New Belgium

Follow you folly. Ours is beer.

But isn’t Folly a lack of good sense; a foolish act or idea? Au contraire we say at New Belgium. Folly is freeing. Folly laughs at the status quo, protests mediocrity, sings in the blind alley and celebrates the wild hare. It’s relevant irreverence. It?s living like there is a tomorrow.

Our Folly is Beer. Really good beer. Our folly is also a near-constant tinkerering with our company practices to make them more sustainable. Employee-owned since 1996. Wind powered since 1998. Striving to honor nature at every turn of the brewery. Tastes great, Less landfilling.

As well, a folly takes inspiration. Within this site, you’ll meet a few friends of ours who inspire New Belgium. They’re making more from less and living large at the same time. Rebels with a cause. We think they have a folly worth following.

See for yourself. Visit us at New Belgium Brewing.

2008 Austin New Belgium Urban Assault Ride


2° Below Ale

Pull on your wool socks and crack open a 2&#176 Below Ale. This tasty winter warmer started life as a small batch beer brewed for the Al Johnson Uphill Downhill ? a telemark ski race in Crested Butte, Colorado. The Uphill Downhill celebrates the exploits of Al Johnson, letter carrier extraordinaire, who delivered mail by ski in the late 1800?s. Dry hopping during fermentation creates a floral nose with a hint of pepper and spicy, subtle undertones. 2? Below provides a bright, hoppy palate and a cheery warm afterglow.

ABV: 6.6%

Best With: Sweet potatoes, dark meat or wild game, stuffing, au grautin, chile con queso, butternut squash bisque.


Hoptober

Five hops and four malts make Hoptober Golden Ale a veritable cornucopia of the earth. Pale and wheat malt are mashed with rye and oats to create a medium-bodied ale with a creamy mouthfeel.

Centennial, Cascade, Sterling, Willamette, and Glacier hops form a bonfire of citrus notes, fruity cheers and a bold finale.

40 IBU
6% ABV

Try with: Veal Chop and Duck Sausage. The veal and the duck have such delicate flavors that the sweetness of the Hoptoberfest complements and makes the meat taste even more succulent.


Fat Tire Ale

Named in honor of our founder Jeff’s bike trip through Belgium, Fat Tire Amber Ale marks a turning point in the young electrical engineer’s home brewing. Belgian beers use a far broader palette of ingredients (fruits, spices, esoteric yeast strains) than German or English styles. Jeff found the Belgian approach freeing. Upon his return, Jeff created Fat Tire and Abbey Belgian Ale, (assuming Abbey would be his big gun). He and his wife, Kim traveled around sampling their homebrews to the public. Fat Tire’s appeal quickly became evident. People liked everything about it. Except the name. Fat Tire won fans is in its sense of balance: toasty, biscuit-like malt flavors coasting in equilibrium with hoppy freshness.


Sunshine Wheat Beer

Does it get any sunnier than two people in love? Sunshine Wheat came into the world as Wedding Wheat, a beer Jeff brewed in celebration of his wedding to Kim.

A filtered wheat beer, Sunshine Wheat swirls in the mouth with ripples of coriander and orange peel tartness, settling into a sea of honey and apple tones.


1554 Black Ale

Born of a flood and centuries-old Belgian text, 1554 Enlightened Black Ale uses a light lager yeast strain and dark chocolaty malts to redefine what dark beer can be. In 1997, a Fort Collins flood destroyed the original recipe our researcher, Phil Benstein, found in the library. So Phil and brewmaster, Peter Bouckaert, traveled to Belgium to retrieve this unique style lost to the ages. Their first challenge was deciphering antiquated script and outdated units of measurement, but trial and error (and many months of in-house sampling) culminated in 1554, a highly quaffable dark beer with a moderate body and mouthfeel.


Blue Paddle

Climb on in and grab a paddle. Our first foray into lagered beers, Blue-Paddle Pilsner-Lager, is a Czech style pilsner with a refreshing crispness from noble hops and a rich, malty finish. “Blue Paddle” refers to the implement our warehouse manager’s Grandma once used to lovingly paddle his ass when she caught him stealing sips of her beer. With more body than a traditional Belgian pils, Blue Paddle is reflective of Europe’s finest pilsners.


Mothership Organic Wheat

Our first venture into organically-produced beer, Mothership Wit Organic Wheat Beer elevates the zesty Wit or White beers of Belgium. Our far-flung Beer Rangers affectionately refer to our Fort Collins brewery as the Mothership, a name that conjures images of earth shot from space and the interconnectivity of it all. Mothership Wit is brewed with wheat and barley malt, as well as coriander and orange peel spicing resulting in a balance of citrus and sour flavors held in suspension by a bright burst of carbonation.


Skinny Dip

New Belgium’s Skinny Dip started out as a challenge from our founder Jeff to brewmaster, Peter Bouckaert. Jeff was looking for a full-bodied, highly drinkable beer for after workouts – something a little lighter than the rest of the portfolio. Peter, a Belgian, responded: “Only in America would I be asked to brew a beer with no calories and less alcohol.” The challenge was to give the beer body and complexity not usually found in beers at the lighter end of the spectrum. Cascade hops frolic with a hint of lime leaf, making Skinny Dip a bright, refreshing splash for the summer season.

ABV 4.2%