Green beer isn’t just a Saint Patrick’s Day occurrence anymore.
Now, I don’t mean green-colored beer, but a few breweries have sacrificed their own profit margins for the sake of environmental conservation.
One of those breweries, New Belgium in Fort Collins, Colo. has become the standard for environmentally conscious breweries in the United States.
Almost every beer drinker in San Luis Obispo has had a Fat Tire at some point. It’s one of the more popular beers in the western part of the country. But you may not be aware of how that unique beer got such a strange name.
Jeff Lebesch, fresh off completing his electrical engineering degree, was on a trip to Belgium to try some of his favorite brews as a last hurrah before embarking on his career.
Lebesch was an amateur brewer and he really wanted to compare notes on some recipes so he could perfect his craft when he got home.
Lebesch took his new mountain bike to get around on his trip even then he was environmentally conscious.
The Belgians had never seen this style of mountain bike and asked him, “Where’d you get the bike with the fat tires?”
Several years later, with his amber ale perfected he called upon that memory and the beer that would catapult him to brewing fame was born.
While the bike on the Fat Tire logo may be the symbol that people equate to his brewery, it symbolizes much more to Lebesch.
When I took a tour of the brewery earlier this year, the guide made it clear that they hope to be completely reliant on wind energy very soon. They even produce some of their own energy in the form of methane gas that is a byproduct of their on-site water treatment plant. They pay a higher rate to the electric company in order to use cleaner energy sources.
I know what you’re thinking.
“Enough about the stupid energy, what about the beer?”
Well, I’m glad that you asked. New Belgium makes some very high quality products to go along with their signature Fat Tire.
My girlfriend, who lives in Colorado and took me on my New Belgium tour, got a keg of their Sunshine Wheat for her college graduation. Let me tell you, the only thing that impressed me more than her family’s ability to drink was the quality of the beer.
The beer looked like sunshine when poured. It came out in a smooth yellow and my goodness was it tasty. We sat out on the deck and enjoyed glass after glass of it.
Some beers after you’ve had a pint or two start to get stale. Well, Sunshine Wheat never got old.
I might even say it was the second best keg beer I’ve had behind Lost Coast’s Great White. I drank so much beer that night that I don’t even remember a large portion of the evening.
In true New Belgium fashion, they also brew a completely organic wheat beer called Mothership Wit.
But my favorite New Belgium recipe is actually their dark-brewed 1554. It is one of the most unique dark beers I’ve had. Trust me, I don’t like many porters and I absolutely despise coffee or smoke-flavored beers which is what I find in the majority of darker beer.
But 1554 is different. It has a slight chocolate malt flavor but not overpoweringly so.
New Belgium makes a ton of seasonals and special recipes all the time.
Every person that visits their brewery in Fort Collins is treated to a free tasting whether they take the tour or not. The tasting consists of four 4-ounce servings.
So if you live in Fort Collins you can go in and get a free pint every single day. Hell, I might move up to Colorado just for that.
But if you thought the free beer was good, listen to the perks of the employees.
On their first day of employment they are given the key to the brewery. They are also given stock in the brewery on day one.
After a year employees are given a custom-made bike straight out off the Fat Tire bottle. After year five all employees join Lebesch on a tour of Belgium, mimicking his earlier fateful journey. Except this time, it’s all expenses paid. Someone sign me up at this brewery please.
If you’re itching for a new beer, give some of New Belgium’s “other” brews a try. They’re unique, they’re tasty and they’re good for the environment.
Scott Silvey is a journalism senior, the Mustang Daily sports editor and beer critic.