Green Flash Rayon Vert
If Green Flash were founded in historical Belgium, Rayon Vert would have been our flagship brew. A bold layering of hops finds balance from traditional malts. Bottle conditioning with fresh ale yeast and Brettanomyces finishes the beer, adding a delightful effervescence, dryness and continuously evolving character. Rayon Vert is Green Flash. [Admin note: trying to confirm if this is the same beer as Treasure Chest ]
3.7
804 reviews
San Diego, United States
Community reviews
Bottle. Deep clear amber color, white head. Aroma of light funk, pepper, spiced brown bread. Taste is light barnyard, mixed spice. Very tasty.
This was the most foam I have ever gotten from a bottle that wasn’t home brew. The pour is an amber that’s pretty clear. Yeast notes on the nose. Has some wine alcohol notes while staying crisp and dry. But not too dry I’d say a touch of dry grape.
Grape comes on just before the brett reminds you of the Belgian element. No doubt a pale ale from the hops but Europe influence strong. A good match. 7%. 12oz. 3.6std drinks.
12oz bottle -
I think I found my new summertime IPA. If Beverages & More continues to carry this incredible elixer, then I will continue to purchase because it has everything I love in a nice IPA. The only thing better would be if they made it more.
The beer starts out with a clear "hiss" and gas escaping as the cap is pulled off, looking like the lid of an ancient Egyptian sarcophagus had just been lifted after 3,000 years of solitude. The beer pours out a light amber color, crystal clear. Tight bubbles form at the base, and as the beer reaches mid-glass a rather large, pillowy head forms. So much so, that when the beer glass is emptied into my glass, a 2" head has formed above the glass, sitting there like a contorted sculpture from a brewers dream. The head has incredible staying power, like a meringue of a pie made in the hands of a master chef.
The aroma coming from the glass starts out rather tame. Light lemongrass, very floral, smells a little like grass or weeds when it gets wet. But after some time to let the head die down, and let the temp warm up a bit is when the aroma really comes thru. Strong phenols, medium spicy notes, a touch of funky-leather-jacket-rubbed-with-lemon-zest and much more farmhouse saison notes than a traditional American/WC pale ale.
The first few sips of this hammered me with statement "this aint no sweet East Cost pale ale/IPA". Bone dry due no doubt to the brett swimming around in this beer chomping on any molecule of sugar it meets. The tartness left behind in it’s aggressive wake, along with the lemony-funky nature of brett, the earthy/straw-like, bitter apple peppery-ness just melds incredibly well together. Not for those that like sweet beers, its decidedly Belgian in it’s approach with a unique American twist on it from the masters at Green Flash. Just a clean, bright, funky treat that was made for beer geeks like me. Thank you Green Flash, for always keeping me in mind...lol.
Bottle @ Oluthuone Leskinen. Orange beer with a huge foamy white head. A fruity American-Belgian ale loaded with brettanomyces. Quite high carbonation. Very nice.
"a style i am really starting to enjoy. wish i could give every aspect of this beer an 8.5. wonderful hoppy, funky aroma. great balance. lively feel which flows right into the refreshing yet complex barnyard, citrus flavor. dry finish. after standing up to green flash’s best on tap, gotta up it a tenth."
Bottled. Hazy orange color, thick creamy head. Intense, brett-infused aroma, loads of pineapple, red currants, grapes, orange blossom, leather. Dry flavor has base malts, fermented fruits, sour cranberry, strong brett wibes in the finish. Light to medium body, frothy texture. Really nice sour ale.
Large head indeed. Be careful or it will overflow upon pouring (yes, that happened to me). Yeasty fruitiness in the aroma with some sour apple in smell and taste. Sourness lingers on the tongue. Highly carbonated. A nice Belgian-style pale ale that I would drink again, but probably won’t be among my mainstays.
Bottle. A huge white head covers most of the glass and table, beneath the head lies an amber colored beer. Massive carbonation. Aroma of berries, caramel, fruity yeast, brett notes. Slightly sweet palate, heavy malt notes, yeasty, nice dry bretty finish. Flowery and fruity. A nice beer, though a bit more controllable carbonation woudln’t hurt.
Not at all what I was expecting! But very pleasantly surprised!
