Green Flash Brewing Co. CEO and Co-Founder Mike Hinkley announces the debut of Barrelmaster’s Reserve, an experimental series of extremely limited edition, barrel-aged beers from their Cellar 3 facility. While all Cellar 3 beers are both exciting and limited-release, the rare and barrel-aged offerings in the Barrelmaster Reserve series will allow diehard fans a small taste of some of the most elusive one-offs from Barrelmaster, Pat Korn’s private stash. Barrelmaster Reserve bottles will be produced in extremely limited quantities, with 600-1800 bottles that will be sold out per beer release. They will be available on a first come, first served basis for one day only, exclusively in the Cellar 3 tasting room and also in an extremely limited quantity on draft, with a small allocation available for special occasions and select retailers nationwide. Other beers in the Cellar 3 lineup are nationally available, and releases are planned according to a predetermined production schedule. The Barrelmaster’s Reserve beers are bottled when they are ready, and not according to a plan, with decisions about what to bottle and when made solely by the Barrelmaster. This sort of spontaneity allows room for Pat and his team to experiment with process and barrels used, and to take as much or as little time as needed to produce the most exceptional results.
“We wanted to allow Pat Korn and the team at Cellar 3 the opportunity to enjoy the organic and unpredictable process of barrel-aged experimentation,” explains Mike Hinkley. “As a national brand, we are focused on producing high-quality beers to meet the demands of consumers from coast to coast, and have limited opportunity to produce rare beer offerings in small batches. With the Barrelmaster’s Reserve series we have carved out a place at Cellar 3 where we can produce top-shelf, experimental offerings with bottles that are exclusively available at the facility in Poway.”
Cellar 3 currently houses a variety of over 1000 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. As Barrelmaster, Pat Korn oversees Cellar 3 operations on-site, choosing the barrels used and creating recipes for innovative new ales while constantly perfecting the recipes of longtime favorites.
“Often times, the most exciting spirit barrels we get our hands on are available in extremely limited quantities,” explains Pat Korn. “We use these small stashes of rare barrels as a way to experiment with new ideas and extended aging times. Now, when we tap into something extraordinary, we have a way to bottle and release it to the general public as part of the Barrelmaster’s Reserve Series.”
Lustrous Frumento with Coffee is the first “micro release” bottle to debut as part of the Barrelmaster Reserve series. A 100% bourbon barrel-aged “black ale,” Lustrous Frumento with Coffee features a rich malty double stout base. It is matured in freshly emptied, hand-selected “Old Forrester” bourbon barrels, which arrive at Cellar 3 still dripping from the distillery. The beer has rested in the barrels for 30 months, gaining plenty of spicy oak, vanilla and caramel notes. After being deemed “ready” by the Barrelmaster himself, a beautiful cold brew coffee made from a blend of Brazilian and Sumatran beans from San Diego coffee roaster, Mostra, is added to intensify and compliment the rich caramel and vanilla from the barrels. Lustrous Frumento with Coffee is 13.1% ABV and packaged in a signature metallic edition of the Cellar 3 750 ml cork-finished bottles.
Lustrous Frumento with Coffee will be available on May 21st in the Cellar 3 tasting room on a first come, first-served basis with a two bottle limit per person. Each bottle will retail for $24. There will likely be a handful of other releases available in 2016, however Pat and his team have no plans to reveal the details about future releases until the beers are ready. Due to the limited release nature of the bottles in the series, the Barrelmaster’s Reserve offerings will quickly become the most collectable beers in the Green Flash portfolio.
Visit the Green Flash website www.greenflashbrew.com for more information.
