Green Flash Brewing Co

So yes, they are now in Mira Mesa so make sure you know that before you drive to Vista for nothing. The place is still a work in progress, just the tasting counter inside a huge warehouse so don’t expect much in terms of ambiance. I took my dad here for Father’s Day, he’s used to whatever crap is on sale. But he enjoyed the tasters here, which is pretty big considering that he sticks to what works for him.
I like the fact that all the tasters are just $ 1 and it’s enough to judge the character of the beer. The Hop Head Red we unanimously agreed was our favorite, also high marks to the 30^th street too. My dad liked the Black stout though Im not a fan of dark beers, I personally liked Le Freak.
Im glad I got to try this place out. Overall, I prefer their beers to Stone but not as good as Port Brewing Co.

Great price for tasting and pints.
Decent beer.
Decent customer service.
Really there is nothing exceptional about this place. It’s a great way to start a brewery tour or visit on a lazy Saturday afternoon, but I can’t recommend going out of your way for it. Especially with so many cooler breweries within a 10 mile radius.
Again, decent, but not exceptional.

Big thanks to Mel for letting us come sample even though they weren’t officially open for that on this particular day — above and beyond. She is extremely knowledgable about craft beer, from the brewing/​production process to the business side, to beer festivals and other regional breweries around the country. They have several used bourbon barrels aging stout in the back of the warehouse, can’t wait to see how that turns out. Had the flight, even though I’ve tried most of their offerings before. One of the brewers (who were working while we watched and sipped) handed me an 80% full bomber of Le Freak that he had opened just to taste and see if it was ready — bonus. The dude working the forklift stopped to pour us some West Coast IPA, double bonus. Overall, very cool trip. I already loved Green Flash, now I love them more.

Second stop on the company beer tasting day — and I think I overdid it when I was at the first place because I only got two 7oz pours while I was here. At the time, there was a faint smell of potting soil in the air so it affected my tasting. I tried their Hop Head and their West Coast IPA. Both were pretty good, but possibly I was beer-​logged and there weren’t any snacks like they had at Iron Fist Brewing Company… needed something to kind of cleanse my palate… then again, I’m a beer tasting noob.
There were definitely more bathrooms at this brewery, and a really nice grass area off to the side of the brewery to sit and relax. Perhaps I’ll make a return visit to Green Flash, but with so many breweries in SD… it’ll have to wait.

If you love hoppy beers, then coming here for the beer is totally worth it. Chris and I aren’t too big on really hoppy beers, but we needed to visit Green Flash Brewing Co. because we’re determined to visit all the breweries in San Diego.
My main complaint was their set up, no chairs and no tables? How is a person expected to get a flight of beer with nothing to rest it on? All I really need are tables, especially after a day of drinking high alcohol content beers… I’m going to need something to lean on.
They also had a listing of their beers, and the suggested order to drink it in. They probably only had 3 beers from that list to actually taste, I thought that was a little misleading.

Purchased their Barleywine Style Ale from Binny’s in the downtown Chicago location. Drank it last night as a celebration because I’d actually reached my workout goal and wanted to have a tasty beer without the 11 others tempting me in the fridge.
Evidently somebody was looking out for me, because I came across this Barleywine drink for $ 12 with a pint + 6 oz., and thought it looked interesting. Frankly, it was the most delicious beer I’ve ever had.
The bottle states that you can drink it, or save it. I actually went back, bought six, and threw them in my back room to see how they mature. I’m not some sort of expert on beer, but I know amazingly delicious when I taste it. It was the 2010 vintage. This is the first review I’ve ever been inspired to write on Unilocal,but as silly as it sounds, I didn’t know beer could be this tasty.

Solid beer and really nice staff, but the tasting room is nothing special. I’m down with business park tasting rooms, but with the distribution of Green Flash I was pretty shocked at how small their setup is.
We did the $ 6 flight of all their beers, which is an amazing deal. The Hop Head Red was probably my favorite beer… a really good balance between overt hops and malt. Their West Coast IPA is also a very solid beer, but I thought the Imperial IPA was sort of funky with a pepperoni pizza vibe. The tasting room guy described it as having an onion flavor. Either way, a strange brew.

