Rayon Vert - Better With Brett

On the Food Network, chef Emeril used to throw pork fat into many of his dishes to enhance their flavor.  If I were a brewer, I'd use the yeast strain Brettanomyces to "kick up" my beers, like the TV chef used pork fat.  BAM!  Brett adds unique flavors and complexity to any beer, while not sacrificing drinkability.

Green Flash, in its new year-round Belgian pale ale, Rayon Vert, uses a generous dose of Brett that makes it stand apart from other pale ales.  This highly carbonated beer is not just a pale ale, but a suped-up Belgian pale ale.   The Brett yeast gives Rayon Vert a grown-up, complex taste.  It's sour because of the Brett yeast, and this tartness jumps at your taste buds immediately.  The Brett also makes Rayon Vert a dry beer.  It finishes with a nice hop bitterness, which works well with the Brett yeast. 

I liked this beer for its unique taste.  Rayon Vert may not be for everyone, because it's so tart and yeast-forward.  Pale ales can be boring, safe beers - not too hoppy, not too malty - a beer designed to appeal many casual beer drinkers.  Rayon Vert is anything but boring, and is another, aggressive Green Flash beer. 

I feel foolish that I didn't make the connection sooner that Rayon Vert is French for "Green Flash."  Duh.  It's the obvious things in life that sometimes seem to allude me.