampled: April 6, 2012
This limited-edition imperial IPA rushes out on a wave of pine needles and spruce resin. You can practically taste the hop leaves in this West Coast IPA, which Green Flash dubs its strongest ever. I see nothing to doubt that. Aside from the mass of hops, the body is otherwise light.

An IPA this strong could use more malt presence to smooth and balance, but no such luck in Palate Wrecker. Incredibly dry, grassy and seductively bitter, it possesses a wine-like character I have difficulty finding in ales of any stripe. Hop heads will flock, while I will be content with a single sample. It makes no pretense at balance, but I cannot return to beers that seem to flout its utter lacking.