Review by Eric Tansey, CSW, Sommelier Le Freak IPA is deep golden in color with a big five finger, slightly off-white head. Belgian yeast, floral, pine and lemon aromas. On the palate the beer is bitter, but it is a dry bitterness with no hint of sweetness.

Le Freak IPA is a classic California style IPA: the east coast is really hot and humid. The west coast is hot, but it’s dry heat, so it’s different–you’re not sweating and covered in slime. This is the same way their IPAs tend to be: bitter, but dry.

The mid-palate has balanced malts that bring hints of caramel and fresh, white biscuit-like characteristics to the yeast. This beer is perfect for that person that is just getting into the more bitter beers. This beer eases down the hoppy trail with great balance and structure, and that 9.2 precent alcohol is almost undetectable.

Tansey’s Blind Rating – 90 points

Beer Advocate – 90 Points

Rate Beer – 97 Points

45%
Body
50%
Bitterness
50%
Hops
40%
Yeast
55%
Malt

Beer Selection – Le Freak 

Style – Belgian style hybrid, American Imperial India Pale Ale 

Producer – Green Flash Brewing 

Region – San Diego, California 

Hops – Amarilla  

Malts – Pale, CaraPils 

Other – Brewed with mandarin orange peel and two row Moravian barley

Alcohol – 9.2%

IBU – 18 

Food Pairing – Thai food, black and blue burger, buffalo wings, french toast 

From the Brewery, LE FREAK IPA

BELGIAN-AMERICAN HYBRID – Le Freak® is the first-ever hybrid ale of its kind: the convergence of a Belgian-Style Trippel with an American Imperial IPA. This zesty Amarillo dry-hopped, bottle-conditioned marvel entices with fruity Belgian yeast aromatics and a firm, dry finish. Aromas of orange and passion fruit with sweet bready malts, and flavors of orange marmalade and citrus fruit pith. Experience a legendary beer. http://www.greenflashbrew.com/home/ Le Freak IPA

What is bottle conditioning? 

Bottle conditioning, in reference to brewing, simply means that sugar was added to the beer prior to being sealed. This allows the yeast to continue to chow down on the sugar producing CO2 or BUBBLES! This is a natural way of creating carbonation in contrast to the typical method of forced carbonation. Cheers! Eric Tansey, CSW, Sommelier 

History of IPA

IPA simply stands for India Pale Ale, and falls into the category of pale ales. The IPA style is considered by many to be rather bitter, and is certainly an acquired taste. The beer itself does not actually come from India but earned its name as a beer exported to India some 175 years ago, along with some porters and other ales.

The term IPA was actually first used in an advertisement for an Australian newspaper in 1829 referring to pale ales that were being exported to India from Middlesex England by the East India Trading Company. Some say that IPAs got their name because the hops acted like a preservative in the beer so that it could survive the long voyage to India.

This is only slightly true. Porters were transported to India without any problem and were transported in bulk. One brewery decided the market for porter was too saturated and so a young man, Mark Hodgson, decided to bring something new and different to the boys in India.

He wanted to send something lighter than the dark, bitter porter, and so he created a more refreshing and crisp style of pale ale that would not only survive the voyage, but get better along the way. He added dry hops to the finished pale ale beer in barrels, to preserve it and stabilize it during the long journey across rough and choppy seas. This lead to pale ales that were higher in acidity with more refreshing, citrusy qualities that are now referred to as IPAs.

What do IPAs taste like?

Hops can come from many different regions and countries, creating a very broad range of taste profiles in the beer, much like grapes do in wine. IPAs are considered to be bitter and slightly astringent with tangerine, grapefruit, and other citrus notes along with floral, honey, and caramel-like characteristics.

American IPA – Bigger in every aspect than its English counterpart, American IPA is typically made with American hops and is considerably more bitter, acidic and floral in nature. Higher in IBUs (International Bittering Units). Characteristics include: citrus, fruit, flowers, caramel, honey, and pine.

English IPA –  More rounded or as I like to call it, “moderate”, in nature with fruitier, less astringent qualities. English IPA tends to be earthier, with more yeast, less acidity and medium level IBUs (International Bittering Units). Characteristics include: bread, biscuit, toffee, citrus, and forest floor-like characteristics.

Belgian IPA – Funky, sour fruit aromas that often leave the nose and mind reaching for more typical characteristics. On the palate the beers usually deliver caramel-like malts with heavy yeast, high bitterness levels, and higher alcohol content. Sweet and floral with a bit of yeasty and malty umph behind them.Eric Tansey, CSW, Sommelier

For an extremely Hoppy IPA try http://tanseyreviews.com/review/vehopciraptor-unknown-brewing-co/