Green Flash opening doors to Cellar 3

Most expansion news concerning Green Flash Brewing Company has revolved around the construction of their upcoming Virginia Beach brewery, but today, the company announced the opening date for another venue — a 12,000-square-foot combination barrel-aging, packaging, and tasting spot called Cellar 3. Located at 12260 Crosthwaite Circle in Poway, it will open to the public on May 16 during a public grand opening event.

Helmed by Green Flash Barrelmaster Pat Korn, Cellar 3 will have its own line of barrel-aged, wild yeast-fermented, and otherwise experimental, next-level beers, the first of which debuted two weeks ago at the company’s main Mira Mesa tasting room. The two local beers that fans will recognize are the highly acclaimed Flemish-style red ale, Flanders Drive, and Silva Stout, a version of Green Flash’s Double Stout aged in bourbon whiskey barrels. Both will be released in 2015, with the latter coming out in two batches.

New brews slated to emerge from Cellar 3 before the year is out include Le Freak Barrique, an oak-aged version of Green Flash’s award-winning Trippel and Imperial IPA blend inoculated with Brettanomyces; and the first two beers from the new Natura Morta Series. The first will be a Belgian-style saison fermented in large oak foudres with Brett, then transferred to red wine barrels and aged on Italian plum purée (a la 2014’s Green Flash Treasure Chest breast cancer fundraising beer). Up after that is a similar beer that will sub out the plums for cherries.

Cellar 3’s sampling space will come in at 2,500 square feet and include a beer garden, a nod to the popular outdoor area at its headquarters. The backdrop of the tasting bar, which will have 30 taps, will feature a deco-inspired metal starburst façade consistent with the company’s iconic logo. Korn and his staff will also be visible so that visitors can gander at the work which goes into barrel-aging. Cellar 3 will be open to the public Wednesday through Sunday from 12 to 8 p.m. Beers will be available on draft and in bottles, and food will be available from a company-owned food truck offering a menu similar to Green Flash’s Mira Mesa-stationed Gastro truck.