Beer, like anything in one's life, allows you to make a personal and meaningful connection to it through the circumstances and people you find yourself with when drinking it. For me, I had an amazing opportunity after I graduated from undergrad; I was able to take two weeks off to drive from scenic Harrisonburg, VA to Seattle, Washington with my Norwegian friend Adam.
En route to Denver we stopped in Colorado to have dinner at a restaurant. Our server turned us on to a local brewery called New Belgium Brewing Company in nearby Fort Collins. So we spent one night in Denver and woke up early the next day to go to find this malted Mecca named Fort Collins.
Their new brewing facility is known within their organization as the "Mothership"; and it is a sight to be seen. New Belgium encourages their employees to bike to work (there are huge bike racks out front), and their brewery at the time was more than 90% carbon-neutral (which I believe has increased since then). They use methane gas to power their boilers, and wind turbines for electricity. They constantly strive to improve their ecological impact, and you can learn more here.
The best way to describe visiting the brewery and tasting in their tasting room, is to compare it to sitting in on someone's family reunion. The locals routinely come there to get their beloved Fat Tire straight from the source, and the employees don't seem to stop smiling (maybe because they're allowed to drink on the job?) Adam and I sampled a few beers and took the tour, and our lives were changed forever. We had to buy coolers and ice to take all the beer we bought with us; regrettably it never made it home.
So, while this was an amazing experience, it was also heartbraking. Until March, the furthest East they distributed their brews were Chicago. I got some shipped to me once, but it froze and all the bottles exploded. Total bummer! But, my salvation has arrived! My wife discovered it in North Carolina THREE DAYS after they first started selling it there. As you can see in the photo below, this is a commemorative "Taking Flight in North Carolina" bottle. This is now a family heirloom, and my future children will be confused why I left them a beer bottle in my will.
Today's Beer
New Belgium Brewing Company's Fat Tire
This beer is a great example of how craft beers can trump mass produced beers. The name for Fat Tire comes from a bike tour of Belgium that the creator Jeff Lebesch took in 1989. While in Belgium, he was able to learn the craft of brewing and brought these tricks home to Fort Collins.
Fat Tire is a beer in delicate equilibrium. The malts and hops are paired together so that neither overpowers the other. It has a light, fruity taste, and is a perfect way to take refuge from summer heat. Just watching this glass sweat in front of me makes me want to open another one. Not too malty, not too hoppy, this beer has become so popular because there is something for everyone in it. Next time you pass through one of the lucky states to have New Belgium, buy a Fat Tire and make your own personal connections.