B+ to A+ beers, most of which are 8% or higher alcohol, great staff, and great prices! ($ 3/​pint! $ 6/​flight [you get a shot glass of approx 2oz of each beer on the menu]).
This place is my first choice to get a brew on Fridays after work! Male/​female ratio is probably around 8 males per 1 female. Place is family friendly, and there’s no creepers. Everyone is nice, although you will find it a bit harder to socialize than if you were at a bar; best to bring a friend or have a group! ;)

I’ve been purchasing their bottled brews for years in stores before coming here. Their West Coast IPA is a hoppy bliss, and also love their Double Stout and among other things.
The reason I’ve driven down all the way from Orange is for their Silva Stout. After a numbing drive through the freeway I finally arrived at this place. Along the way I’ve realized Vista is surprisingly green, not much difference to the other East County (Romona, Julian, etc.) cities.
Anyhow, located in a business park, full of unappealing buildings. But inside you can see the guys working at the forklifts and the brewing facilities. Very efficient tenders pouring brewery-​only beers while maintaining a professional attitude. Various patrons standing around contemplating the taste while holding their glasses, lovely.
I did get where I came for, a four-​pack of Silva Stout, shiningly displayed in front of my eyes. The price was excellent (a pint of their Pumpkins ale and their 4-​pack Silva Stout for $ 20? hell yeah!).
This is a bit far from my house, but it was worth it. They had very good pricing on the draft beers and bottled ones. Very unpretentious and if you are a fan of Green Flash why not make a pilgrimage here to have some of their rare stuff.

Probably the best place for beer tasting in SD. $ 6 for a whole flight of tasters (we’re talking 9+ different samples). I don’t know about other people, but that $ 6 got me really buzzed already. I went on a brewery tour and I stopped drinking after this place (and it was our first stop!). There’s nothing fancy about this place but the staff is really fast and nice.

LOVE LOVE LOVE Green Flash. My favorite beer is their Trippel.
This is definitely a brewery to check out if you’re in the San Diego area. They’ve got $ 6 tasters (about 9 tastes) — such a good deal. They’ve got a bunch of great (strong) beers, but I think the tasters are the way to go.
The brewery is right in the middle of a business park, not too hard to find.

Another great micro brewery in our backyard and its a Good one.
Its your typical no frills setup if you’ve been to real breweries like Ale smith, Hess and Ballast point you will know what I a m talking about. Not like the Poser over priced «hey look at me I drink good beer «Stone brewery, the douchebaggery of breweries.
What separates this place is the quality, its top notch. I really enjoyed the entire flight, but my favorite has to be the West Coat IPA, its amazing.
The service is top notch and they made me a first timer feel very welcome and right at home. its a pretty Hoppy place. HA HA
Take the time to find this place and do yourself a favor and treat yourself to some REAL BEER, you owe this to your body !!!

Went here last year after having lunch at Stone. Again, this place, like a lot of the other breweries I’ve been to in SD, is located in a business park a little ways away from the freeway.
The tasting room wasn’t officially open since it was only 2pm on a Friday, but the nice people at Green Flash let us come in and taste anyway. The tasting room is in the brewery. VERY low key as you can see from the pictures.
I don’t remember what we tried while there but I LOVE:
Le Freak Belgian IPA
Green Flash IPA
Palate Wrecker IPA (had this on draft at Stone recently)
Hop Head Red
This place, Lost Abbey, and Stone are a bit of a drive if you’re staying in Downtown San Diego… but they’re worth the 30+min or so drive. Just make sure you spend a fair amount of time at each place since they’re relatively nearby. Otherwise you’ll be looking at a DUI!

This place remains one of my favorite San Diego breweries. They have relabled their anniversary ale to become a staple «30^th Street Pale» which is quite drinkable. But get here soon to try the Silva Stout… this is something special and only available at the brewery. They aged their regular Stout in barrels for 17 months, and just bottled it and offer it on draft and bottles for sale at the brewery only.

Most reviewers have covered the many lovely aspects of Green Flash, but I wanted to add that the feel of this place is very laid-​back. The service is exceptionally friendly, helpful, and prompt, even when they get busy. The set-​up is refreshingly simple: a few folding tables with place mats, an ironing board with crackers and cheese and meats. It really is all about the beer here, and you can’t beat the price, as Melissa K. Points out.

Great beers! It’s not a restaurant or brewpub or whatever you want to call it. It’s a brewery and you come in and try their offerings, which are excellent. You can get a flight of all of their beers for just $ 6! The employees who help you are very knowledgeable and are quick to get you a beer. Excellent brewery to visit!

