Good Nature Brewing

By Guest Reviewer Jim Walter of Chittenango, New York

When you hear that a brewery has reformulated a beer that you thought was perfectly fine, it is usually not a good omen.  What come to mind is "New Coke" one of the biggest marketing disasters ever.  So when I heard that Good Nature Brewing of Hamilton, NY had changed its India Pale Ale I was a little apprehensive.

To do a fair comparison I took advantage of their offer to kick the end of the "old" IPA by selling growler fills for 1/2 off and I also picked up a growler of the "new" IPA.  To be fair to brewer Matt Whalen, he was not happy with the old IPA.  It wasn't holding the nose very long and he knew he needed to make changes.  You have to give him credit for admitting that something just wasn't right, and then making moves to change it.

As a fan of the old IPA I opened my growler with no less than a little trepidation.  The new IPA poured into my pint glass with about an inch of head on it.  It pours with a lighter color than the old IPA, actually a very nice light copper color.  The nose is full of the citrus and floral notes imparted by the Cascade and Chinook hops used to brew this IPA.  At 6.8% ABV this beer holds it own very nice and is quite drinkable.

The biggest difference in the new IPA with the old IPA is that now Good Nature runs the beer through a hop back system.  This system is designed to keep the hoppiness and nose of the IPA much longer than the old brewing process.

The result of the new and improved ale is a very drinkable and enjoyable IPA.  It's delicious for someone who considers himself and IPA partisan, but at the same time, it would be a great beer for someone who is starting to enjoy IPA's and learning about them.  The general verdict is that Good Nature has done very well in reformulating their IPA into an even better version of a great beer. 

So how do you obtain a growler or pint of the Good Nature IPA?  It is not easy.  Good Nature Brewing is a startup in Hamilton, NY, which is about 45 south east of Syracuse.  They can be found in bars in Central NY or you can make plans to tour their brewery.  The brewery is small, but the best part is you probably will be given the tour by head brewer Matt Whalen, as he and his wife Carrie run the entire operation with a little bit of outside help.  So if you find yourself in upstate NY, maybe for a Colgate vs. Penn State affair, make plans to check out the brewery at Good Nature Brewing.

Cheers!