New Belgium Brewing Company
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| New Belgium Brewing Company | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
 New Corporate Logo as of July 2006 |
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| Location | Fort Collins, Colorado USA |
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| Owner(s) | Employee-owned | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Year opened | 1991 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Annual production | 437,000 US barrels | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Active beers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Seasonal beers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Other beers | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Coordinates: 40°35′35.12″N 105°4′8.51″W / 40.5930889°N 105.0690306°W New Belgium Brewing Company is a regional brewery located in Fort Collins, Colorado. In 2006, it produced approximately 436,000 barrels of its various labels.[1]
Fat Tire, an Amber ale, is the company's flagship beer. It is theorized that the water in Fort Collins assists in the flavor development of the beer.
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[edit] Beers
The Fat Tire recipe originates from a co-founder's bicycle trip through Belgium from brewery to brewery. The company promotes its Fat Tire ale locally by the public placement of colorful vintage bicycles outside its brewery, which is located adjacent to the public bike path along the Cache La Poudre River.
In 2006 NBB changed its logo. They did so because the company realized that beer drinkers could identify the Fat Tire label, but "didn't recognize the brewery label, or make the connection that New Belgium brewed Fat Tire and other best-selling brands, such as Sunshine Wheat."[2] The company's new logo "pays homage to the well-known Fat Tire brand bicycle" drawn by Anne Fitch.[2]
[edit] Distribution
Before 2006, New Belgium distributed in only 15 states (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, California, Arizona, New Mexico, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Colorado). In Spring 2006, the brewery began to distribute some of their beers in other markets. For example, bottles of Fat Tire distributed in Chicago claim "Chicago Inaugural: The 1st Fat Tire Ale served (legally) in the second city." In June of 2007 Fat Tire, Skinny Dip (New Belgium's Summer seasonal), 1554 and Mothership Organic Wit became available in Illinois in 6 packs of 12 ounce bottles. By the summer of 2007, New Belgium expanded distribution again to include select areas of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Minnesota metro area and Iowa. As of July 2008, Fat Tire, 1554, Mothership Wit, and Seasonal brews are also served in Tennessee. In March 2009, these beers also became available in North Carolina.[3]. In April of 2009, in response to huge demand, Fat Tire became available in Indiana.[4] In May of 2009 Fat Tire became available in Georgia, South Carolina and South Dakota.
[edit] Business and energy practices
The brewery was founded by husband-and-wife team Jeff Lebesch and Kim Jordan in 1991 and emphasizes eco-friendly practices and employee ownership in its marketing materials. It is located in northeast Fort Collins near the Cache la Poudre River on the grounds of the former Great Western Sugar plant.
New Belgium Brewery has made it a goal to be entirely wind-powered.[5] Rather than directly using wind-generated power, the brewery elects to pay an increased rate for their electrical energy, which is supplied by the City of Fort Collins Utilities in order to ensure it comes from the cleanest source possible.[6][7] About 10% of the brewery's power comes from methane gas created as a byproduct of their on-site water treatment plant.[8]
The brewery also uses an energy-efficient kettle for the brewing process. The Steinecker Merlin kettle heats twice as quickly by boiling thin sheets of wort Cof the entire kettle at once. This provides significant savings in natural gas consumption.[9]
[edit] Tour de Fat
Tour de Fat is an annual bicycle parade and festival sponsored by New Belgium. The events, which take place in various large cities around the West, include music, New Belgium beer, circus-type performances, bicycle dance troupes, and the main event: a giant group bike ride/parade where everyone dresses up in costumes and rides through town. [10] One major part of the event is a bike trade, in which a local participant transfers the keys and title to their vehicle to New Belgium, in exchange for a new commuter bike and trailer in order to promote bike riding and sustainability.[11]
 22 oz. Fat Tire |
 2007 Tour de Fat group ride in Portland, OR. |
 Tour de Fat balloon. |
[edit] References
- ^ "Colorado Rides on Fat Tire to Beer Heights;". http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2007/nov/24/reuteman-colorado-rides-on-fat-tire-to-beer/. Retrieved on November 26, 2007.
- ^ a b New Belgium Brewing rolls out icon tied to Fat Tire beer Denver Business Journal. Amy Bryer. Jul7 7, 2006. Accessed Mar 21, 2008
- ^ "New Belgium Brewing Is Coming to the East Coast for the First Time as Three Brews Roll Into North Carolina;". http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/New-Belgium-Brewing-944999.html. Retrieved on February 3, 2009.
- ^ http://hoosierbeergeek.blogspot.com/2009/04/finally-fat-tire.html
- ^ "New Belgium, Sustainability". http://www.newbelgium.com/sustainability.php. Retrieved on April 28, 2006.
- ^ "City of Fort Collins, Wind Power Program". http://fcgov.com/utilities/wind-power.php. Retrieved on April 28, 2006.
- ^ "City of Fort Collins, Commercial Subscribers". http://fcgov.com/utilities/wind-business.php. Retrieved on April 28, 2006.
- ^ "New Belgium, Process Water Treatment Facility". http://www.newbelgium.com/innovation_waste.php. Retrieved on April 28, 2006.
- ^ "New Belgium Saves Gas, Water with Closed-Loop Brew Kettle". http://www.sustainablelifemedia.com/content/story/climate/new_belgium_saves_gas_with_closed_loop_brew_kettle. Retrieved on May 25, 2009.
- ^ "2009 Tour de Fat". http://www.newbelgium.com/tour-de-fat. Retrieved on April 11, 2009.
- ^ "Trade your car for a bike". http://www.newbelgium.com/trade. Retrieved on April 11, 2009.
