When visitors come to visit us in Colorado, we often take them on the Breckenridge Brewery tour. Because it’s close, because it’s cheap, and, well… beer! Back in 2015, Breckenridge sold out to InBev, which also owns Anheuser-Busch, the maker of Budweiser. At the time, Breckenridge’s tour guides were quick to point out that, although they were now part of a big international conglomerate, they would remain a “craft” brewery – at least under the narrow definition of “craft” in terms of yearly production. Now comes the news (see here in today’s DP) that Ft. Collins-based New Belgium Brewery (the maker of “Fat Tire”) is joining the corporate ranks as a division of Australian-based Lion Little World Beverages, itself an arm of Japan’s spirits behemoth, Kirin Holdings. In the DP article, New Belgium founder Kim Jordan (trained as a social worker and raised as a Quaker) emphasized the benefit of the sale to the retirement accounts of New Belgium’s employee owners. I got no problem with “Do well by doing good.” But, far as I’m concerned, it’s all about the beer. So, brew on, bro’s. And don’t cut corners on the hops. Do that much and I don’t really care who owns it. And you can quote me on that too.
