In a stunning reversal for one of San Diego’s signature breweries, Green Flash closed its Virginia Beach brewery Monday, 16 months after opening that East Coast outpost.

The sudden retreat, signaled over the weekend with an ad offering a “turn key” brewery for sale, is the latest sign of Green Flash’s fading fortunes.

Less than two years ago, the Mira Mesa-based company aimed to become a national brand. Green Flash spent $20 million on the 58,000-square-foot brewery and taproom, which was designed to slake the thirst of fans east of the Mississippi River. Bottling and canning on both coasts, Green Flash signed distribution deals to sell its beer in all 50 states.

This strategy was the culmination of years of planning. Founded by Mike and Lisa Hinkley in 2002, Green Flash initially struggled to find a niche in San Diego’s craft beer market. That changed in 2004, when they hired Chuck Silva as brewmaster.


A veteran brewer, Silva put the Flash on the map with unique, flavorful beers — West Coast IPA, Le Freak, Silva Stout and others. When he left in 2015 to found Paso Robles’ Silva Brewing, Green Flash still had plenty of momentum.

In 2014, it purchased Alpine Beer, a small operation with a massive, passionate following in the U.S. and abroad. A year later, it opened Cellar 3 in Poway, a separate facility where brewers could experiment with barrel-aged beers.

Late last year, though, Mike Hinkley announced that Green Flash would eliminate four poor-selling beers and focus on its core lineup. In January, the brewery laid off 15 percent of its workforce and pulled out of 32 states. On Monday, 43 jobs were trimmed with Virginia Beach’s closure and the brewery stopped distributing in 10 additional states.

Now, Green Flash’s footprint has been reduced to California, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Utah, Texas, Nebraska and Hawaii.


Neither of the Hinkleys could be reached for comment Monday. A press release blamed the closure on “the cost and complexity of bicoastal operations.”

“I hope another brewery will move in and operate this wonderful facility with and for the people of Virginia Beach,” Hinkley said in the release.

The company still plans to open Green Flash Brewhouse & Eatery in Lincoln, Neb., this spring. That made sense to Pat McIlhenny, Green Flash’s Alpine Beer division.

“That’s mostly a tasting room,” McIlhenny said. “The tasting rooms in Mira Mesa, Apline, Poway and even in Virginia Beach were doing the lion’s share of the business. All were making good money.”


So why did Green Flash’s coast-to-coast gamble fail? Off-site sales suffered, said National University’s Vince Vasquez, because Green Flash ran afoul of a growing “drink local” movement.

“The preference for local is what motivates craft beer consumers, motivates them to spend more on a beer,” said Vasquez, who has studied the craft beer industry for decades.

While Green Flash was Virginia’s largest brewery, the commonwealth — like most of the nation — has been experiencing a craft beer boom. There are now 10 breweries in Virginia Beach alone. While two other San Diego breweries have Virginia outposts, these are larger companies that make nationally-known beers: Stone has Arrogant Bastard Ale and Stone IPA, and Ballast Point has Sculpin IPA.

“To put it bluntly,” Vasquez said of Green Flash, “what’s their Sculpin?”