New Belgium

As their aspiring young homebrewer rides his mountain bike with "fat tires" through European villages famous for beer, New Belgium Brewing Company was but a glimmer in his eye.

1989. Belgium. Boy on bike. (Ok, make that a young man of 32.) 

Jeff Lebesch would return to Fort Collins with an imagination full of recipes and a handful of ingredients ready to embark on a whole new journey.

Jeff's first two basement-brewed creations? A brown dubbel with earthy undertones named Abbey and a remarkably well-balanced amber he named Fat Tire. To say the rest was history would be to overlook his wife's involvement. Kim Jordan was New Belgium's first bottler, sales rep, distributor, marketer and financial planner. And now, she's their CEO. 

Bringing on Peter Bouckaert, a Belgian Brewmaster previously working at Rodenbach, in 1996 helped influence their love of sour beers. New Belgium has continued to flourish with Kim, Peter, and a team of dedicated employee-owners at the helm.