I know the topic of other "Rivish" companies has come up in the past, and I wanted to add to the list so to speak. New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins Colorado. I am almost embarrassed to admit it has taken me so long to actually pay a visit being only an hour away in Denver. Fat Tire Ale was one of the first beers I had after becoming of legal age almost 20 years ago, and being a Colorado company their beers have been served seemingly everywhere around town for seemingly ever.
I have attended their bicycle/sideshow/parade that is the "Tour De Fat" twice now, and I have competed in the Urban Assault Race that they heavily sponsor as well. I even have a high school friend that works at the brewery. But I've never taken the time to go visit. Well, I decided to change that and wow was I surprised. A quick check of their website, www.newbelgium.com and you quickly understand they have a keen interest in bicycles. What I thought was a "staged" photo of their front entryway with dozens of employee bikes parked all around....not staged. We drove up this past Wednesday afternoon to take their free tour, and it's no joke regarding the bikes. You name it, it was parked out front. And the second you're in the door you realize this company runs a bit different than most. It was difficult to tell the difference between the people enjoying the tasting bar, and the employees. You can read up on the history and such and how the "Fat Tire" was named from a bicycle ride through Belgium, that they are wind powered, employee owned etc...but the really big thing that struck me was the general vibe. The people there really seemed to be just as passionate about making the product as the consumers are consuming it. I feel if a company has been able to achieve that kind of atmosphere amongst it's work force, their product has to be better for it. The entire place is filled with original art work, photographs, and bicycles in literally every available nook and cranny. The tour is entirely free, lasts about an hour, and they sample their beers all along the way. You finish the tour by sliding down this awesome corkscrew slide that looks sort of like a giant twisty funnel and dumps you back into the sampling bar where you can redeem the token they gave you for a brew of your choice. I snapped a few pictures before my camera batteries died, including a beautifully outfitted, dark mossy green A. Homer Hilsen! Here is my flickr set: http://tinyurl.com/yf4jhow I've toured a couple big breweries, a couple smaller ones, and a bunch of "micro-breweries", but none were like New Belgium. Big thumbs up to them for just being a damned cool place, and making some pretty decent brews as well. I just recently tried a bottle of their 1554, and it has become a big favorite. A nice "dark chocolaty" brew. I picked up a couple cheap bike related goodies in the gift shop, maybe someone has a kitchy bike item native to their local they'd like to trade?? Always fun to get mystery snail mail. Drop me a line! --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
