SD Beer Geeks Visit Green Flash Video

Our Trip to Green Flash Brewery

Yesterday, we got the opportunity to go to Green Flash Brewing Co., drink a little bit, and get a little tour of the place, thanks to John and Chris. Needless to say, it was a fun learning experience. Green Flash was founded in 2002 by Mike and Lisa Hinkley, with a passion for craft brewing in San Diego. Today, it is one of the more popular breweries in San Diego County. Quite frankly, I'm surprised they aren't more recognized around the state and country. Their beers are have a unique style, and are delicious, a must try for any beer enthusiast.

Their menu includes the West Coast IPA, Hop Head Red, which is a red IPA, Double Black Stout Ale, Imperial IPA, Trippel Ale, the Le Freak Ale, which is a mix between the Trippel and American Imperial IPA styles, Saison Diego Ale, a Barleywine, Rayon Vert, which is a Belgium-style pale ale, Grand Cru Dark Ale, the Friendship Brew Ale, and our favorite the Palate Wrecker. Not only does Green Flash offer a variety of great beers, but the atmosphere is so much more friendly and welcoming than some breweries we have been to. Not to mention, they have the food situation on lock down there. Outside there are four food trucks, serving great food. It's a pretty cool place for the younger beer enthusiast.

We were lucky enough that Chris gave us a tour of the facilities. It was awesome to see the process he goes through as one of the brewers, to bring this deliciousness to our tables. We were able to get some pretty cool pictures of the place, so check them out.

This is a 13 pound bag of hops. 

Kegs!

Overflow pump.

Mash Tank

Bottling Line.

Heady Topper By:The Alchemist Review!

My mom’s cousin has a brewery in Waterbury Vermont. It's called The Alchemist; His Double IPA Heady Topper is rated as one of the best beers in the country. Unless you travel to Vermont it is impossible to get hold of one of these beers. Fortunately, my cousin came out this past November and brought me about 16 cans of this beautiful delicious beer! Here is my review! Enjoy and hopefully one day you will get your hands on this perfect beer! CHEERS!

Pours a nice hazy orange color, with a big creamy head on top. A fair amount of sticky lace left behind.

Wonderfully aromatic with a ton of citrusy hop character. Grapefruit and orange stick right out there. A fair amount of sweetness, with even a slight vanilla-like note, that is certainly unexpected but rather pleasant.

The bright and citrusy hop aromas carry over well into the palate. Deliciously hoppy without the mouth puckering bitterness you often find in DIPAs(double IPA’s). Sweeter than your typical IPA/DIPA but not cloying at all.

Comes across with a nice smooth and creamy medium body feel. Overall, Heady Topper is hard to beat. One of the best Double IPA'S I have had and I am not just saying that because of my relation to the brewer=] Cheers!

Hops 101

If you know anything about beer, you know one of the main ingredients is hops.  Hops look like tiny green pine cones that grow on vines. Originally, hops were used as a way to preserve the beer. That is how India Pale Ales (IPA) were developed in the 18th century. British brewers would add a lot of hops in order to perserve their ales on the several month long trip to India. Now we know that hops do much more than just perserve the beer.

Hops balance out the sweetness provided by the malt sugars, and gives beer that somewhat bitter, but refreshing taste. Most of the bitterness comes from the alpha acid resins in the hops, while the flavors and aromas come from the oils in the hops. There are two categories of hops: bittering and aroma. Obviously, bittering hops give your beer the more bitter character, while aroma hops give your beer the flavor and aromas you experience.

There are a few different times in the brewing process, mainly the boil, when you want to add hops. Usually the bittering hops are added in the beginning, and boiled for the entire boil. Hops can be added midway through the boil in order to give the brew more flavor, and any type of hop can be added, its all up to you. Toward the end of the boil, more hops are added, called finishing hops, in order to savor more of the aromas and tastes. Hops may also be added to the fermenter, in a process called "dry hopping", to give the beer more aroma and flavor.

There are a bunch of different varieties of hops, and its up to you to find out what type you like to use, although sometimes flexibility may be an issue. Cheers!

Our Vision

We love beer. Not Coors Light, not Bud Light, not Naty Light. We like good beer, like the type that gives you quality, not quantity. We're starting this blog to chronicle our beer experiences, whether it be trying a new beer, making our own home brews, or discussing about the challenges of starting our own brewpub in San Diego, CA. Our ultimate goal is to start our own brewpub in San Diego, CA that offers the beer we brew, along with other great beers, live music, and an atmosphere that captures the personality of us, our friends, and our generation. We invite you to follow us on this journey. We are two hard-working, entrepreneurial-minded, individuals, working to accomplish our dream, which we fully intend on doing. So welcome to the Beer Geeks blog, we hope you enjoy our insight, learn some new things about beer, and follow us on our journey for the next few years, as we perfect our craft, and share our experiences with you. Feel free to contact us at our email, mrbeergeeks@gmail.com,  if you have any questions, suggestions, or would like to try our beer. Peace, Love, and Good Beer- Mike and Ryan.

Sierra Nevada Estate Ale, Telegraph California Ale

Tonight we tried the Sierra Nevada Estate Ale, and the Telegraph California Ale, from the Port Bottle Shop in Carlsbad, CA. Unfortunately, Sierra Nevada only brews the Estate Ale once a year, and the batch we were able to try was brewed in August or September of last year, so it did taste a little stale. None the less it was still very good. It had a smooth taste, and a nice red amber color to it, perfect for the newbie beer drinker, and the seasoned vet. The cool thing about the Estate Ale, is that all the ingredients come from the actual Sierra Nevada Brewing facility in Chico, CA. We love Sierra Nevada, and Mike is a big fan of Chico for some reason, who knows, I guess there's just a bunch of cool people up there ;-). To learn more check out this link, http://www.sierranevada.com/beers/harvest_estate.html.

The Telegraph California Ale was a little more lighter in taste, but had a similar amber color to it. It had a more tangy and fruity taste to it. The Telegraph Brewing Company is based in Santa Barbara, CA. Check out their website here, http://www.telegraphbrewing.com/.

First Home Brew: Kingston Extra Pale Ale

This video is the first pour and bottle of the Kingston Extra Pale Ale that Ryan brewed at the end of January. This beer was brewed using Cascade and Citra hops, and then dry hopped for a week with Citra hops. The flavor of this beer is that almost of your standard West Coast IPA except for the fact that the Citra hits you like a brick wall, the fruit and floral piney notes of this beer are very abundant and will surely make any hop head fall in love.

HomeBrew

Estate Ale & California Ale

Kingston Pale Ale 

Grains in steeping bag for Black IPA

Dry Hopping

Kingston Extra Pale Ale

More Brown Than Black IPA

Mike Boiling More Brown Than Black

Citra Hops

Before bottling Kingston Extra Pale Ale

More Brown Than Black IPA in Fermenter

Grains