The ride north from the Denver area to the city of Fort Collins, Colorado, where the New Belgium Brewery is located, is only a little over an hour away and passes some beautiful scenery. My husband and I wanted to take the free brewery tour of New Belgium Brewery, Colorado's biggest craft brewery since we moved here. Colorado is known for its variety of beer producers and is home to five of the top 50 craft breweries in the United States.
(All photos, and photo collages, in this post, will enlarge for easier viewing if clicked on)
New Belgium Brewery opened in 1991 after its founder, Jeff Lebesch, decided to take his homebrewing passion commercially. If you enlarge the photo collage above by clicking on it, you can see the brewery's logo is a bicycle, and a bicycle is permanently parked outside. The brewery's legend is that one of the co-founders was influenced by a bicycle trip he made through Belgium and Europe, tasting craft beers along the way. When he returned home he developed and brewed his own amber ale, and named it "Fat Tire" in honor of that trip. Fat Tire Beer is now their flagship brand and the most popular beer
Bicycles are used as decorations throughout the brewery!
Most of the brewery employees bike to work in the brewery, which is located close to the bike path along the Cache La Poudre River. All employees have a stake in the ownership of the brewery, which they earn after one year's employment, along with a limited-edition Fat Tire Cruiser bicycle. After five years of employment, the company sends the employee on a trip for one week to Belgium!
The New Belgium Brewery utilizes sustainability and recycling in its operations. You can watch a new program video about many of these methods at this Youtube link. They use solar and wind power to provide electricity in their plant, plus methane gas created as a byproduct of their on-site water treatment plant.
The brewery also uses an energy-efficient kettle for the brewing process, that heats twice as quickly, and provides significant savings in natural gas consumption,
I enjoyed photographing the colorful mosaics floor around the demonstration kettle on the tour.
The brewery has been named one of the "Best Places to Work" by many publications and organizations, as it promotes employee satisfaction and wellness. How could they lose with profit sharing, free bicycles, trips to Belgium, paid sabbaticals, and fun slides provided for the employees to use to travel from one floor to the next? My husband had to try one out!
At the end of the free tour of the brewery, we were treated to samples of the different New Belgium Brewery beers in their tasting room. In addition to Fat Tire, they make Ranger IPA, Sunshine Wheat, Blue Paddle, Shift, and a litany of other beers--seasonal and artisanal blends. My husband and I really enjoyed the tour and would not hesitate to go again on another visit to Fort Collins.
New Belgium Brewery is located at 500 Linden St, in Fort Collins, Colorado, Tuesday - Sunday, 11AM to 6PM. Their free tours are very popular, so it is best if you book ahead of time
New Belgium Brewery is expanding and is opening a new brewery on the east coast, in Ashville, North Carolina sometime in 2015, so that they may have a market beyond their present 38 out of 50 states.
Have you tried any of the New Belgium Brewery beers? Do you have a favorite?
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48 comments:
This one goes on our Colorado 'to=do list' for sure! Looks like a great tour.
Hello Pat, what a fun tour of the brewery.. They sound like an awesome company to work for.. I like the bicycles, mosaics and artwork.. Wonderful photo, thanks for sharing the tour.. have a happy week ahead!
Love those mosaics, especially the girl on the bike with pigtails flying. It looks like a good tour, a fun ride on the slide and good scenery for the drive there and back.
I found this tour very interesting even though we don't have a penchant for brew of any kind. The company sure is good to their employees.
The New Belgium Brewery is on my bucket list. Fat Tire is a wonderful beer.
Unfortunately due to Oklahoma's archaic liquor laws New Belgium won't see in Oklahoma because they are not allowed to insist on quality controls by the wholesaler.
So I get it outside the state whenever I can.
What a great tour! Think it's one of those stops we must make. Oh my goodness, what a great place to work!
Looks like fun!! Will have to put that on our list when we come home to visit in August!! Have a grand week!
I would love to visit there! May have to the next time I am in Denver!
I love craft beers and touring places like this. What a great discovery you made!
This is something I've wanted to do. But then half the things you tour in Colorado I could say that about. ;) I need to make a list. Love that picture of your husband and his beer.
We're fans of craft beer. Looks like a great place to tour!
Sounds like a perfect outing to me! One that ended with a sampling of the product.
Best,
Bonnie
Hi Pat,
What a treat your post was! Fort Collins is where my grandson lives, so I felt as if I'd visited him. That brewery is a showcase. Thanks for playing today.
