About Us

 

BACKGROUND

We were established as NYC Brewing Company, LLC in 2015 and updated our moniker to NYC IPA, LLC in 2016 to reflect our decidedly IPA-focus - which remains a staple of our beverage portfolio today though we have broadened our horizons a bit.

 

CURRENT PORTFOLIO

We still offer 4 “core” IPA offerings that we brew within the NYC Watershed region and added 4 distinctly different IPA "National" offerings in 2019 - including a bold-profile NA IPA (NA is short-hand for Non-Alcoholic IPA, less than .5% ABV).

We shifted all of our quality, all-natural ingredients to exclusively organic labeling in 2023.

We brew our "core" and "National" selections for Private-Label clients only at this time.

For all of our IPAs and other beverage offerings, we calibrate the pH (between 7.2 and 8.0) as well as mineral content (including magnesium and calcium) for the water that we utilize for each batch to mirror that of NYC tap water (based on our lab-tested internal baseline readings from samples drawn in the winter months from the borough of Manhattan) - this provides our beverage lines distinct and, most importantly, consistent flavor-profiles.

Our water-based processes, including Reverse-Osmosis (RO) among other filtration techniques, also rid the respective base water source of pesky, pervasive contaminants such as microplastics, PFAS and other unseen, unseemly pollutants.

We perform these extra-steps of fine-tuning the water we utilize even for our IPAs brewed within the NYC Watershed regions as different parts of the NYC Watershed can have decidedly differing characteristics - we learned early-on it is not nearly enough to attain premium-caliber, dependable quality, fresh beer by simply trying to replicate the same accomplished brewmaster-honed IPA recipes, from production facility to production facility - even if you utilize the same ingredients, in the same proportions with the same brewing processes under the same conditions.

Given our specified water-composition requirements and quest for uniformed production consistency independent of physical geographic location, NYC IPA™ has evolved over the years into a tech-forward brewery advisory firm, providing boots on the ground implementation in cooperation with select partner brewers. 

Our focus on uniformity of production output has driven us to develop, unmatched Quality Control expertise.

Along the way, we have crafted a proprietary playbook with corresponding technology to help brewing partners - wherever they may be located in the world - attain the same levels of consistency, batch-to-batch, for their own offerings that we strive for in ours. 

The result of our tech-first brewing approach is that we can brew our signature NYC IPA™ and other offerings with the exact same molecular and flavor profile - not just across the country but on different continents. 

From a logistics perspective, our brewing precision enables expanding brewing production to other regions of the country which reduces transportation time/costs and, according, assures freshness and improves shelf-life for our craft beer portfolio.

Our refined recipes along with our molecular-level brewing quality-control and an emphasis on utilizing only premium, all-natural, organic ingredients provide our Private-Label clients across the country reliable taste/flavor-profile consistency and timely delivery of fresh beer and our other beverage offerings. 

 

BEYOND BREWS

We initially established our Private-Label “National” service-category for Hotel, Dining and Event Venue clients located outside of the NYC metropolitan region that were looking for the quality and elevated taste-profiles of our IPAs but with an option to replace the cans' NYC branding with that of their own. 

Our Private-Label beverage portfolio has since evolved over the years to reflect enhanced variety that our private label clients are looking for.

After kick-starting Private-Label offerings with our "core" and "National" IPA portfolio, we now also have available one or two Seasonals among our available selections including some stand-out offerings from IPA Sours, German Lagers and Wits in the Summer to whiskey barrel-aged Porters in the Winter with Farmhouse, Irish Reds and other novel styles in between.

To further meet Private-Label clients' evolving requests, we also introduced canned spirits-based Ready-To-Drink (RTD) selections (customized for each client), Better-For-You Mocktails and Kombucha in 2022 in an effort to help our clients provide their customers selected beer alternatives.

Notably, the production and brewing processes for each of these beverage categories also utilize the treatment of the water utilized for each batch to mirror of NYC tap water (based on our lab-tested Manhattan samples) in addition to our other proprietary processes to guarantee quality and a consistent flavor-profile.

Today, we have become a one-stop custom Private-Label beverage service provider for Hotel, Dining establishment and Event Venue clients seeking quality refreshment.

Our team and our service providers enable each client to be able to rely on a single supplier to simplify multiple aspects of their beverage procurement and customization efforts so that they can keep pace with evolving market trends and provide the selections that their customers looking for. 

 

FUTURE INTIATIVES

The NYC IPA™ brand, one that has always endeavored to try to embody a bit of the energy of the city, now includes pursuit of some eclectic food collaborations starting with our NYC IPA™ Signature Chimichurri, Red Mole and Peppercorn sauces, - with each crafted to pair perfectly with various of our IPAs and enhance most any food category from steaks and veal/lamb/pork chops to salads and seafood.

We have also added hospitality-centric concepts - spanning themed-venues to special events and curated NYC tours - to further augment the brand portfolio and provide a platform for unique, vibrant experiential elements that hotel owners and even condominium developers can opt to include as an added amenity for their guests/tenants - from historic-decor and authentic city-centric artifacts/memorabilia to an on-site brewery featuring quality brews and bespoke light-fare selections.

