E-Malt.com News article: USA, CO: New brewing company is coming to Fort Collins

Big news to local craft beer lovers is that New Belgium Brewing Company is expanding into the metropolitan area in late August, bringing its total distribution to 29 states, Gazette.Net reported on August, 3.

New Belgium, located in Fort Collins, CO, is the country’s third largest craft brewer and focuses on Belgian-style brews, although, its best selling beer, Fat Tire, is an amber ale. In 2010, New Belgium brewed more than 660,000 barrels of beer, an increase of 13.6 percent over 2009.

New Belgium was founded in 1991 by the husband-and-wife team of Jeff Lebesch and Kim Jordan, who is the company’s president. Lebesch developed his love of Belgian beers and brewing desire while pedalling through Belgium in 1988 on a fat-tired mountain bike. Upon his return, he began homebrewing in their basement, starting with a Belgian dubbel ale he called Abbey and the Fat Tire ale.

Fifteen years ago, Lebesch and Jordan hired brewmaster Peter Bouckaert, the production manager at Belgium’s classic Rodenbach Brewery, which is known for its sour beers. Bouckaert, a strong believer in well-integrated beers, has said that his "favorite beers will never stand on one leg or extreme factor only. It’s the total picture."

A clue to New Belgium’s innovative beers is that Bouckaert does not like being captive to style guidelines. He notes "I hate styles. Styles are limiting the creativity of the brewer. Styles are a box. You taste the beer for the merits of the beer and not for its style."

New Belgium brews eight beers year around and four seasonal beers.

05 August, 2011