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FAQ - Beer Quality - Allergies

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• I’m allergic to sulfites! What’s the sulfite content in your beers?

  We do not add sulfites to any of our products. There are naturally produced sulfites from the yeast during fermentation. The amount of these naturally produced sulfites is very low (~2-3ppm). Since they are so low we are not required to post them on the label. The FDA requires food products to be labeled for sulfites if the level is 10ppm or above. Typically, however, lagers are higher in sulfites (6-8ppm) and if you are allergic to sulfites, you’ll probably want to avoid Blue Paddle, 1554 and Shift.

• I’m allergic to nuts! Are there nuts or nut-based ingredients used in your beer?

  NBB does not currently use nuts or nut-based ingredients in any of the beer we make.

• I have a wheat allergy. Which of your beers contain wheat?

  It’s important to know that wheat allergies are typically gluten allergies. The fraction of gluten that causes allergies is called prolamin and it exists in different forms in wheat, barley and rye.  Beers that contain wheat can range from 100 ppm to 200 ppm prolamin and beers that do not contain wheat can range from 4 ppm to 30 ppm prolamin.  The government considers anything under 10 ppm prolamin and 20 ppm gluten to be “gluten free”. Please be aware that non-wheat beers contain gluten too and most craft beers are not “gluten free”.  Fat Tire, for example, is 76 ppm gluten, and therefore might cause an allergic reaction in folks who are allergic!

  Specifically, the following beers contain wheat and if you have an allergy, you should definitely avoid:

  Mothership Wit, Sunshine Wheat, Biere de Mars, Dandelion Ale, Dark Kriek, Eric’s Ale, Imperial Berliner Style Weisse Ale, Le Fleur Misseur Ale, Le Terroir Dry hopped Sour Ale, Transatlantique Kriek, Hoptober, Snow Day and Ken’s Hefe.

  You can check this out for yourself on The Beer Masher! Select “Grain” on the left menu and then select any grain that contains the word “wheat” to view all of the beers we make with wheat!

FAQ - Beer Quality - Beer Storage

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• I found/have this old case of NBB beer! It is past its best before date… Can I still drink it?

  We put an expiration date on our beers because we believe that the beer can lose its brewery fresh taste after that time.  We know how exciting it can be to find beer you forgot you had, but after the best before date, it probably won’t be the delicious New Belgium beer taste that you might expect. There are no known bacteria that can live in beer that can make people sick, however, if you’re feeling daring…

• How do I know when my beer has been packaged?

  The lower right label of a bottle and the bottom of a can lists a 9 digit number indicating the package date. Look at the first 6 numbers for a date. The brew number 100930021, for example, means this beer was packaged on September 30, 2010. The first two digits indicate the year (10), the next two indicate the month (09) and the final two indicate the day of the month the beer was packaged (30). Check out the best before date listed on your label to make sure you’re drinking fresh and that tasty NBB beer we all love!

  See an example of New Belgium Date Code Locations!!

• I just purchased some 1554, but I don’t have room in my fridge for it! If I leave it at room temperature, will it degrade in quality?

  We have conducted many tastings on our beers and have determined that it is okay to store beer at ambient conditions for a short amount of time. For example, we allow our retailers to leave our beers out of coolers for display purposes, but they have to be rotated back into the cooler within 30 days.  The beer doesn't go bad but it can lose that brewery fresh taste that we want our customers to experience over and over. The best choice would be to make a little room for that 1554. If you need to leave it out for a week or two, you probably won't notice a change in taste. Whatever you do, keep it out of the sun and/or extreme temperatures, for sure.

• I bought some NBB beer off the shelf at my local store and it was not refrigerated. Is the beer going to taste bad? Why isn’t the store keeping the beer cold?

  We have conducted many tastings on our beers and have determined that it is okay to store beer at ambient conditions for a short amount of time. We do allow our retailers to leave our beers out of coolers for display purposes, but they have to be rotated back into the cooler within 30 days.  The beer doesn't go bad but it can lose that brewery fresh taste that we want our customers to experience over and over. If you suspect a mishandling of NBB beer, please fill out the beer quality feedback form so we can send out a Ranger to check on the issue!

FAQ - Beer Quality - Keg Questions

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• Something seems to be wrong with my keg draught system. What are the proper settings for temperature, line length and pressure?

  In general, the following set up will be the best for enjoying your NBB beer!

  Ideal Temperature:  38°F

  Ideal Pressure: 16 psi (pounds per square inch) (This is the set up for Fort Collins at about 5000 feet above sea level – check out the resources below for ideal pressures at a different elevations.)

