Green Flash Brewing State Of The Brewery
San Diego, CA – Green Flash Brewing recaps 2013 growth, new market entry and overview of exciting plans and projects on the 2014 horizon
After entering North and South Dakota as well as Wyoming in November, Green Flash beers are currently available in 48 US states. The San Diego brewery is now operating at 70% of their ultimate capacity and swiftly growing distribution with a roster of nearly 80 employees. The state of the union for Green Flash is exciting as 2013 quickly nears the finish line. Today, Green Flash Co-Founder and CEO, Mike Hinkley shares insightful data from 2013 and hints at some very exciting new projects slated for 2014 and provide a status update on their Virginia Beach-based brewery, slated to open in 2015.
Update on 2013 Sales
2013 depletions are up 37%, year to date. Of total depletions, 82% are in long established Green Flash territories, 14% from regions opened in 2012, 4% from new markets opened in 2013. The flagship leads the way – West Coast IPA has increased from 50% to 52% of the product mix through the year. West Coast half-barrel sales are currently up more than 50% in San Diego, in the brewery’s eleventh year.
Western territories currently comprise 53% of total depletions with 34% annual growth. The Central US states are now 13% of total depletions with 70% growth, due in large part to recent new market expansion. Eastern states sell 34% with annual growth of 33%. No surprise, California leads in overall sales with the surprising runner-ups of New York, Florida, Pennsylvania then Massachusetts. These states are all within two day’s freight from the Virginia Beach brewery to come on line in 2015.
With sales currently to 48 states, Green Flash is close to its goal of 50-state distribution. “Only Hawaii and Utah remain to be opened” according to V.P. of Sales Jim Kenny, who continued “Hawaii is tricky because we will only ship 100% refrigerated freight. The other remaining state is Utah, which has some complicated laws that I hope to better understand after an upcoming visit.” Jim confirmed that Hawaii and Utah deliveries will start when these obstacles are overcome, but not before.
The 2014 Product Line
For 2014, SKU counts are drastically reduced to make distribution and retail sales more efficient, while consumers are provided with the variety they crave. Four packs are reduced from four to three full time offerings – West Coast IPA, Hop Head Red and Double Stout. Full time 22oz offerings are reduced from seven to three – Le Freak, Imperial IPA and West Coast IPA. To provide ease of operation and variety to consumers, one UPC code is used for the (un)seasonally released monster IPAs Palate Wrecker, Road Warrior (making a 2014 debut) and Green Bullet. Similarly, one UPC is used for the Hop Odyssey series, which highlights periodically released experimental hop-centric ales, for the first time in 22oz. bottles.
Projects on the Horizon
A Barrel Room in San Diego
Mike Hinkley and team are currently scouting a 2nd San Diego facility exclusively for the Green Flash barrel aged beer program including the storage and packaging of the barrel aged beers (i.e. Silva Stout, Little Freak, Super Freak, Flanders Drive, etc) in cork finished bottles. “After years of experimentation in this area, we are ready to take this exciting next step,” says Mike. “We will open a packaging hall and are planning to also use the space for a food and beer pairing concept destination. We have hundreds of filled barrels aging in a warehouse targeted for packaging and release in Q3-Q4 of 2014.” The new space could open as early as late 2014.
Virginia Beach Update
“It took slightly longer than expected to iron out all of the development details and nail down the finer points on the land acquisition in Virginia, but we are back on track. We plan to break ground in the spring of 2014 and are looking towards opening the facility as planned – by the end of 2015,” confirms Mike about the new brewery build.
Green Flash is targeting 20-25% growth in 2014. “At that pace, we will have the ability to hire and train our East Coast team and implement the precise processes company-wide so that Virginia Beach will be ready to operate at the highest level, at just the right time.”
About Green Flash Brewing Co.
Green Flash Brewing Co., is located in San Diego, California, and was founded in 2002 by Mike and Lisa Hinkley. Brewmaster, Chuck Silva, leads brewing operations. Green Flash is an award-winning brewer of fine, hand-crafted ales, and specializes in brewing assertive and distinctive beers, such as the nationally acclaimed West Coast I.P.A.: an award-winning beer whose wide acceptance has helped define a category. Green Flash brews a wide variety of beer styles that are available on draft and in bottles as lineup of seasonal and special offerings, including barrel-aged beers, throughout the year.
www.greenflashbrew.com – @GreenFlashBeer – facebook
