Charades in the kitchen downstairs thwarted my dinner plans to pair Le Freak with potatoes and leeks au gratin with braised asparagus. But as it turned out, Le Freak went perfectly well with the Ortega burger with roasted chillies and avocado that one woman got from Flame Gourmet Burgers on College Avenue in Berkeley, CA. Although Green Flash describes the beer as a combination of "San Diego Imperial" and "Belgian Tripel," I would say it's more on the Imperial/IPA side of things than a Belgian. Which explains why the burger with chillies was the way to go with this one.
Green Flash is a San Diego Brewery that Mike and Lisa Hinkley founded in 2002. They've won many accolades in their short life, and their beer tends to be on the hoppy, high alcohol side – Californian style. At 101 IBUs and 9.2% alcohol, Le Freak stays true to that spirit. It has a translucent orange-ish hue, smells like late harvest wheat, anise, candied orange peel. It's sharp without a bite, clean and amber like a tripel, but has the texture of an IPA. It's pretty well balanced, although it seems like it's trying a bit too hard, but what can you do if you're declaring freakdom?
One woman recommends pairing this brew with burgers, or some mole concoction.
Music pairing of the evening: Gilberto Gil,
Gilberto Gil (1969) with Caetano Veloso and others. Psychedelic tropicalia but so much more.
Between words and acts the shadow descends
The identified object
The concealed, the flying saucer
The astral seed
Culture and civilization
Only interested me
As long as they serve as food
As tartar, a juicy plate
–Gilberto Gil
(in "Objeto Semi-Identificado")
Or a juicy burger. Kanpai, gorgeous.
(An indoor picnic for Girl's Night In)
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