Have a Beautiful Blue Monday!
wow, Pat I enjoyed the tour with yall, thanks for sharing, such a beautiful brewery.
Looks as if it was a fun tour! Sounds like a fun place to work, too. Is Vinny thinking of a second career? =D No, I have not had any beer since 1975. Did you have a favorite?
Good morning Pat, I didn't get to visit last week and I always love to see your comments. Thank you so much.
This Brewery is fabulous. What a great outing and the reward is a taste of their beer. The entire complex is quite impressive. I do hope they come to Ashville because that is a bit over an hour from our home. I love that you and Vinny are always going and doing. My kind of lifestyle. A great share as always.
Hugs, Jeanne
Colorado is a very lovely state and one I enjoy visiting. However, not been to this area.
Looks like a fun tour and a fun place to work. I love the mosaics! That is a great pic of Vinny enjoying the samples.
Sounds like a great place to work and visit.
Interesting place. I like the decorations.
I just love visiting breweries! We have lots here in Oregon. I've had Fat Tire beer and it's good. Enjoyed your recap.
Oh I can see why this is one of the best places to work!
Another great place to visit and I see bicycles are even in the mosaic flooring. Your poor hubby coming down the circular slide, tell him he's a good sport!
Thanks for linking to Mosaic Monday Pat.
Hello Pat your husband is all smiles enjoying the beer after his slide adventure. That must be a fun place to work. What an incentive for the employees to be given a trip to Belgium. If we ever drive through Colorado I know that my husband would enjoy the tour. But neither of us would try the slide!
That is such a neat place to visit. They are building one of these breweries in NC where we live. Sounds good! Enjoy your week! Hugs, Diane
Hi Pat! I have a son who lives in Fort Collins (I live in Alabama). Whenever we get to visit, we try to go to the New Belgium Brewery and try their beers. They seem to be coming out with new ones every season. I have never been on the tour (too busy drinking) so thanks for those great photos! This company also sponsors a great parade once a year for the city...lots of folks dress in crazy costumes and ride their bikes in the parade.
Such a fun visual tour dear Pat :) have a great day!
A Belgian brewery ! How interesting, I am living in the country with so many breweries so that we have over 2000 sorts of beers in Belgium !
I like the scenery in the area and the brewery looks like an interesting place.
Hello Pat
The brewery is amazing - what great employers giving their five year employees a trip to Belgium. I'm sure that makes for loyal workers.
I love the mosaics - great photos Pat!
Shane
What fun you had at the brewery, Pat! That slide sure looks like fun, and along with all those other amazing perks, the brewery sounds like wonderful place to work!
Thanks for sharing!
Poppy
It certainly isn't your average brewery, I'm sure everyone enjoys working there. Sounds like an enjoyable tour.
What a great place and wonderful photos of your fun time!
Happy Week to you,
artmusedog and carol
I've been to that city several times but not taken the brewery tour. It looks like fun!
Beer is big business in Colorado and many smaller companies offer benefits big corporations don't. Not to mention a fun place to work. Thanks for the nice photo shares Pat.
Great shots - looks like you had a great tour.
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what a neat place. love the bikes everywhere and the mosaics and art. the slide is too cute! :)
The slide makes me giggle Pat. Thanks for sharing.
Kim,USA
Slide looks like fun. Enjoyed your cyber tour of a brewery. Lucky it is only an hour away. Colorado is definitely a place to have a camera and be dazzled by.
JM, IL
Now, this is my kind of spot to tour!! ;) blessings ~ tanna
I love a good brew! - Margy
I love Fat Tire. It's one of my favorite beers and I really enjoyed learning more about this company. Thank you, Pat!
xo,
rue
The last Belgium beer I tried was actually in Belgium, in 2008....lol....This must be really a nice place to work at....
Whatever the venue...you make the best tour guide! Thanks for taking us along with you.
What a wonderful tour. I bet you had a grand time. I have never visited a brewery, but I bet the scent must be absolutely all enveloping. What fun!
Hi Pat!
Great Belgium beer!
Holiday in Portugal - 41 years of democracy and 45 years I met my wife. Champagne is already in the fridge. Cheers...
Enjoy a short stopover in London at Blogtrotter
Wish you a great weekend!
That's what I do truly love in your wonderful blog, my dearest Pat, everything you talks about is always so far too interesting and charming, whataeve you share, you amaze me, my sweet friend, and I thank you so very much for this!
Have a blessed new week
with much love I hug you
Dany
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