Congratulations, Asheville

Awwww...crap.

New Belgium Brewing Announces Asheville as Site for Second Brewery

Brewer will expand production capacity with east coast facility

Fort Collins, CO, April 5, 2012 - New Belgium Brewing announced today that Asheville, NC has been selected as the new location for a second brewery. The 400,000-barrel brewery and packaging facility will provide New Belgium with additional capacity allowing the Colorado-based brewer to expand into new areas of distribution. Upon completion in 2015, the facility will initially create 50 new jobs in the Asheville area with more than 100 positions expected at full buildout.

“After several years of searching, we are incredibly excited to have landed in Asheville,” said Kim Jordan, CEO and co-founder of New Belgium. “From the deep sense of community to the rich natural environment and the opportunity to revitalize a brownfield site near a vibrant downtown, Asheville has everything we’ve been looking for in a location for our second brewery.”

The 17.5-acre site located in the heart of the River Arts District will accommodate the 150,000 sq. ft. facility. The brewery will feature a 200-barrel brewing system, a tasting facility, and a process wastewater treatment center on-site. Tours will be available to the public. Total cost projections are over $100 million.     

“Today’s announcement by New Belgium will enhance the craft brewery cluster that is growing in North Carolina,” said Gov. Bev Perdue.  “The jobs and investment the company is committing will be a major boon for the region and for the state.” 

Construction is expected to begin in early 2013 with beer rolling off the line in early 2015. 

Time to move on, Philly. Wonder if Gary Fish is interested in Deschutes East...

Do we want Philly to be Brussels-on-Schuylkill?

Philly is still in the running for New Belgium's east coast brewery, according to this story from Charlotte, N.C.'s WBTV. Crowing a bit over Sierra Nevada's decision to settle near Asheville -- and understandably so! -- WBTV noted:

New Belgium Brewing, known for its tasty Fat Tire beer, is also considering the Asheville area for a possible plant. New Belgium recently toured the Western NC area for possible sites. Both brewers want to expand beer output and to cut shipping costs with East Coast plants.
"Asheville and Philly are leading our short list of sites," New Belgium spokesman Bryan Simpson told the Denver Post last month.

Leading the short list. How does Sierra Nevada deciding on Asheville affect that? You could say -- as I'm sure many are thinking -- that New Belgium will now look away, since Sierra Nevada's in town. There's not room for two big breweries in town. That doesn't follow for sure; for instance, look at all the pharmaceutical industries around Philadelphia, look at Silicon Valley, or, if you prefer, look at Portland -- either Portland, where several good-sized craft breweries are in business quite close to each other.

This doesn't preclude New Belgium settling in Asheville at all. It's still attractive for the same reasons it always was, and now you've got an added attraction, in that having Sierra in the area will draw support industries, draw skilled workers, create an atmosphere even more supportive of craft beer. As our pharmaceutical businesses have learned, that's a tangible benefit.

However...Philadelphia is also still attractive for the same reasons it always was, and -- no slight to Asheville -- we've got more to offer. Let me enumerate:

• You want outdoor? Hey, mountain kids: meet The Shore. That's right, we have an ocean right over there. And if you want hiking, the Appalachian Trail -- you've heard of that, right? -- is right over there. An hour to the ocean, two hours max to the AT.
• You want fun? Philly's got music, restaurants, bike trails, all this historical stuff you may have heard of, and...unlike Asheville OR Denver, we're a quick train ride or drive from three other major fun towns: NYC, Baltimore, and DC (and I can tell you, Boston's not that much farther).
• You want infrastructure? Multiple major highways, rail nexus, AND a major port. Growing breweries already in place to pull talent and suppliers, and some of them already on-board with the whole green idea. And there's that pharmaceutical industry I mentioned, with lots of crossover (like the dairy business was in the early days). 
• You want beer culture? Again, no slight to Asheville, but...Philly Beer Week. The most recognized Belgian bistro in America (plus several others), and what is said to be the biggest market for Belgian beer in the country. Craft taps in a substantial percentage of area bars. A beer-savvy local government. And again...Philly Beer Week.
• You want to sell beer? Guys...look at the map. Are there more craft beer drinkers within 300 miles of Asheville...or Philly. Nuff said. 

But what about the other side of this equation? Does Philly want New Belgium? I suspect our local brewers -- several of whom make a good living doing just what New Belgium does --  would not necessarily be up for that, but...if I were a local politician, if I were a local business owner, if I were a taxpayer?  

Welcome to Pennsylvania, Kim Jordan!

New Belgium means jobs. Good jobs, vested jobs. New Belgium means green manufacturing. They are a model for low-impact industry. New Belgium means an even larger beer culture. It's true; yes, Philly, we can do better (I wrote that almost 5 years ago, and it's still true). New Belgium means better beer. Everything I wrote earlier this week about Sierra Nevada forcing Asheville's brewers to up their game? Holds true here, too.

Not to mention...our local brewers can definitely hold their own. I have no doubt of it. Our guys -- from Victory, to Flying Fish, to Dogfish Head (yeah, they're local enough), to Yards and Philly Brewing, to Iron Hill and McKenzie, to Nodding Head, and even our man Dick Yuengling -- can handle this. They're good. Real good.

And that's good, because New Belgium brings resources and cooperation, too. They're good citizens in many ways. I also guarantee you that they'd bring new excitement and beer tourism to the area...which is good for everyone in the game. Including we drinkers!

I hope Philly's still in the hunt, and I hope our local governments are smart enough to be helping things along.

“I’ve Always Hated Fat Tire…” New Belgium brewmaster admits!!!

Got your attention? Well, it's just for fun...mostly. It's all part of New Belgium's celebration of their 20th year of brewing, and an anticipation of their celebratory Super Cru, a 're-imagining' of Fat Tire. I got the press release today, and that headline was just too good to pass up. Here's the story.

New Belgium brewmaster Peter Bouckaert did say “I’ve always hated Fat Tire…” about the brewery's near-iconic Belgian-type pale ale, but he's talking about brewing it, not drinking it. “It’s the hardest beer for us to make,” he said. “The hop/malt balance required makes me pull out what little hair I have left… [but] the Belgian inspiration, the elegance – it’s worth every ounce of frustration.” (For the record? I enjoy drinking a fresh Fat Tire, but like Anchor Steam, it's really at it's best when snapping fresh. My favorite New Belgium beers are probably Blue Paddle Pilsner and 1554 Black.)

So, about that Super Cru...they're talking about a June release. What is the Super Cru? They don't know yet; it's "a riff on the classic Fat Tire that is still in development." Bouckaert spoke to that: “Do we go big and hoppy? Maybe sour? Add fruit? I do not know yet. It will be something memorable and probably it will make us crazy getting there.” So...completely bald by June.

Interesting to compare this to Victory's Headwaters Pale Ale anniversary beer. Super Cru sounds like a one-shot (although, to be fair, so did La Folie when it first came out, so you never know), and something ...a bit *extreme*, while Victory deliberately skirted that with Headwaters, choosing instead to make a beer perhaps more like Fat Tire, a popular, accessible, "shareable" beer that would become a regular year-round offering. Which is better? Does one have to be better? More beers, more choice: that's better.

And more 20th anniversaries for craft brewers: that's great! Congratulations to all at New Belgium, particularly to co-founders Kim Jordan and Jeff Lebesch, brewmaster Bouckaert, and to the current owners of the brewery: everyone who's worked there for at least a year, which is one of the completely awesome things about New Belgium...but only one of them. It's a pretty amazing company. Cheers!