  Ideal Line Length: 6.5 feet of 3/16” ID (Inner Diameter) tubing.  We recommend pouring a little slower to make pouring easier, so you can add a couple of feet to that and still be safe.

  To find out how these values were determined, establish the perfect set up for your elevation and beer, or to learn more about the science of setting up a proper keg draught system, make sure you check out The Basics of Draught Dispense and the CO2 Selection Chart!

• I’m new to a draught system and/or could use some advice on how to do a proper set up. Do you have any advice or resources for me?

  Check out Basics of Draught Dispense and the CO2 Selection Chart for some awesome information on how to get the perfect set up for your tasty NBB beer!

FAQ - Beer Quality - Nutrition

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• I am looking for general nutritional information on my NBB beer. Where can I find it?

  Check out The Beer Masher... Information on the ABV (% Alcohol by Volume), IBU (International Bitterness Unit), Calories, Carbs, Hops, Grain, Fruits/Spices, Body, Original Gravity (OG), and Final Gravity (FG) for all of our beers is available online!

• I’m trying to stick to my diet but I don’t want to miss out on my Fat Tire!! Can you share the nutritional information on this beer?

  A 12 oz Fat Tire contains about 150 Calories, 10g of Carbohydrates, and 3g of Protein… not too shabby!!

FAQ - Branding

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• How do you come up with the name of your beers?

  Each one of our beers has its own unique story of how it came to be. To learn more about each of our beers and their names check out the beer page on our website http://www.newbelgium.com/beer

• What is the story behind the bike and bicycle branding?

  The bicycle and its use as a marketing tool is one of the greatest unplanned successes of the brewery.  We like to say "we were conceived on the seat of a bike," based upon one of our founders epiphanial voyage through Europe by bike, drinking beer along the way.  Shortly after that trip he made an amber ale and named it Fat Tire in honor of his trip.  This same beer has grown to be our flagship brand, mostly due in part by its beautifully balanced and drinkable nature, but also due in part to the unmeasurable marketing power of the bicycle on the label.  We like to think bikes remind people of how simple and fun it is to be outside, with a smile on your face and a good beer in your hand.  The image of the bicycle really captures New Belgium on a whole, with our whimsical approach to business, the history of our beginnings and our emphasis on sustainability.  You can view a great video of Jeff talking about his trip: Born on a Bike Seat. Also check out the Something Good video.

• How did you decide on your current logo?

  A few years ago we decided to make some changes to the New Belgium logo. We wanted to develop an image that really connected people with our company name, our flagship beer and our love of bikes. Putting the bike as the centerpiece of the logo just made sense.

• How do you choose your target markets?

  We have always taken a measured approach to growth, adding states sequentially without jumping around. We look to markets that are beer savvy with fairly dense population centers and a strong network of distributors.

• What is the demographic of your target customer(s)?

  There's certainly no one profile as we don't really "target" people, but we find many of our beer drinkers share an active lifestyle; they have an appreciation for how things are made and a deep respect for the environment. Certainly, bicyclist champion Fat Tire as a beer that speaks to them and actually benefits their community through events like Tour de Fat. Also in the spectrum you find people who appreciate the slow food movement, and craft beer drinkers who really seek out innovation and want to push the envelope on what beer can be.

FAQ - Business

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• How many employees do you have?

  As of March 13th, 2012 = 424 coworkers in 29 states and growing!

• Are you owned by a larger brewery or company?

  This question comes up a lot actually.... we say all the time that New Belgium Brewing is Employee Owned, but there are definitely rumors out there that one of the larger brewers are actually pulling the strings here. We can say with confidence that New Belgium Brewing is not owned or even controlled in any way by a larger company. Our shares of New Belgium are 100% privately held by our current co-workers that work every day laboring to make the best beer in the world.We hope you enjoy our passion!

• Can you send me/us last year's financial statements?

  New Belgium is a privately held/employee owned company. We do not share any of our financial information with the public.

• How is your organization structured?

  One of the main points of our organizational structure is that we are an employee owned business.  We operate as an ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) and practice open book management.  Ownership privileges are granted at an employee's one year anniversary.  Along with the financial benefits of employee ownership program comes the cultural foundation of our company, which is highly family and community oriented.  Here is a brief description of how our company management is structured:

  • Board of Directors - Our BOD is made up of two internal NBB folks (our CEO and CFO) and 3 external members
  • Compass Management Group - Compass is our Senior management group. This group consists of managers that represent each area of the brewery (HR, Sales, Branding, Production, Engineering, Finance, Sustainability, Supply Chain and IT)
  • Departmental Managers - we have about 20 different departments at NBB and a manager or two to manage the business and co-workers of the department.
  • Individual Contributors - These are our lovely co-workers that work in our various departments. Anyone that is not at a manager level is considered an individual contributor.