I emagined a pretty simple little Belgian blonde, but this beer couldn’t be further from that. The Brett is fantastic and really lifts this beer into the extra ordinary.
Only slight criticism is that the Brett has really got to work and this bottle I’d had aging for a while was lively to say the least! But this in no way detracted from this great beer.
Reviewed from notes.
This was poured into a chalice.
The appearance was a decent hazy orange color with a two finger white head. The lacing was somewhat there and trickling but trying to stick.
The smell had a wonderful blend of fruit and yeast with notes of candy sweetness. There was a light fruit ranging close to the citrus, mango, and a light pineapple. There were some notes of a green apple sourness.
The taste took those previously mentioned flavors to encapsulate a warmingly sweet sort of fruity stickiness.
On the palate, this one sat right about a medium on the body with a tad of sessionability but honestly, this one seemed to make me want to sip it a bit.
Overall, so there is a slight sour-ness but its nothing overly done. Would I have this again? Probably.
Aroma of wheat and hops. Drank mostly out of the bottle (got a four pack). This was an incredibly foamy beer with not a lot of taste compared to other Green Flash brews (which I love). Get anything else by them before this.
I almost gave this a 5 for appearance, except the towering fluffy head would be mare at home on a tripel than on a Belgian ale. Nice yeasty aroma some floral notes, a hazy copper orange body, taste is yeast and some mellow hoppiness. Overall a great attempt at the Belgian style.
Transfer from BA review on 7-17-12 -
Poured from bottle into tulip glass
Appearance – The beer pours with a nice hazy orange color with an enormous white head. The head is insanely huge with multiple pours needed to get the 12 oz bottle into a ~ 20 oz pint glass. Eventually it does fade however, to give a light amount of lacing.
Smell – The smell was a wonderful blend of fruit and yeast with notes of candy sweetness. The fruit was largely of citrus, mango, and a light pineapple. These aromas mingle with some other lighter aromas as well. There is also a light presence of floral hop and some notes of a green apple sourness. One wonderful smell.
Taste – The taste starts out with a nice malty and fruity flavor. A citrus and tropical fruit sweetness mixed with a nice biscuit base. As it moves on some grapefruit citrus and a lighter floral hop come to the tongue. Accompanying these hop flavors are tastes of sour Brett yeasty flavors. As the taste advances further and goes toward the end it sours even more with other notes of more bitter hop coming to the tongue. In the end it leaves a bitter and sour flavor on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the beer is on the light to medium side for the 7 % abv. As for the carbonation, it is on the slightly higher side (as would have been perceived from the super heavy head). The lighter body was slightly off putting for the hop and malt flavors, but it was good for the more sour and bitter flavors. The higher carbonation level did the same as the body and really accentuated the sour flavors of the brew.
Overall – A tasty sour beer with probably one of the best aromas of a beer I have ever smelt. One I would go to again given the chance.
(bottle - 12 oz) Orange pour with a lot of white head. Sweet yeast and spices in the aroma. Mild hop bitterness. Flavor has that same spicy Belgian yeast at the start with a dry hop bite coming up at the end. Way too carbonated, but pretty good.
bottle from the bottle shop in bermondsey now Belgian styles are not normaly my thing but i have to say i really liked this beer very nice fruty taste with a smooth finish not something you could drink all night because of the strength but for taste you could easily
Wonderful aroma and flavor. Floral, almost a lavender taste. Very strong on the pallate. Wonderfull beer but could be overwhelming if I had a lot more of them.
A few yrs old. Very carbonated bottle. Could not pour the entire beer in the glass at once. Several finger head. High energy bubbles. Nice lacing. Lots of Brett on the nose. Taste is dry. The beer showing signs of oxidation. A little sweetness too.
What a bretty beast... Pours a murky orange with a huge bubbly head. Brett barnyard funk dominates the nose, with some spice and a hint of fruit. Those same things are fully present in the taste, along with coriander and even a bit of a cardamom. A bit astringent. Crisp medium mouth without a lot of carbonation. It’s not as refined and balanced as Orval, but nonetheless good if you’re a brett head.
