Beer of the Weekend #373: Hop Head Red
I just returned from a family reunion and need some beer. So without further ado, let me introduce Hop Head Red, brewed by the Green Flash Brewing Company of San Diego, California.
Green Flash brews hit the IC market sometime in the last week. Having not visited John’s in a while, today was the first time I saw packages of it in the flesh and decided to nab a four-pack. (I need to nab another sixer of Mendocino, too.)
Serving type: 12-ounce bottle. The “Bottled on” date printed at the bottom of the bottle is “06/25/12.”
Appearance: Poured into a Goose Island Willi glass. The color is deep copper with tones of rust and orange. Three fingers of dense, slightly tanned head dissipated very slowly, leaving trails of foam along the glass.
Smell: Lots o’ hoppy spice and citrus, but nothing overpowering and off-putting. Mostly pine and grapefruit. Underneath the invigorating hops are scents of the “red”: mostly caramel and toffee, but there is a little light chocolate (maybe cocoa) in there as well.
Taste: The taste is a nice, though a tad bit astringent, mélange of everything from the smell. The pine and grapefruit hoppiness provides a nice bite and invigorating character, while the caramel, toffee, and chocolate bring up the rear.
Drinkability: It is good stuff. The hops dominate, obviously outshining the malt complexity, but it is a tasty brew. And it’s from San Diego, a world-class city.
Fun facts about Hop Head Red:
-Style: BA classifies it as “American IPA,” though, according to the brewery’s website, the beer has won awards as a red ale.
-Price: $9.99/four-pack at John’s Grocery in Iowa City.
-Serving temperature: 45-50ºF.
-Alcohol content: 7 percent ABV.
-Food pairings: BA recommends curried and Thai cuisine; peppery, sharp, and pungent cheeses; poultry, fish, shellfish, and salmon.
-IBU: 70.
-Nerdiness from the website:
-I cannot confirm this from the website, but I assume Green Flash is named after the green flash many people see when the sun sets over ocean. My uncle told me about it and I was skeptical for a long time. But I saw it once. It occurs when the last, tiny bit of the sun falls beneath the horizon.
The Quiet Man’s grade: B+.
Green Flash brews hit the IC market sometime in the last week. Having not visited John’s in a while, today was the first time I saw packages of it in the flesh and decided to nab a four-pack. (I need to nab another sixer of Mendocino, too.)
Serving type: 12-ounce bottle. The “Bottled on” date printed at the bottom of the bottle is “06/25/12.”
Appearance: Poured into a Goose Island Willi glass. The color is deep copper with tones of rust and orange. Three fingers of dense, slightly tanned head dissipated very slowly, leaving trails of foam along the glass.
Smell: Lots o’ hoppy spice and citrus, but nothing overpowering and off-putting. Mostly pine and grapefruit. Underneath the invigorating hops are scents of the “red”: mostly caramel and toffee, but there is a little light chocolate (maybe cocoa) in there as well.
Taste: The taste is a nice, though a tad bit astringent, mélange of everything from the smell. The pine and grapefruit hoppiness provides a nice bite and invigorating character, while the caramel, toffee, and chocolate bring up the rear.
Drinkability: It is good stuff. The hops dominate, obviously outshining the malt complexity, but it is a tasty brew. And it’s from San Diego, a world-class city.
Fun facts about Hop Head Red:
-Style: BA classifies it as “American IPA,” though, according to the brewery’s website, the beer has won awards as a red ale.
-Price: $9.99/four-pack at John’s Grocery in Iowa City.
-Serving temperature: 45-50ºF.
-Alcohol content: 7 percent ABV.
-Food pairings: BA recommends curried and Thai cuisine; peppery, sharp, and pungent cheeses; poultry, fish, shellfish, and salmon.
-IBU: 70.
-Nerdiness from the website:
Resinous hop characteristics emerge from an enormous hopping with Columbus, Nugget and Amarillo overtaking the rich caramel malt base. To add luscious hop flavors and enticingly floral hop aromas, we dry-hop the brew with bucket loads of Amarillo hops. Welcome to the world of Red IPA.
-I cannot confirm this from the website, but I assume Green Flash is named after the green flash many people see when the sun sets over ocean. My uncle told me about it and I was skeptical for a long time. But I saw it once. It occurs when the last, tiny bit of the sun falls beneath the horizon.
The Quiet Man’s grade: B+.