• What is the definition of a craft brewery?

  To read a full description of how the Brewers Association defines a craft brewery, follow this link to craftbeer.com http://www.craftbeer.com/pages/beerology/small-independent-traditional (link opens in new window)

• Are you considered a micro-brewery?

  We actually surpassed the micro-brewery mark back in 1994. A micro-brewery produces less than 15,000 barrels of beer per year with 75% or more of its beer sold off site. To learn more about the definitions of breweries, visit http://www.craftbeer.com/pages/beerology/small-independent-traditional

• Do you have a mentoring program?

  We are developing a more formal mentor program for managers. New managers are matched with a manager who will guide them on development, coaching, and the culture of NBB. We believe in social learning and therefore all of us serve as mentors as we model the way. This allows for ongoing mentoring in an ownership culture.

• How has your company faired through the tough economic times?

  Overall, craft beer has weathered the recession fairly well with growth across the category. At New Belgium we opened six new states in 2009 so we have enjoyed production growth upwards of 15%. One of the popular theories in the industry is that, while people are cutting back on vacations and big ticket items, they are still rewarding themselves with world-class beer. At $8.00 or $9.00 a six-pack, it is still one of the most affordable luxuries around. In 2010, we did not open any new states due to production limits at our current brewery however we are planning in move into additional states during 2011.

FAQ - Culture

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• What steps do you take towards promoting responsible drinking?

  One of our Core Values and Beliefs is Promoting beer culture and the responsible enjoyment of beer. Craft beer has always been about quality over quantity. To that end, we promote beer as a pairing with food and sponsor beer dinners to educate palates and create that level of appreciation.At all of our events, anyone pouring beer must be TIPS trained which is a nationally accredited alcohol awareness program that helps servers identify and prevent someone from being over served. http://www.gettips.com/ (link opens in new window) Our Tour de Fat promotes the bicycle as a sustainable form of transportation with beer as part of the medium and not the message. We have canceled events that we deemed to be too focused on drinking. Our tasting room limits tasters to four short pours and focuses on education over mass consumption. Our price point precludes the kind of binge drinking associated with suitcases of beer and handle bottles.

• How do you maintain your company culture?

  You can read more about our philosophy and its application in our Strategy Summary.

• How does philanthropy work at NBB? What does NBB do for philanthropy?

  You can find out this information and much more on our Local Grants page.

• Does your company ever do HR audits?

  In 2009 we did a complete audit of our I-9's. This was to ensure that we were in compliance with federal regulations and to make sure we are using best practices. In the past we have audited personnel files to ensure that we were in compliance there as well.

FAQ - General

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• Can you ship me (my bar, the distributor I know, my liquor store, my book club, my church) some beer?

  Due to ever-changing writs, laws and a miasma of bureaucracy, New Belgium does not ship beer directly to individuals. We do mail order soft goods (shirts, hats and the like) from our Groovy Goods store on this website.

  If you live outside our area of distribution, your best bet for procuring our beers is a road trip (what fun!). Come to Colorado and visit our tasting room where the beers are free, the tours are informative, and your hosts are both dashing and charismatic.

• Where can I find your beers?

  Good question. Crucial, really. We are currently in 28 states plus the District of Columbia at this time with a lot of uncharted territory in the Northeast.

  You can check our Libation Locator for an up to date listing: http://www.newbelgium.com/beer/locator

  

• Will you ever distribute your beer in my (fill in the blank) state?

  Never say never. Never is an ugly word.

• Where is your facility and tasting room?

  Just north of beautiful, sunny downtown Fort Collins at 500 Linden St. Tasting is right inside the front door. See the Visit Us page for more info and a map showing exactly where we are.

• Why do you charge for your beer in the tasting room now?

  We want everyone to be able to experience New Belgium beers at their fullest. Customers have been asking for full pint size servings (rather than the 4 small tasters) for years and now we can deliver. Plus, the beer proceeds go directly to a local non-profit organization so who could ask for a better system!

• Are tours free?

  Like the best things in life - tours are free. You can schedule a tour using our tour calendar, or you can call (888) NBB-4044 for tour times and information. You can also control your own destiny with a self-guided tour any old time between 10:00am and 6:00pm except for Sundays and Mondays. Check the tour calendar for any closings or happenings. Here's a tip tho... book early, tours fill up FAST!

• Can you ship beer to my/my buddy's house?