12oz brown bottle. Foam creeping up the neck on uncapping... a good sign? Rich golden colour, huge column of white foam, dense, thick. Huge bands of lacing in the glass. Nose has leathery bretty funk, lemony sharpness as well. Flavours of brett/funk/yeast, leathery. Mild hoppy finish, dry and crisp. Medium body with persistent carbonation. Excellent bretted pale ale, as an Orval fan this hits the mark and then some.
Pours a hazy orange with a huge frothy three finger white head diminishing gradually to a lumpy marshmallow-like cap and heavy lacing. Nose is strongly dominated by brett funk, with a little fruit and sweet malt in the background. Taste follows suit, but with more malt presence, as well as a little umami. Mouth feel is medium-bodied, with low carbonation and a gentle alcohol warming.
I see this compared to Orval, but I don’t think I agree - the brett is much more pronounced than Orval, and the fruit less so. This is more like Gato Negro, with its heavy-handed brett funk, albeit with a little more West Coast character. The brett settles down somewhat as the glass progresses and the beer warms.
Poured a hazy golden colour with a head that just would not stop. Nose was musty and inviting. As close to an Orval that I’ve river had. This will become a staple in my house!
Botella de 33 cl en el lúpulo, en el momento en 17-05-2014. Color ámbar con espuma beige poco persistente. Aromas y sabores ligeros, ácidos, con pequeños toques de maderas y ligeramente afrutados que se acentúan según coge temperatura. Presencia de carbónico, recuerdos a las lambic belgas con algo mas de maltas y un ligero toque amargo final bastante suave. Bastante fácil de beber. Interesante.
12oz bottle courtesy of embrouille, danke vielmals! A whole lot about this beer is a perfectly potable parody of a nouvelle vague Belgian saison: huge seafoam head, huge white pepper and pollen and springtime peach blossom nose, flowery and dry to the extreme. Orval comes to the p distracted palate’s mind, before it thinks better of the analogy, leaving emulation to its own devices. Taste is marked by dryness, concentrated daffodils, green apple peel and old dried citrus rind. Quite a lot to take in, almost a horror vacui of New world saison, bordering on perfume - a true West Cost feat, nevertheless.
Pours seventy five percent head twenty five percent beer. Has a urine like aroma with a flavor not far from the smell. After letting the head settle a bit this beer separates very oddly. Amber clear on bottom very foggy on top. Very upsetting overall.
12 oz bottle. golden pour, loads and loads of white frothy head, that gifts lots of lacing on the glass. Aroma, wow, lots of funkiness and thats saying something giving the fact I am at the tail end of a cold that hasn’t allowed me to smell anything but mouldy ketchup for the last week. Continuing with the aroma, lemon zest, yeast, grass, very nice. Taste, nice, my first beer all week and she’s a beauty, crisp dryness up front, soft mouthfeel, followed by some mild brett funk, subtle hops but very minimal, nice dry finish. Really schweet brew.
Bottle Rehills Newcastle. Pours dusty orange with a huge foaming white head. Big yeasty apple aroma, zesty lively palate, with a sharp finish, lingering and with sour notes.
12oz bottle poured into an english pint glass. A cheese like funk is noticeable right from the get-go with more subtle notes of stone fruit, resin, and earth. As the beer settles down, although the cheese is still present, a floral and citrus note make themselves apparent. The beer is a cloudy orange-gold (murky by the end of the bottle thanks to conditioning) with a light, pillowy head. The lace is runny, and doesn’t stick. By the finish, the head is a dishwater film atop the beer. The tongue is hit by a medium / medium-high bitterness with a light sweetness to support it. There’s also a hint of cheesy umami in there too. Lots of light, fizzy carbonation help the medium-full bodied beer to maintain an oily texture. The finish is a dry pine, pepper, and citrus peel. The citrus peel becomes more grapefruit-like in the aftertaste, and is accompanied by a chalky quality. Some cheese flavors seem to sneak into the aftertaste as well, which is brief.
Strange brew. I get the the Belgian yeast and floral notes, but the funkiness from the Brett takes over. Very thin mouth feel. Astringent/oily. Just okay.
Bottle 660ml @Beer Hunters. Clear copper/amber color, big cloudy white head. Aroma is funky, some fruityness. Medium-bodied, very active carbonation. Flavor is also somewhat funky, citrus. "American-Belgian" yeast. Nice Orval clone.