Hi guys.  For today’s craft beer review I’m going to be trying the collaboration beer called LinchPin produced by the Green Flash Brewing Company situated in San Diego, California and the Founders Brewing Company located in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

I found this commercial description of LinchPin from the Founders website, foundersbrewing.com.  However, I think it was brewed at Green Flash, so be sure to check out greenflashbrew.com as well to see some of their other spectacular brews.

“There’s a lot going on in this beer with two yeast strains, copious amounts of wheat malt, and a big focus on ‘C’ hops to deliver a citrus explosion,” explains Green Flash Brewmaster, Chuck Silva. “In fact we lined up more than a dozen hop varieties in the brewery to select three hops with the biggest citrus character to dry hop the beer. “This golden beer pours with beautiful, frothy white beer foam that lasts due to bottle conditioning. Gently rousing the yeast that settles in the bottle will result in a fuller texture and a more cloudy white appearance. The citrus aromas that jump from the glass are largely tangerine up front with other types of citrus notes that mingle with the Belgian yeast esters. Hop flavors of bitter orange zest dominate the brew and linger to the finish with a nice play of American and Belgian yeast combo.” A beer with so many components can be held together with a “Linchpin”. The official “Linchpin” of this beer is the skillful collaboration between the two breweries to create a unique hop-forward brew. Linchpins are symbolic: two simple shapes that combine to strengthen a bond amongst many different pieces.

Sounds good.  Let’s drink.

This beer came in a 22 oz. bottle and it had an ABV of 7.0%.

It poured a hazy, yellow to pineapple juice color with a bright, white head.  The texture was soft, sudsy, soapy and semi-rocky.  It was sized greatly, the retention time was excellent and the lacing was patchy and cobwebby.

The nose released some hints of grapefruit citrus, clean white bread and some floral notes.  I also discovered some fresh grassiness, yeast and lemon along with a slight mineral fragrance.  It seemed well balanced and pleasant to me.  The mineral note was not all that distracting either.

The taste had both the grapefruit and lemon citrus.  Savors of grass and hay as well as the white breads and fresh floral tones.  A very, very light peppery spice tickled on the back side too.  The bitterness was nice, yet the hop bite seemed to be somewhat relaxed.

The mouthfeel was medium bodied.  Dry, crisp, refreshing and thirst quenching.  The carbonation was good and not too lively.  Only a minor amount of warmth was felt and a good deal of flavor was left behind after each gulp.

Overall, I found this to be a very nice beer.  This brew was released back in the Summer and I got to sample it during the late Summer/early Fall, but it probably would be best suited for the warmer weathered season.  I doubt that I would turn it down no matter what the weather if it were offered however.  The drinkability was outstanding. I absolutely killed this bottle in no time flat.  I hope that they make this again at some point because it would easily be worth a try if you didn’t get the opportunity to grab a bottle.  If you did have the chance to try the Green Flash/Founders LinchPin, be sure to leave a comment and tell me of your opinion.  Did you guys like it?  Would you want it to be brewed every year?  

Thanks for reading everyone.  I really appreciate it.

Until next time.  Cheers.

Score:  4.05 out of 5
Grade:  A-