  Sadly, no. Go to Groovy Goods and order yourself a shirt though. You deserve one for asking.

• What happened to the witty and incisive New Belgium Buzz newsletter?

  It has been replaced by our blog. You can subscribe to the feed and get it delivered straight to your feedreader if you want, or you can sign up for email notifications when new articles are published.  Don't have an account?  Create one!

• Do you offer internships?

  We do not have a formal internship program.  We have utilized interns in the past on a case by case basis. Examples have been positions in microbiology, brewery engineering and sustainability. Keep a keen eye on our job openings page where these are posted.

FAQ - History

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• What is the story of how New Belgium started?

  You can read all about the beginnings of New Belgium on the Our Story page.
  

FAQ - Production

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• How many barrels did you sell this year?

  We seem to sell lots of beer these days, generally limited by our capacity at the brewery in Fort Collins, CO.

  2009	582,800 Barrels
  2010	660,200 Barrels
  2011	712,800 Barrels
  2012	800,000 Barrels (Projected)

FAQ - Supply Chain

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• How do you transport materials from suppliers?

  All materials are delivered to the brewery by truck.   Some materials are transported by boat and rail during initial shipment, but then transferred to a truck at an intermodal transfer center for final delivery to the brewery. Part of our sustainability goals, are to research alternative transportation methods to minimize impact on the earth.

• What are some lead times? For which products?

  Some products are contracted years in advance.   A majority of our lead times are 3 weeks or less. If a brew has an extended fermentation period, it will obviously increase the lead times. Additionally, all beers are not brewed at all times. Seasonals, special beers, etc are only brewed on specific schedules. You can watch both the beer page and the virtual brewery

  to find out more information on when beers are brewed. Also, take a look at our fantastic Beer Masher to dig deep into our beers raw materials and other goodness.

• Do you use any forecasting techniques? Which ones?

  We generally use...

  1. Historical trend analysis
  2. Rolling forecast

• How does your company handle reverse logistics?

  1. For empty kegs, it is a collaborative effort between our warehouse and our distributors.
  2. For defective material, typically our suppliers will manage the reverse logisitics.

• How do you approach supplier relationship management/ customer relationship management?

  1. Customer Relationship - on an individual basis, depending on the needs/requirements of the particular customer
  2. Supplier Relationship - depending on the size/scope of the relationship, it varies on a case by case basis.   We do try to be good customers to all of our suppliers (pay within terms, etc).

• Do you implement any specific manufacturing flow management techniques? (JIT or lean)

  1. Some materials operate under a JIT/Kanban system.   We have a satellite warehouse, and materials move from supplier to warehouse to production using this method.
  2. On average, we carry 2 weeks of raw material inventory.

• How does New Belgium manage order fulfillment and getting the product downstream?

  1. Distributors must submit orders with a 3 week leadtime
  2. Orders are processed and entered into our enterprise software
  3. Orders are fulfilled using a warehouse management system, which automatically pushes the order back into our enterprise software for billing
  4. Product is shipped in full loads via refrigerated semi truck to most of our customers.

• Who are your suppliers? Longterm? Seasonal?

  1. Our specific supplier information is proprietary to New Belgium.
  2. Our bottles come from Windsor, CO
  3. Our cardboard comes from CO and CA
  4. Malt comes from US, Canada, and Europe
  5. Hops come mostly from the Pacific NW, some from Europe, and a few from NZ.

• Do you use distributors? Where? How many? How many states can you find New Belgium in?

  1. Yes, all alcohol in the United States is required to be sold through a 3 tier system, which involves a manufacturer (NBB), a distributor, and a retailer.  
  2. As of early 2010, we have 185 current distributors in 26 states.

• Being Green is important to New Belgium. What are some of the ways you implement this?

  1. You can find a majority of our information on sustainability at:  http://www.newbelgium.com/sustainability
  2. Specifically to Supply Chain, we developed Sustainable Purchasing Guidelines in which we include sustainability and green practices when selecting and evaluating our suppliers. 

• What is your inventory turn over rate? Is backlog or extra inventory ever a problem?

  1. We typically turn over our finished product in 2-3 weeks.
  2. We produce to order so excess inventory is not typically a problem
  3. Excess inventory is disassembled into its parts and recycled.

• How has your supply chain grown as your company has grown?

  1. Up until 3-4 years ago, we didn't have a formal Supply Chain department.  Prior to that we had 1 forecaster/scheduler, 1 purchaser, and warehouse personnel.
  2. Now we have a formal group with 13 people.

• Where do you get your raw materials?

