"I have a quote for you," said Green Flash Brewing Co.'s Brewmaster, Chuck Silva. And when the man who hand-crafted one of your favorite beers in the world tells you he has a quote, you listen. "The harder you work, the luckier you are," said Chuck in response to my query of how Green Flash has managed to have such great success in such a short amount of time. "It's not that we've been lucky, it's just that we work hard and we've had good fortune."

Chuck Silva has been Brewmaster with Green Flash for approximately four and a half years now. In that time, Green Flash has grown from a small San Diego brewery to one of national prominence and availability. It's hard to believe, but Mr. Silva wasn't even Green Flash's first Brewmaster (they existed for two years without him), which just shows how instrumental he has been to their success. I was lucky enough to be able to accost Chuck during a Philly Beer Week event at the P.O.P.E. (fully known as the Pub on Passyunk East, which, as a bar, is post worthy in it's own right, but I'm going to stay on task for the time being), and he was polite enough to answer a number of questions regarding his brews.

Green Flash has made it's reputation on big, West Coast-worthy hop monsters, a number of which were on display during this particular tasting. Their flagship West Coast IPA and their beyond extravagant Imperial IPA, as well as their aptly named Hop Head Red about which their website asks "Is it a Red IPA?" The genre crossing Le Freak was here too, adding that same level of hop madness to the complex character of a Belgian Trippel. But Chuck and his small entourage of beer fanatics had especially kind words for the two least hoppy selections of the bunch: the Double Stout and the Trippel Belgian Style Ale. Since Green Flash has built their prominence on over-the-top hops, Chuck seemed to take extra pride in the craftsmanship of these brews, showing off his diversity. The tasty Trippel especially proved that Chuck is no one trick pony.

But it all comes back to the brewery's flagship, the West Coast IPA. "When we decided to roll out our IPA we wanted it to be not just one of another IPAs, we wanted it to be almost a benchmark, a stand out," Chuck stated, a goal he can be proud he achieved. Is it the best IPA on the market? That's for individual drinkers to decide, but there's no denying the number of bars that have been stocking Green Flash recently and the name recognition the brewery has achieved based on this beer. The idea of creating stand-out beers was a regular theme throughout our conversation. Whether repeatedly touting his goal in brewing the Imperial -- repeatedly using the word "unique" -- or teasing me with the name of one of his limited release products -- the Palate Wrecker -- creating a unique, individual and differing experience seemed to be Chuck's primary goal: Thus his big, stand-out beers.

By the end of our talk, those big stand-out beers began getting to me: After drinking a Trippel and an Imperial at 9.7% and 9.4% respectively, my apologies to Mr. Silva if I slurred my final goodbye. Though technically it's his fault; He brewed 'em that strong! As for myself, I went off and did my own little beer and food pairing: Seeing how Green Flash goes with both Geno's and Pat's Philly cheesesteaks. For the record, they both pair extremely well, and, yes, I am gross (but I don't get to Philly that often anymore, so eat 'em when you can get 'em!)

But like many of the brewers I've met here, Chuck was amazingly friendly and out-going. He has a number of other events while in Philadelphia. If you happen to be in the city, check phillybeerweek.org to find out where.

And, of course, thanks to Chuck Silva for taking the time to talk with me. Find out more about Green Flash Brewing Co. at greenflashbrew.com.