Green Flash has really great beers. The tour is interesting and despite the relative size of the operation the brewery is small and the tastings feel intimate.
Some really interesting and strong beers to try. The summer saison broke from the strong IPA or Belgian beers and was really pleasant, something I could sit down and drink on a hot day.
Anyway, if you are fan of IPA’s or Green Flash Beer, which may be synonymous its worth coming here some time for a tasting.
They don’t have any food here besides pretzels so make sure you eat ahead of time, or have a DD if you plan on drinking a ton of 8% beer.

Green Flash calls a unexciting industrial park home, but the beer brewed inside is anything but unexciting. Here’s what I thought of the beer I tried on my visit just a few days ago:
Le Freak: The BEST Belgian IPA ever brewed. No contest. Insanely hopped IPA goodness thrown completely off track with that infamous Belgian «funk» common to nearly all Belgian brews due to a certain type of yeast strain used while brewing. It’s what would happen if West Coast IPA came down with a bad Belgian yeast infection. It’s the best-​tasting yeast infection ever to occur in history – I guarantee it.
West Coast IPA: The quintessential San Diego IPA. When I think of a textbook example of what a California IPA should taste like I think of Green Flash’s West Coast. West Coast IPA has more hops than a bunny and fights less when you try to consume it.
Imperial IPA: Like West Coast’s older and more well-​endowd big brother that likes to beat you up. Delicious.
Stout: Stizzzzout muh bizzzzout. Straight down the stout road that has been less traveled by me since my discovery of the IPA lies a mythical malty coffee monster that palates well and turns my white trash speak-​utterance into eloquent, enlightening, and faux Irish-​accented discourse. Decipher from that rant what you must, but know that Green Flash Stout gets a thumbs-​up from I.
Nice folks inside. Cheap tasters, pints, and growler fills. YAAAAAY! Due to the close proximity to my new pad, you will probably be finding me here often; lurking around with an unsightly mustache and looking for prospects to be future ex-​wives.

There’s more than misery in San Diego-​area office parks. Sure, there’s plenty of Dunder Mifflin-​esque ennui, but a few random ones house the West’s best new microbreweries.
Hubby had been obsessing over Green Flash’s Trippel for more than a year after having pint @ the LAX Four Points (aka the Beer Hotel).
Much like an unmarked police car, Green Flash keeps a way low profile with minimal signage and little fuss. Here’s a hint: follow the GoogleMaps instructions, but understand that the last bit is unmarked, so look for the parked cars and don’t be deterred by driving through housing developments and non-​descript office buildings… you’re on the right path to awesome ales.
The tasting room is pretty much the shipping/​receiving area with the garage door opened. While the locals whined about the 80 degree+ heatwave, we reveled in warming up after a summer of San Francisco fog. Lucky b*******ds! DogDad went straight for the pint of his dreams ($ 3.50), while I checked out the sampler (10 tastes for $ 6.00).
Bartenders were super sweet and knowledgeable – I confided that I was a lightweight and needed to sample the best bits in six tastes or less. They commiserated without snarking and pulled some of the best mini-​pints of my life.
Standouts included:
Summer Saison: an unfiltered golden farmhouse ale, brewed with orange curacao, ginger and grains of paradise. This one was super fruity and like the good stuff from your cool home-​brewing friend.
West Coast IPA: the most drinkable (ok, least alcohol content) of the bunch and perfect for summer. Packs a punch without the knockout blow.
Trippel: pot of gold at the end of DogDad’s rainbow. Way too strong for me, but he swoons at the mention. Official description: rich pale malt flavors provide a solid base for zesty Styrian Golding and Czech Saaz hopping. Trappist ale yeast contributes the fruity, spicy profile of classic, monk-​brewed, Belgian Ales.
Le Freak: my personal favorite of the high (10%+) alcohol selections. Besides getting my 70s groove on at the very mention, I loved the mellow blend (in very small doses) of the Trippel and Imperial IPAs. Say chic!
The Green Flash tasting tap room is open on Fridays from 3:30 — 7:30 and Saturdays from 12 — 4.

Fantastic beer and super nice people. It’s a bit difficult to find the place but it is well worth the trouble. I support local craft brewing and Green Flash is definitely worthy of any support I can give them.
I hope you will pay them a visit and see for yourself!