  We decide where we purchase our materials from based on these factors: quality, sustainable practices of the company, supplier support, and price.  We buy malted barley from the US and Canada and over 90% of our hops come from the Northwestern U.S. All of our glass comes from Windsor, CO and most of our cardboard is also made in Colorado. 

FAQ - Sustainability

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• What do you do with your waste stream?

  An in-depth analysis of what happens to our waste stream can be found in the Sustainability Report (PDF). In summary, we try to create as many closed loop systems as possible when it comes to our waste.  Whenever we have the opportunity to turn our byproducts, otherwise known as waste, back into fuel, we do.  Our Merlin boil kettle actually recycles the steam coming off of the boil and uses it in an energy storage tank to speed up other parts of the process with more efficiency.  All of our production waste water is treated on site in our process water treatment plant, becoming 98% clean before a final rinse through the city's plant.  We clean the water with microbes in anaerobic and aerobic basins, which produce methane gas as a byproduct.  The methane is harnessed and sent back to the brewery, which powers a co-generator during peak load hours.  This accounts for roughly 15% of our electricity needs.  The rest is accounted for by wind credits purchased through the city.  We sell our spent grain from the brewing process to a local farmer, who feeds them to his cattle.  We also have a highly sophisticated recycling center and encourage our employees to have a very mindful awareness of the lifecycle of the resources we use on a daily basis.

• What’s the deal with your organic beer?

  What are the benefits are of brewing organic? What is the cost difference? What effect does it have on the environment? How much of a difference does it make compared to inorganic beer? How much easier/difficult is it to brew? What long term positive effects could organic beer have on our environment?

  • Currently, New Belgium brews one organic beer which is our Mothership Wit. The "Mothership" is what we lovingly call our brewery in Fort Collins. When our sales reps (Beer Rangers) from across the country return twice a year to the Mothership, we consider it a kind of homecoming. The creation of an organic beer is a homecoming as well... coming back to our land, honoring once again Mother Earth. Hence, we named our new organic Belgian-style wit "Mothership Wit".
  • Farming organic foods has many benefits when speaking to the health of ecosystems. The elimination of synthetic pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers (common staples in conventional farming) helps to restore the health of our water and our soils. The removal of toxins in the farming process also permits the natural balance of the ecosystem to reemerge, allowing the birds, bees and beneficial bugs to resume their duties of pest control. When speaking about the health of water, the land, and the animals (including human beings!), organic farming holds a multitude of benefits.
  • We found, however, that farming to minimum organic standards does not significantly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with barley farming. (By the way, barley agriculture is the 3^rd largest emitter of GHGs across the lifetime of a 6-pack of Fat Tire! These aren't small potatoes.) To significantly reduce the GHG emissions from barley farming, one would need to discontinue tilling and start using cover crops as natural fertilizers rather than manure. (More details: Organic Assessment 6MB) This creates a conundrum as organic farmers use tilling as a form of weed control. Sustainable Agriculture organizations are just now starting to explore options in this area.
  • Brewing with organic versus non-organic requires only slight adjustments. The primary barrier of brewing with organic ingredients is the high price. When we reviewed pricing in depth in early 2009, the organic ingredients were more than twice the price. We would not be able to switch to 100% organic and stay in business at that cost. However, through our advocacy and philanthropy work, and through partnerships with local universities and non-profits, we are still continuing to advocate for sustainable and affordable brewing ingredients.

  If you have further questions, please send an email to sustainability@newbelgium.com

• What are some elements of sustainable building/architecture you have around the brewery?

  • So many! Where to start? Here is a list of my favorites:
    • Natural lighting in almost every room. We've found many creative ways to mitigate glares and unwanted heat gains. Bringing in the natural light serves all three aspects of a health triple bottom line: planet (save emissions from electricity), people (who doesn't feel better under sunlight rather than fluorescent bulbs?) and profit (the upfront costs are relatively low and we save a lot of money on our electricity bill since we aren't powering unnecessary light bulbs).
    • Bike parking & showers (to rinse off if you have a long commute).
    • Landscaping with low-water plants.
    • Using reclaimed materials (chairs in tasting room made of old bicycle rims, desks made out of bowling alleys, window sills in the packaging hall made from scraps of granite from the countertop business that would have been thrown out otherwise, beetle kill pine used in a lot of our furniture as well as the doors and baseboards in our packaging hall).
    • Interface carpet tiles where carpet is needed.
    • A porous asphalt sidewalk.
    • Bioswales that naturally filter/cleanse storm water runoff before it enters rivers and streams.

  If you have more questions, please send an email to sustainability@newbelgium.com