Green Bullet Triple IPA was produced by Green Flash Brewing in San Diego, CA. Green Flash is an award-winning brewer that was founded in 2002. The beer was named after its New Zealand high alpha hop. The beer was initially brewed to celebrate Green Flash’s ninth anniversary in 2011, but the popularity of the Triple IPA has made it a seasonal regular. The beer is brewed with Green Bullet hops as well as Pacific Gem, and is heavily dried. Both hops are quite strong and very sweet. After the hops are dried pine sap, caramel, and tropical hops are added for flavoring.
But enough history—let’s move on to the good stuff. This beer pours a medium-dark orange with hints of yellow. The colors swirl as you pour, catching the light. The head is thick and white, and will overtake the glass if you aren’t careful. It dissipates quickly, leaving very little residue on the glass. The aroma is quite complex. There are hints of tropical fruit like pineapple, but you also get a very grassy smell. The mint and caramel are also present too, but those are less potent.
Green Bullet is one of the first beers I’ve ever had that tasted almost exactly like it smelled. There is an earthy, grassy taste with floral hints at first. The middle taste has that exact same mint and maple combination. The end taste is a pretty strong bitter alcohol flavor. That might be one of the few things about this beer that will run some people off.
The overall feel of the beer is medium thickness, with nice notes of sweet and bitter. The ABV on this beer comes in at a whopping 10.1%. Be careful with this one. Green Bullet has a really nice carbonation that even the uninitiated will enjoy. A great beer for a cold night.
This is a very well balanced and beautiful beer; I would recommend it to my friends just starting on their hops journey. Other than the bitterness and strong alcohol content, this is a perfect beer that stands up to other IPAs nicely. Green Flash Brewmaster Chuck Silva says of the beer: “Green Bullet is an extremely well-rounded and quaffable triple IPA.” I couldn’t agree more. Green Bullet Triple IPA is available at select Payless Liquors for a limited time. Stop in and grab one, because I don’t expect them to last ($12.99).
