We’ve been seeing a lot of Green Flash beers showing up here in Atlanta. They started showing up in bottles I think back in 2012, and eventually that meant I would see their beers on tap at my local Taco Mac as well. Green Flash beers are hot right now, as are those of many brewers from the San Diego area. So, upon visiting Taco Mac on the day after Thanksgiving and finding Green Flash Cedar Plank Pale Ale freshly tapped, I was all over it like a cheap suit. Knowing, of course, it wouldn’t be there long.

Green Flash Cedar Plank Pale Ale is part of the brewery’s Hop Odyssey collection of six specialty beers released on draft only across the course of a year. Cedar Plank Pale Ale is release 4 in the series, and the only one that didn’t disappear before I could get to Taco Mac to try it. The first 4 selections in the series were Black IPA, an Imperial Red Rye IPA, and a Citra Session IPA. Following Cedar Plank Pale Ale will be Symposium IPA and Double Columbus IPA.

Green Flash says of Cedar Plank Pale Ale:

This hoppy pale ale starts out as 30th Street Pale Ale and then undergoes Spanish cedar aging. Wood aging imparts an intense cedar aroma which dominates the dry hop. The flavor contributions from the Spanish cedar include peppercorn spiciness and a tannic dry mouth feel that makes the hop flavor and bitterness linger in the finish. The wood adds a fun and unique twist on a classic American Strong Pale Ale, “The wood is good!”

Green Flash Cedar Plank Pale Ale has 45 IBUs and an alcohol content of 6.3% by volume. I paid $7.25 for a mug at Taco Mac, a bit pricey but it was a full mug pour of a rare specialty beer.

Green Flash Cedar Plank Pale Ale pours to a bright golden orange color with a thick creamy head formation and a delicious resin and wood aroma in the nose. Taking a sip, I get a little caramel malt up front then loads of resiny, piny, citrusy hops and of course wood. You really get the cedar in all its glory here, unique and distinct from the more common oak beer is sometimes aged upon. In many ways this beer is like sniffing a cedar chest and biting a tree-it’s that woody. A long dry bitter hop finish rounds out the whole experience nicely.

Green Flash Cedar Plank Pale Ale is unique from the other beers in this series in that it is a pale ale (albeit an American pale ale in style), all the rest being IPAs. That was a wise decision, I think, as it allows the wood to come out more fully. Let’s hope that Green Flash does this one again, because it’s truly an amazing beer experience. Dare I suggest it with cedar planked salmon?

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft

 

 

 

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