You don’t need to look much further than the parking lot at New Belgium Brewing to begin understanding the culture that Kim Jordan has created in Fort Collins.
In fact, just take a stroll through downtown and you will spot numerous cruiser bikes all tattooed with the New Belgium emblem.
In the brewery’s employee parking lot, parking spots closer to the entrance are reserved for those who carpool or drive vehicles that earn 40+ miles to the gallon.
Inside the brewery, a spiraling slide will take you down to the first floor tap room. And Jordan’s office is a modest dwelling located just a few feet away from where thirsty patrons sample her suds.
Any brewer in the U.S would kill to call this place ‘work.’
But Jordan is just getting started. With a second location currently being sought on the East Coast and a new canning line being installed on Fort Collins, New Belgium is showing no signs of slowing down.
Its business as usual for Jordan, who believes her biggest strength, comes in the form of leadership.
“I believe in leadership,” she said. “Leaders need to lead. That means thinking about the future, talking about it with people and trying to cast farther out and make some predications.”
And if that’s the case, it’s clear that Jordan is predicting some serious growth for the company. In addition to the search for an East Coast location, the brewery will soon introduce their Fat Tire and Ranger brands into 16 ounce cans — a trend Jordan believes is here to stay.
“I think there is a difference between fads and trends and I think it is a trend,” she said.
Jordan took some time to chat with us about these topics and the future of New Belgium in our latest video interview.