 

RETROSPECTIVE

We rambled on into the craft brewing sector in 2013. As gypsy brewers living in the city seeking to create a hop-forward, all-natural, essential nutrient-infused IPA formulation for the active-lifestyle demographic, we tapped into the insight of ingredient specialists and accomplished brewmasters - the collaboration, with our first brewing partner in Connecticut, was released by the following year. While not exactly a garage startup in the literal sense, the spirit of putting in long-hours months on end along with some on-the-fly ingenuity (debatable) took hold - it wasn't uncommon to utilize snow-covered city rooftops as our makeshift cold rooms, stockpiling glass growlers during the winter months to test-out numerous iterations of our freshly brewed product creations.

We continued to refine various formulations - from hogshead barrel-aged limited-editions to special occasion/one-off brews to portfolio/lineup staples in subsequent years - resulting in the well-rounded stable of IPAs we have today - we liked then, and still like now, how the brewing-style lends itself to experimentation with existing as well as emerging hop varieties, a myriad of all-natural ingredient infusion combinations and always serves up refreshing flavor-packed/hearty/complexity seemingly no matter the particular IPA-style that is brewed.

Throughout our first decade of trials and tribulations, the educational curve was steep having navigated a variety of brewing sector-specific ebbs and flows including unforeseen cost increases, ingredient/input shortages, tank delays, reliable production issues, canning-related matters, direct/third-party distribution curve balls and more coupled with some management, personnel and ownership changes along with multiple macro-economic headwinds, all of which added to a never-ending string of fun hurdles to try and traverse on the path of trying to simply craft refreshment.

There is no doubt we have gained considerable experience and have a heightened appreciation for all those who have helped us along with way to remain optimistic.

From managing through the first pandemic in 100+ years at the outset of and into the early 2020s and trouble-shooting the numerous other sector headwinds and challenges over the years - rounds of steel/aluminum can price and MOQ increases, increased lead times for production due to CO2 shortages, new equipment/replacement part delays related to various supply chain issues, logistics/shipping complications, fuel pricing increases/surcharges that impact delivery, etc. - it seems every year - seemingly every quarter - there has been a new challenge to contend with independent of trying to focus on high-quality ingredient procurement, time-honed recipes and replicatable formulations/processes that drive out[put consistency - which was and remains our primary aim.

To that end, since we first introduced our original/flagship NYC IPA™ in 2017, we have been fortunate that all of our partner brewers, with our resounding endorsement, have consistently provided us with guidance that has taken recipe our development to the next level while always utilizing only real, all-natural, premium ingredients (versus utilizing any artificial-flavor adjuncts/enhancers or other shortcuts of any kind). 

Subsequent to our 2017 release, we brought in experienced executives from the brewing sector to provide operational perspective and, based on their recommendations, decided to shift from a retail-focus to Private-Label offerings by 2018 (including the initial exploration of some NA/Alcohol-Free options for clients).

As part of this shift, we started modeling-out how to make fresh beer available to Private-Label clients nationwide by brewing regionally yet requiring that the water utilized for each batch undergoes a process that results in it approximating the pH (7.2 to 8.0) and mineral composition (including magnesium and calcium) of renowned NYC tap water (based on our lab-tested internal baseline readings with samples pulled from winter months from the borough of Manhattan when the chlorine content tends to register lower and also taking into account minerals as well as trace elements, not attributable to the source water, and likely picked up in transport via aging pipes from the Delaware basin and Catskills to the borough).

Once this aspect of brewing was modeled, we then encountered a variety of other significant influences on production and explored tech-advancements to help us attain the exacting consistency batch-to-batch our team was striving for - the result after years of toiling and R&D was and a blueprint for consistency and quality that extends beyond the dialed-in water-profile and time-honed recipes/formulations of our IPAs and other selections.

We became a wholly owned subsidiary of Craft Beer Fund, LLC, in 2018, which provided us access to a variety of top-tier brewers and other service providers in the beverage segment as well as a host of technology advancements. 

Beyond our beverage-focus, over the years we have started to attempt to embark on some new frontiers including Travel/Events/Tours and Hospitality/Real Estate Concepts, and, in turn, upon doing so, we have added some additional advisors with hospitality and real estate backgrounds along the way to help us navigate the ever-changing landscape of NYC. 

Our experiential themed-concepts, derivative from our NYC IPA™ brand portfolio, today include NYC IPA™ Pub & Club, a standalone restaurant venue, as well as NYC IPA™ Hotel/Residences which feature an in-house brewery to add a differentiating element to legacy/ground-up new construction hotel/condominium properties within NYC in addition to providing ancillary on-site and off-site revenues.

Fast-forward, more than a dozen years after our team's first gypsy-brewed IPA debuted in 2013, we continue to fine-tune our IPA recipes utilizing only the highest-quality, all-natural, organic (as of 2023) ingredients and incorporate the same philosophy - now hardened guarantee, to the parts per million-level - of quality across our entire Private-Label beverage portfolio. 

Most importantly, we certainly have valued and continue to value the insight/perspective of all of those that have been part of our journey of endeavoring to deliver high-quality, premium refreshment - along with the many good times that evolve into nostalgic times more often than not.