When the Smith family from Napa County decided to get involved in brewing, they took their last name and their county and put them together to make the trade name Napa Smith. That’s probably the only common thing about this brewery and the beers it makes. It’s beers are definitely a cut above the ordinary.

When deciding on a brew master they didn’t do the ordinary thing, like hiring a young assistant brewer from another shop. No, they did the unordinary thing of hiring one of the most experienced craft brewers in the country, Don Barkley. With Barkley’s help this brewery has rapidly become a Wine Country favorite.

The task ahead is mountainous. They have set about educating  Napa County that local beers can complement great wine country cuisine just as well as local wine can. They are off and running.

You’ve got to have a lot of pluck to open a brewery in the heart of Napa County anyway. Maybe that’s why the Smiths also run a winery—to sort of hedge their bets. Our guess is that their brewery operation will do just fine. Maybe they’ll forget about wine and just keep making those great Napa Smith beers. MORE.