Green Flash Introduces Cellar 3 Plans & 2nd San Diego Facility

“We began with a Temecula Red Wine Barrel which we filled with Le Freak as an experiment in 2006,” explains Brewmaster Chuck Silva. “From that barrel, we created our first batch of what we called Super Freak and developed a house yeast strain that we still use to this day. We knew we were on to something special and sourced as many barrels as possible, and then patiently waited out the aging process. After we secured a medal at GABF for Silva Stout, the demand for our barrel-aged and rare ales soared, as did our brewers passion for the process.”

While the Cellar 3 concept began to take shape behind the scenes, Chuck appointed Green Flash brewer, Pat Korn as Barrelmaster to ensure the program would be in good hands. As Barrelmaster, Pat oversees Cellar 3 operations on-site and works closely with Chuck to choose the barrels used and create recipes for innovative new ales as well as to perfect the recipes of longtime favorites.

Cellar 3 currently houses a variety of over 800 barrels including four 50-barrel foudres, is equipped with fermentation and conditioning tanks ranging from 10 to 50 barrels as well as a cork and cage bottling line. In late spring 2015, Green Flash will open the Cellar 3 Tasting Room to the public, offering a new destination with a design inspired by the idea of evolving craft beer into an art form.

“As the number of funky barrels grew at the Mira Mesa brew house, it became necessary to find a separate facility to house the wild yeast projects and make room for additional barrels. With Cellars 1 and 2 making up the Mira Mesa facility, we began the hunt for a 2nd facility and began to refer to the project as Cellar 3, a name that naturally evolved and stuck” explains Green Flash Co-Founder and CEO, Mike Hinkley. “Finding the right space to meet the brewer’s needs was our first priority when selecting a building, and we scoured San Diego County’s available offerings. When we found the Poway location, we recognized there was a tremendous opportunity to sufficiently evolve the program and pioneer new craft beer territory as the neighborhood’s only destination dedicated to both creating and sampling rare, barrel-aged ales.”

In addition to the release of Silva Stout, the 2015 Cellar 3 offerings will include rare sour ale Flanders Drive, Le Freak Barrique (formerly Super Freak) and bottle-conditioned favorite, Rayon Vert. As an offshoot, several fruit re-fermented releases are planned starting with Natura Morta Plum. Natura Morta refers to the still life genre of painting where fruit often serves as the artist’s subject. Green Flash draws similar art-world parallels throughout the Cellar 3 series, considering each release a Green Flash brewer’s own masterpiece.

After the late spring opening of the Cellar 3 tasting room, guests will be able to enjoy rare beer selections tapped on-site along with brewery tours and a program of special events in an intimate setting.