The Denver Broncos, led by Peyton Manning’s 1,530 passing yards and 15 touchdowns, are currently 4-1 with only win percentage keeping them out of first place. They take on the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night in a crucial week seven match up. The season is young, but this game will go a long way in figuring out which of these juggernauts is most ready to make a run at the championship. The Niners are 4-2 and riding a three game win streak after early losses to Chicago and Arizona, respectively. It wouldn’t be at all surprising if this game is a preview of the Super Bowl. Do your best to get a good spot on your couch or grab a bar stool at your favorite bar. You won’t want to miss this one.
The explosive offensive action on Sunday night can be perfectly paired with a bottle (or can) of Colorado’s own New Belgium Brewing. The craft brewery, located in nearby Fort Collins, was founded by husband and wife home brewing couple Jeff Lebesche and Kim Jordan. “Jeff was cycling through Belgium when he was inspired to start making Belgian style beers in the US which no one was doing at the time,” says New Belgium’s Bryan Simpson. The name New Belgium is a nod to that Belgium inspiration with a new twist, and the name Fat Tire pays homage to that bike trip. “Today Jeff has moved on, Kim is still our CEO, and we are 100% employee-owned.” New Belgium currently distributes beer in thirty-seven states and they are in the midst of building a second brewery in Asheville, North Carolina.
Simpson says that Colorado is a great place to brew because of the high quality of the water. “Beyond that, there is a passionate and sophisticated craft beer drinking scene here where consumers are educated and savvy.” This enthusiasm has created a lot of energy around what the folks at New Belgium are doing. This pushed them to keep innovating. “It’s a special place to live and an ideal place for brewing interesting beers.”
Year-Round Beers
- Fat Tire
- Ranger IPA
- Rampant Imperial IPA
- Abbey
- Trippel
- 1554
- Blue Paddle
- Sunshine Wheat
- Snapshot Wheat
In addition to these, they also do four seasonals, four Lips of Faith beers and four Hop Kitchen beers every year.
New Brewery in Asheville, North Carolina
The Asheville brewery will be located right along the French Broad River in the River Arts District and it will open in late 2015. It will have a capacity of 500,000 barrels and will feature a state of the art brewing facility and tasting room. This new brewery will enable New Belgium to increase the markets their beer is available to.
This is a great time to be a craft brewer in the United States: “Our industry is a collective of passionate, interesting, freaky and fun folks who work hard to create something beautiful and interesting that complements people’s lives. That’s an awesome thing to get to come into work and deliver every day,” says Simpson.
