As I put the finishing touches on my "Beers of Golden State" column, the words "so many beers; so little time," although trite, seemed apropos. That column profiled four breweries from my trip to San Diego for the National Homebrewer's Conference. Sadly, a fifth brewery was excluded. I simply ran out of space. So, to make amends for that injustice, I present Green Flash Brewing.
Native New Yorker Mike Hinkley studied business at the University of California at Berkeley, and upon graduation found employment in the corporate world as a CPA. But while crunching numbers as an international tax specialist, he couldn't escape the memories of the wonderful Sierra Nevada and Anchor brews he'd discovered at Berkeley.
A move to San Diego in 1997 shifted his focus from finance to beer. Hinkley opened the Boardroom Bar with his wife, Lisa, and was soon caught up in the emerging San Diego craft beer scene. In 2002, he and Lisa took a leap of faith and made the next step, opening their own brewery in Vista, California.
Mike and Lisa dedicated their brewery to a "beer first" philosophy, making unique brews with an emphasis on consistent quality, never attempting to clone something that had already been made. They christened their brewery Green Flash, after a natural phenomenon that occurs on the west coast's horizon when conditions are just right - with the parallel of their beers being the perfect end to the perfect day.
Brewmaster Chuck Silva came onboard in 2004, and Green Flash shifted into overdrive. Silva focused on recipe formulation and development, and began brewing his signature flavor- forward hoppy beers and out-of-style Belgian creations. Next, he oversaw two expansions and a move to a new production facility in San Diego in 2010.
As if the new digs weren't enough, to keep pace with the barrel beer craze, Green Flash opened yet another facility and tasting room to house its rare and barrel-aged brews under the name Cellar 3. Regular releases are aged in wine or spirit barrels (perhaps with an addition of wild souring yeast) and reborn a few years later, with names such as Silva Stout and Flanders Drive, thus elevating craft beer to artistry. For those visiting the San Diego area, a trip to the Cellar 3 tasting room is highly recommended.
Green Flash's assortment of year-round and seasonal brews has something for everyone, not just the hop heads. The more adventurous beer geeks visiting the brewery can also try samples from the Genius Lab Pilot Program, where, in the spirit of innovation, employees submit ideas that become small batch releases.
We on the east coast can look forward to even greater availability and freshness of Green Flash products in 2016 with the scheduled opening of a 100,000 barrel production facility in Virginia Beach. Silva promises the new brewery will feature the same lineup beer geeks crave, brewed with the same west coast bravado. So let the following selections be a preview of good things to come and make Green Flash the perfect end to your perfect day. Cheers!
Road Warrior Imperial Rye IPA is a seasonal release and is Green Flash's tribute to its traveling sales team. It pours orange, with a thin beige head. Aromas of grapefruit rind, pine resin and caramel and hints of toast greet the nose. The mouthfeel is substantial, almost chewy. Flavors of peppery rye malt and caramel give way to a burst of pine, citrus and stone fruit from massive dry hop additions of Mosaic and Amarillo. Like most Green Flash creations, Road Warrior is a heavy hitter at nine percent alcohol, but drinkable enough to quaff from a pint glass. I'm a huge fan of rye beers, and this one didn't disappoint. Green Flash encourages you to hop on and enjoy the rye of your life.
Double Stout is based on several 19th century English Stout recipes. It's an Old World style done the Green Flash way. And while the brewery's IPAs get all the love, Double Stout brought home a silver medal at the World Beer Cup. The beer is opaque black, devoid of highlights. The carbonation is light; the head is thin. Aromas of bitter baker's chocolate and roasted barley dominate the background of malt and coffee. The body is full, yet not cloying. Its almost overwhelming complexity is best savored in sips. There's an overall earthiness to the flavor, forming a supporting backbone for notes of roast, coffee, chocolate, dark cherry, and raisin that follow. The finish is clean, with just a touch of hops. Try one now and save the rest of your four-pack for the cooler weather ahead.
If Green Flash were located in Belgium, Rayon Vert would be its flagship beer. This Belgian Pale Ale is Silva's west coast take on a Belgian classic. The highly effervescent brew explodes into the tulip glass, filling it rapidly. In the aftermath, a thick white head of foam rests atop golden straw-colored nectar. Aromas of citrus, yeasty funk, and earth are balanced in sublime harmony. The high carbonation tingles the tongue, unleashing flavors of biscuit and bready malt, orange peel, lemon and funk. A touch of a tart yeast known as Brett produces a long and satisfying, dry crisp finish. Comparisons to the Belgian classic Orval are inevitable, but it seems more like its citrusy and sassy American cousin.
Hop Head Red is billed by Green Flash as the blissful union of IPA and Red Ale. Fans of traditional Irish Red Ale are in for a surprise. Like Irish Red, the pour is reddish amber; the head is medium and tan; the beer is medium-bodied and malty, with notes of caramel. That's where the similarities end. Huge heady aromas of fruit and eucalyptus from Amarillo dry hopping push the caramel notes to the background. The initial flavors of malt and caramel segue to a resounding wallop of herbal spice and citrus from a huge addition of Warrior and Nugget hops. Red Ale will never be the same again.
(The Brew Dude is published every other week on the Food and Drink page. Contact Mark Pasquinelli at thebrewdude@newsitem.com.)