San Diego Unseen: An Urban Portrait
My interview with Mike Hinkley, CEO of Green Flash Brewing, would have put Barbra Walters in awe. Our superficial beer chatter evolved into a probing examination of his innermost fears and desires in mere minutes. After we shared a few good, healthy cries, I swept the mounds of damp tissue off my laptop to depart and share his triumphant story with the world. As a parting gesture, Hinkley kindly offered me a bottle of his company’s as-yet-unreleased Belgian pale ale.
Long story short, I’m shelving the interview. We have a new beer to geek-out over!
The inspiration for this beer was either drawn from Hinkley’s great respect for classical brewing traditions or a Dr. Who-sian desire to combat beer injustices across time and space. “If Green Flash were founded 80 years ago in Belgium, [Rayon Vert] would be the beer that we would make,” he said.
While any new beer is a labor of love, Rayon Vert raises the bar for parental affection. Rayon Vert is literally synonymous with the brewery: It’s the French translation of “Green Flash.” Some of that attachment likely stems from the beer’s lengthy gestation period, three to four years in the making. They even redesigned their bottles to accommodate the logistics of conditioning this brew in a 12-ounce profile.
Their efforts certainly manifest in the glass. Rayon Vert’s tall, webby head suspends the aromas of soft (though perfumy) floral notes, biscuity malts and the faintest hint of must. The first sip is equally complex and certain to leave even veteran beer snobs with quizzical looks on their faces. It opens with a tangy wallop of lemon zest but resolves with a bitterness that is as floral as it is funky. The finish is watery, yet it leaves a faint, sour, musty flavor to camp out on your palate.
For those of you who aren’t me, Rayon Vert will be available in four packs around San Diego by the end of the year. In the meantime, I’ll be raffling off chances to lick my pint glass.
