I have been talking a lot about New Belgium Brewing since it recently arrived in Alberta. A few weeks ago I did my CBC column on it (sorry, no tape or link), and last week a Vue column was published (found here).

There are two reasons why I have been so bullish on New Belgium, as I admitted in my columns. The first reason is that the beer is very good. I remember first trying Fat Tire Amber Ale in San Francisco while attending the Craft Brewers’ Conference. It surprised me with how flavourful it could be while still staying moderate, drinkable and accessible. Fat Tire is not a blow-you-away beer. It is a -wow-that-is-surprisingly-good beer. I have also had the Ranger IPA which is a quality IPA. I have not had others, but the reputation of them is quite strong.

But there are lots of breweries that produce good beer. What particularly draws me to New Belgium is the other stuff. Maybe it is because of my political predispositions but their environmental efforts impress the hell out of me. Solar, energy efficiency, water capture which leads into co-generation. There is no shortage of the things that they are doing to make brewing sustainable. Plus they are one of North America’s largest employee-owned companies.

The environmental commitment and alternative ownership structure may or may not be significant to you. But none of us can deny that finding a way to make brewing more environmnentally sustainable is a good thing, plus it helps lower the costs of production over the long term.

The combination, plus that it hit Alberta in a big way in recent weeks, blanketing the province very quickly, makes it a fascinating story. For the most part I will let the column speak for itself, but I want to add that it is rare to find such a combination of community-mindedness, environmental consciousness with an equal commitment to good beer. New Belgium is commendable for that reason alone.

Feel free to feel they are over-rated, that they are too hop for their own good. All fair. All I know is that I can find little to criticize. Their price in Alberta is not great – $19 for a six-pack is too much – but we likely need to blame broader institutions and policies for that.

At any rate, buy a six pack, think about how they are transforming craft beer and enjoy the flavour. Not a bad pint, eh?