Another year is upon us and at many American craft breweries, another turn of the calendar means an opportunity to shuffle the beer lineup, introduce new beers and resurrect old favorites. Such is the case at Green Flash Brewing, the California based brewery admired by hop heads from coast to coast.
New to the Green Flash lineup this year is GFB Blonde Ale. Initially set for kegs with canned packaging scheduled for the Spring, GFB Blonde Ale is an easy- going beer perfect for those times when you don’t want the hoppy excesses common to many Green Flash products. Co- Founder and CEO Mike Hinkley says this beer presents a noticeable contrast to the present Green Flash lineup and it is a beer that has its place.
“GFB will round out our portfolio, offering our customers a high-quality, easy-drinking option” explains Hinkley. “It is full of Green Flash character, and perfect for when beer is part of the occasion but not the center of it – like in a pitcher at a bowling alley, in cans at the beach, or filling the cooler on game day.”
GFB Blonde Ale contains only 4.8 percent alcohol by volume and it differs from other Green Flash beers not just in its statistics, but also in its packaging. With this new beer, the labels and tap handles will display information about the beer, including its ingredients, inspiration for brewing, and other qualities. Green Flash Brewmaster Erik Jensen says this new brew, while different, should be an instant crowd pleaser.
“GFB is definitely a departure for us,” explains Jensen. “We tried several malt bills and experimented with different hops to come up with what I think is an interesting and drinkable Blonde Ale with fruity hop-character and a nice malty flavor. It’s become a go-to for when I want a few tasty, crushable beers.”
GFB Blonde Ale certainly sounds like a welcome treat, but perhaps more important to Green Flash devotees is the return of Palate Wrecker Imperial IPA. Brewed at both the main brewery and the new facility in Virginia Beach, Palate Wrecker is a hop- forward beer with a big personality that Green Flash fans quickly grew to love….and miss. It wasn’t brewed last year due to constraints at the main brewery but the addition of the new East Coast brewery has made a difference and Hinkley looks forward to re- introducing this frequently sought- out favorite.
“Palate Wrecker will always be part of Green Flash, but we can only produce it every so often because the crazy process used to make the beer chokes down our brewery’s capacity,” says Hinkley Hinkley. “Bringing on Virginia Beach production capacity provided our brewers the opportunity for Palate Wrecker to get back to the business of wrecking palates.”
Green Flash has quickly grown to become one of the largest craft breweries in the United States with production exceeding 90,000 barrels in 2016. With the Virginia Beach brewery up and running, Green Flash is ready to meet any new challenges that lie ahead, from production to freshness and beyond. Green Flash Chief Operating Officer Chris Ross says the dual- brewery approach should serve his business and its loyal customers quite well.
“Now that we have brewery operations on both coasts, our ability to provide fresh, great tasting beers to customers both east and west of the Mississippi has vastly increased.” says Ross. “We are armed with a very strong 2017 lineup, and will be focused on continuing our double digit sales growth across all national retail outlets.”
To learn more about these and other beers, be sure to visit Green Flash online at www.greenflashbrew.com
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