We now know who will lead the next chapter of New Belgium Brewing. Chief marketing officer Shaun Belongie has been named the next CEO of New Belgium, effective immediately, taking the spot left vacant by Steve Fechheimer earlier this year.
Kirin-owned New Belgium Brewing – including the Voodoo Ranger-powered New Belgium brand and Bell’s Brewery – now ranks as the largest non-Brewers Association craft beer family, overtaking Molson Coors’ craft brands, according to data released in the trade organization’s May/June edition of the New Brewer magazine.
Check out news items that were initially reported in the Brewbound Insider Newsletter April 30-May 1, including headlines from New Belgium, MadTree Brewing and Dogfish Head.
New Belgium Brewing’s portfolio is craft’s top share gainer through Q1, CEO Shaun Belongie shared recently. The Kirin-owned New Belgium craft portfolio, which includes New Belgium’s offerings (Voodoo Ranger, Fat Tire and more), and Bell’s Brewery (Two Hearted, Oberon and more) snagged share by growing volume 3.2% year-to-date.
Kirin-owned New Belgium Brewing has reorganized its business administration teams, resulting in the elimination of some roles, a spokesperson confirmed to Brewbound. The employees whose jobs were cut amount to fewer than 1% of the company’s overall workforce.
Lauren Woods Limbach joined New Belgium in 196 and the rest is “an incredible fairy tale, wild ride, with some of the hardest work and the best people on Earth,” she said in an Instagram video last week announcing her upcoming retirement.
New Belgium Brewing has big plans for Voodoo Ranger in 2026, from two new IPAs to partnerships with two of the biggest TV and video game releases of the year.
A pair of new ready-to-drink (RTD) offerings are coming from New Belgium in 2026, including Kirin’s top-selling canned cocktail and a vodka cocktail with a “subtle nod” to the Voodoo Ranger franchise.
Beer is in the midst of “a fun crisis,” New Belgium Brewing CMO Rebecca Dye Yonushonis declared during the company’s distributor convention in Fort Collins last week.
After reaching nationwide distribution in 2023, Bell’s Brewery has refocused on its core Great Lakes markets. New Belgium CEO Shaun Belongie explained that the Michigan craft brand struggled in far away markets, leading the company to double down at home.
New Belgium is still feeling the effects of Hurricane Helene almost one year after the deadly storm devastated western North Carolina. Even as the company’s Asheville production facility has come back online, New Belgium is dealing with tough decisions made in the aftermath.
New Belgium Brewing Company turned down the innovation firehose to a drip – for the most part – to start 2025. Yes, the company did add “Mini Rippers,” 7.5 oz. 8-pack cans of Voodoo Ranger Juice Force and Tropic Force (both 9.5% ABV). And it rolled out LightStrike, a 5% ABV non-carbonated hard refresher line, aimed at Millennials and Generation Z consumers.
Bell’s Brewery executive vice president (EVP) Carrie Yunker will depart from the company next month after more than two decades with the Comstock, Michigan-based brewery.
Upper Hand Brewery, opened by Bell’s Brewery founder Larry Bell in 2014, is about to change hands. Kirin-owned New Belgium acquired Escanaba, Michigan-based Upper Hand when it merged with Bell’s in 2021.
New Belgium Brewing eliminated the roles of seven employees Thursday as part of a reorganization of its sales and marketing structure, a spokesperson told Brewbound.
