Niven Patel is the GOAT of Tripping Animals Brewing Co.'s New IPA

With two Michelin Guide listings and a recent James Beard nod, it wouldn't be a surprise if anyone referred to Niven Patel as one of Miami's culinary GOATs (greatest of all time).

But a recent collaboration with Tripping Animals has taken things, as they say in Miami, "like, literally."

Tripping Animals Brewing Co. and Alpareno Group (the owner/operators of Mamey, Orno, and Ghee Indian Kitchen) collaborated to create a unique India Pale Ale (IPA) called Forager with the idea to offer a flavor profile that would pair well with almost anything on the restaurants’ menus.

This beer was made in partnership with Alpareno Group’s cofounders Niven Patel and Mohamed  "Mo" Alkassar, who created the unique recipe based on their taste preferences.

Patel tells New Times that he and Alkassar met with the owners of Tripping Animals after they approached him about doing a beer together and immediately, said yes. "I'm really all about the energy. I want to do things that are fun. The positive energy was there immediately." 

The recently launched Forager is brewed using a blend of specialty malts, which provide a full-bodied and flavorful base for this juicy, hazy IPA. The recipe also included a blend of hops from the US — Citra, Cashmere, and Amarillo — which provide a bright, fruity character with hints of lemon, candied fruit, and coconut.

Once the flavor profiles were agreed upon, it was time to design the logo. Tripping Animals is known for its cartoon animal mascots for each beer. For instance, its No Mames Mexican-style lager features a Chihuahua and a flamingo dips its beak into a pitcher of the brewery's Limonada Rosada sour ale. 

For Forager, Tripping Animals depicted Miami's ultimate forager/farmer/chef, Niven Patel, on the label — turning him into a literal goat.  Patel's business partner shares the label as a toucan. "It's for his nose," Patel quips before adding that Alkassar was behind the artwork. "I'm the goat and Mo's the toucan. Mo went through every detail of creating the can. It actually tells the story of our whole group and what we're about."

Once you take in the colorful can, it's time to crack it open and pour the golden liquid out. Patel says, as a chef, he marvels at how the beer is made. "It's basically just three hops made into a hazy IPA. That's the beauty of beer making. You have all these wonderful citrus notes, but it's just three hops. That's what's so special about the process."

The beer can only be found at Orno, Mamey, and Ghee restaurants. In addition, it's poured at Patel's Sundays at the Rancho dinner series at the chef's Rancho Patel in Homestead. The next Sundays at the Rancho will be hosted on Sunday, February 19, and will cost $250 a ticket (inclusive of food and wine). Tickets are available at resy.com.