Brewmaster, Green Flash Bre
wing Co.
When news broke about Chuck Silva resigning from Green Flash Brewing Company, most focused on the Mira Mesa-based business’ long-time brewmaster’s future. Meanwhile, the company shifted its attention to the future. In doing so, it leaned on a resource that has been very valuable for the past three years, promoting former head brewer Erik Jensen to the position of brewmaster. Both they and Silva are pleased with the move, and highly confident in Jensen’s ability to step in and fill some very big brewer’s boots. Despite being busy adjusting to his new role—including ordering an entire brew system for Green Flash’s upcoming East Coast brewery in Virginia Beach, Virginia—he took some time to answer questions about his past, present and bright, flashy future.
Has it been your aspiration to become a brewmaster?
Erik Jensen: It’s not a new role for me. I’ve been the brewmaster at a couple of smaller breweries where I had recipe control, so this is just a new chapter for me on a much larger scale.
Tell us about your career up to this point?
EJ: I received a certificate in Intensive Brewing Science from the American Brewers Guild under professor Michael Lewis in 1994. That led me to Golden Pacific Brewing Company in Berkeley, where I worked for a couple of years as a brewer and supervisor. From there, I moved on to Karl Strauss Brewing Company in 1996, where I was head brewer until 2002. I went on to a couple of stints at brewpubs between 2003 and 2011, where I was the brewmaster and recipe developer. I have been with Green Flash since February of 2012, first as head brewer and now as brewmaster.
Silva left rather suddenly. Take us through the emotions of the day he resigned and you were promoted?
EJ: I’ve been in the role of running Green Flash for nearly four years now, so there was no great shock in continuing to do that. When Chuck announced his resignation, our CEO and founder, Mike Hinkley, came to me within the hour and offered me the role of brewmaster. It was very flattering that he had such confidence in my abilities that it wasn’t even a question for him.
What does the role of brewmaster entail?
EJ: I am responsible for all day-to-day operations at Green Flash Brewing, including our main facility in Mira Mesa and Cellar 3 in Poway. My first big project is to design and build our new brewery in Virginia Beach, which we plan to have in production by next summer. I am also working on refining our new products for 2016. We are also developing a brewing lab to help us investigate our processes and ensure that everything we do is geared towards the highest quality beer we can make. Passions of mine are digging into the daily operations, developing brewers and making our processes as good as they can be.
Are there any beers you hope to conceptualize?
EJ: I’d love to make a fruity, juicy, hoppy wheat bee that’s lower in alcohol and hop-bursted or made using our new hop-back…or both. I’d also like to experiment with kettle-soured beers. I love the low-alcohol/high-flavor that kettle-soured beers are known for. Green Flash also has a huge opportunity with our barrel-aged Cellar 3 brand which I hope to expand on. I am also excited to work with Shawn McIlhenney of Alpine Beer Co. to continue their great tradition of hoppy beers.
Any parting thoughts?
EJ: Green Flash owes Chuck Silva a great debt. We wouldn’t be the brewery that we are today without him, and we wish him great success with his new venture. That said, we are looking forward to a new era at Green Flash. I’m really lucky to have the dedicated and talented brewers that we have on our staff. It’s going to make my new role that much easier.