Green Flash Grand Cru

Green Flash Brewing Company
San Diego, CA

APPEARANCE: 2.25/3
Thick espresso-colored head. Deep brown color, almost purple. Opaque.

AROMA: 3.25/4
Roasty. Chocolate, vanilla, coffee, brown sugar, licorice. Wow. Unique, very little hop aroma.

TASTE: 7.75/10
Hop/Malt Balance: 3.25/4: Prune/plum, raisin. Burnt coffee. Sour cherry at front, hop bitterness at close.
Aftertaste: 2.25/3: Lasting roasty bitterness. Sour to bitter.
Mouth-Feel: 2.25/3: Really big, but very smooth. Alcohol is well-masked. Weakly carbonated, which was appropriate.

OVERALL: 2.25/3: A unique, complex beer. Roasty, sour, sweet, wow–a lot going on here.

TOTAL: 15.5/20–Pour Me Another

NOTES:
Matt: Really nicely balanced, so much so that it doesn't seem as big as I know it is. Complex and weird, but I really enjoyed it (more than Ben, I think) .
Ben: Complex–it almost defies description. Roasty yet pruny yet coffee yet chocolatey, big and warming. I don't love it, but I don't hate it either.