Gabriel Heymann led several lives before he founded New York state’s first (and only) certified organic brewery. He traveled as a musician for years, getting paid in bar tabs and living the DIY life. Then, while recording what would be his band’s last album in Los Angeles, he got into yoga and meditation—and lived with his teacher for four years. At first blush, transitioning from those arguably divergent paths into microbrewing might feel like an obtuse next step. But in retrospect, it all makes sense.
“I wanted to create things that fit my lifestyle,” he explained.
Heymann was looking for something that merged his love of good times and the camaraderie found in the indie music scene with the holistic nature of an all-organic product. Something that he could enjoy without compromising his health-conscious, active lifestyle. And thus Smart Beer, New York’s first certified organic beer, was born.
This was about seven years ago, and as he got into craft brewing, Heymann noticed that that the beer world was undergoing the same sort of transition he’d witnessed in the music scene back when he was on tour—there existed a burgeoning indie alternate universe just below the surface of the mainstream, one that used authenticity and pride as currency. A crowd of upstarts bucking the macro trends, developing a hyper-local scene dedicated to the love of the craft? Craft beer was familiar, fertile territory.
He’d built his musical reputation one show, one band, one fan at a time. And he knew he
could grow Smart Beer the same way. One beer, one bar, one drinker at a time. As he developed the beer, he also knew organic would be integral to Smart Beer’s DNA.
“Looking back, it was kind of crazy to do both at the same time,” he says of having to navigate the twin legislative nightmares of state-by-state liquor regulations and the never-ending process of organic certification. “But that was the only path.”
