New Belgium Brewing

New Belgium Brewing is an iconic American craft brewery that has been revolutionising the beer industry since its inception in 1991. Based in Fort Collins, Colorado, the brewery is famous for its delicious and innovative brews, eco-friendly practices, and commitment to social and environmental responsibility. Today, New Belgium is the 4th largest craft brewery in the US and has some of the best and happiest brewers to create great beer for them.

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New Belgium Brewing began with a cycling trip across Belgium. In 1988, co-founders Jeff Lebesch and Kim Jordan were enamoured with Belgium’s beer culture and decided to bring its brewing traditions back to the United States. Upon their return, the two installed brewing equipment in the basement of their Fort Collins home and Lebesch began to experiment with homebrewing. In 1991, New Belgium Brewing was born!

New Belgium co-founders Kim Jordan (center) and Jeff Lebesch (right) with Matt Taper (left), Managing Director of Lion Little World Beverage.

While Lebesch was New Belgium’s first brewer, Jordan skillfully served as the brewery’s jack-of-all-trades. Jordan was New Belgium’s first bottler, sales rep, distributor, marketer, financial planner, and longtime CEO! She is the backbone of the brewery, shaping New Belgium into the glowing success we see today.

New Belgium’s delicious brews

In June, 1991, Jordan and Lebesch began test brews of two beers: an amber ale named Fat Tire and a Belgian-style dubbel called Abbey. Fat Tire was named after the bike Lebesch had toured Belgium on and quickly became New Belgium’s flagship beer. The ale was an instant hit; it was so popular that it helped establish the brewery as a serious player in the craft beer industry. Today, Fat Tire is still one of the most popular craft beers in the United States!

Meanwhile, New Belgium’s Abbey won a gold medal in the Special Category at the 1993 Great American Beer Festival in Denver. At the time, Belgian-style beers were so rare in America’s craft beer scene that they didn’t even have their own category.

Over the years, New Belgium Brewing has continued to expand its product line, introducing a wide range of innovative beers. The brewery is particularly known for its sour beers, including La Folie, a Flanders-style sour ale that has won numerous awards. New Belgium is also famous for its Lips of Faith series, which features limited-edition and experimental beers.

New Belgium also has a Voodoo Rangers line, which includes a variety of IPA styles and the infamous Voodoo Ranger mascot on every can. The mascot features a very fashionable skeleton - very apt for how bold and rebellious Voodoo Ranger brews are - whose sense of style changes with every packaging. The Voodoo Ranger line is known and absolutely desired for its strong and hoppy flavours, with the Voodoo Ranger IPA being America's best-selling IPA today!

New Belgium and sustainability

New Belgium Brewing has always been committed to sustainability, as it is part of the brewery’s core values to inspire social and environmental change. The brewery was the first in the United States to install a wind turbine for energy production and has also implemented a variety of other sustainable practices, including using energy-saving brewing equipment and recycling waste materials.

Besides its environmental efforts, New Belgium Brewing is also dedicated to social responsibility. In 2000, New Belgium introduced its employee ownership program and developed a very quirky corporate culture, putting them in lists of 'Most Audacious Companies' and 'Best Places to Work'. New Belgium is 100% employee-owned, and its worker-focused policies have earned it recognition as a top workplace.

In addition, New Belgium is a certified B Corporation, which means that it meets rigorous standards for social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. New Belgium also has a tradition of awarding co-workers with a bike on their anniversary since 1999!

New Belgium: from humble beginnings to craft beer giant

In 2019, New Belgium was acquired by Lion Little World Beverages, a subsidiary of Kirin Holdings. In spite of this, the brewery continues to operate as an independent entity and produce innovative and tasty beers.

New Belgium Brewing, with its remarkable success story, truly made its mark in the American craft beer industry. From its humble beginnings as a basement operation to its current status as a beloved national brand, the brewery has remained true to its commitment to quality, sustainability, and social responsibility. With its amazing beers and respectable core values, New Belgium is sure to continue making an impact for years to come.