Harbor Greens unveils its ‘Incredible’ beer on private label

Susan Schell

of the Gateway

Harbor Greens is a one-of-a-kind store. And now it will be featuring a one-of-a-kind beer.

“The Incredible,” Harbor Greens’ private label, went on sale at Thanksgiving. The beer is being whipped up in small batches monthly at Harmon Brewery in Tacoma.

The store’s owners, Chad Roy and Scott Teodoro, said they started working with Harmon on the concept of producing the beer a year ago.

“It’s tough to get a private label beer,” Roy said. “You have to go through a lot of processes.

“Harmon had to make sure they have enough people on staff to make it for us. They make it about every month specially for us.”

Producing the private label was a natural for the pair – the store sells a wide variety of unique quality beers for beer connoisseurs.

“We have the best selection in the harbor of craft beer,” Teodoro said. “It’s micro-brewed in small batches with craft technique and recipes and has different tastes and different flavors. That part of the business has gone well for us, so we decided to expand on that.”

Harbor Greens, which has been open for 1 1⁄2 years, is known for specialty products at its store on Olympic Drive in Gig Harbor.

“We had the building built for us,” Roy said. “We have chips and salsa that are made fresh that people go nuts over. So we wanted a beer people would go nuts over.”

The beer was named after “the incredible” corn the store sells when it’s in season.

“We named it after the corn, which is grown locally in Orting valley,” Roy said. “It’s the best corn you’ll ever taste. The incredible corn has such a name behind it, we decided to use it for our beer.”

“The Incredible” is an ESB — Extra Special Bitter.

“It’s not your everyday beer that people would buy,” Teodoro said. “It’s for people who like real beer. It’s a good, darker beer; not as dark as a porter, but not a pale ale. It’s got a lot of substance to it.”

“The Incredible” is sold exclusively at Harbor Greens for $3.99 for a 22-ounce bottle.

“It’s a rich, amber beer, not quite as transparent as regular beers,” Teodoro said. “When it’s poured into a glass, it has a nice, creamed, foam head. It’s a smoother-drinking beer with a bit of a finish that beer lovers will enjoy.”

“It’s still football season, and a lot of people like beer with football,” Roy added.

“It is exciting to have something different that good beer drinkers can have with a lot of substance.”

Reach Lifestyles Coordinator and reporter Susan Schell at 253-853-9240 or by e-mail at susan.schell@gateline.com.