I just happened to notice today that Napa Smith’s Organic IPA has now made it to West Virginia beer distributors. If that is any indicator, then my guess is that it must now be available just about everywhere. Do not overlook this beer. It’s a really good craft beer for restaurant use.
If I had a restaurant that featured organic cuisine, I would run, not walk, to my phone, call my beer distributor, and order a case or two of Napa Smith Organic IPA today. Hell, I’d order it no matter what kind of restaurant I had. Cause a lot of your customers are definitely into healthy lifestyles and love organic foods. If given the choice, they most often opt for the organic product if it’s available. Heck, I often do that myself. You probably do too.
Napa Smith’s current association with Pelican Brands is definitely paying dividends in national distribution. To start with, there are not a whole lot of good organic beers out there period—and even fewer IPAs. While many organic beers are okay, most are just okay. Only in recent years have brewers been able to obtain the variety of high quality ingredients necessary to make a good organic craft beer. But because the ingredients are more difficult to obtain and more expensive, most craft breweries just don’t fool with them. As a result, organic beers are still relatively rare in the market today. Finding an IPA as good as Napa Smith’s in the organic market is like finding a Michelin star restaurant next to a line of fast-food stores at a freeway exit. Where did this come from? It stands out as a very pleasant surprise.
With India Pale Ale being about the most popular craft beer style in all parts of the country, most any restaurant could favorably augment its craft beer menu by adding a Napa Smith Organic IPA. I bet it will get good reviews from your customers because it has an appealing taste.
Napa Smith master brewer Don Barkley tells that all the ingredients, including the process through the brewery, are certified organic. But that’s not all.
“It has a real drinkability to it,” Barkley says. “Those hops just boom out of there.”
His use of the Palisade hop stands out. And the beer definitely has plenty of malt to support it’s enhanced hop flavor.
The brewery describes the aroma of Organic IPA as “floral, and even earthy from the use of Palisade, Tettnang and Smaragd hops. And say it “finishes with a bitterness and soft citrus character that discerning IPA drinkers will enjoy.” I agree wholeheartedly. This is one good beer.
As the note on the back label says, “Raise a glass and toast to hops — wild among the willows, like a wolf among sheep.”
Napa Smith Organic IPA is widely available in 12 and 22 oz bottles, and in many markets is also available in 1/6 and ½ barrels. It is 7.1% alcohol by volume. While it has the body and hopping to taste decent right out the the cooler at 38-40 degrees, it really shines when a bit warmer, say high 40s to low 50s, when its hops and malt really come forward.
Food pairing: the brewery recommends it with curry, spicy barbecue and aged blue cheese. I say it will also go with most richer flavored foods, grilled red meats, creamy/cheesy casseroles, Italian tomato sauces, and sharper cheese varieties including aged gouda, cheddar, and swiss.
I’d love to hear what you think about organic beers in restaurants.
Here’s to making your restaurant a craft beer restaurant. Cheers.