Working at a Brewery Is Not as Boozy as It Once Was

During an economic recession, one of the first things to be downsized is company perks. At New Belgium Brewery, a craft brewer in Ft. Collins, Colo., one of the biggest perks is free beer. Employees used to be able to take home 24 bottles of beer every week, but in February take-home brew was reduced to a mere 12 bottles.

Not many employees are complaining. When keeping a job is probably today's biggest perk, losing a six-pack per week probably isn't such a bad deal. Melyssa Glassman, the company's creative director, says that the only downside to free beer was carrying it home on her bicycle during the summer.

New Belgium is the third largest craft brewer in the United States and has been hailed for its employee-friendly policies that include free beer, a new bicycle after one year of employment and an all-expense paid trip to Belgium (where the idea for the company was created.) The 320 employees own a 33-percent stake in the brewery, and while it's not mandatory, it helps if you like drinking beer. A lot.

Glassman admits she was "terrified" that she didn't know enough about beer when she joined the company two years ago. "I used to be a wine drinker and now I drink beer every night -- my eyes have been opened," she says. "I had a narrow focus when it came to beer, but the array of choices is amazing."

New Belgium currently offers a variety of 24 different beers sold in 25 states. Employees can participate in daily tastings and attend monthly "sensory workshops" to improve their beer palates. Bryan Simpson, the company's media relations director, estimates that about 98 percent of the employees drink. "They're fully invested" and "passionate" about beer.

Glassman's favorite NBB beer is La Folie Wood-Aged Biere, a sour green-apple tasting brew that is fermented from one to three years before being bottled. A 22-ounce bottle retails for $17. Glassman likes to mix La Folie with other NBB beers to create an even greater taste sensation. "It's like being a junior in high school at 7-Eleven, it's like my Coke machine suicide," she says about mixing several beers at the NBB tap.

Simpson is partial to Biere de Mars, a dry orange-y brew which he says was inspired by the architecture of Belgian designer Victor Horta. In February, New Belgium will launch a new IPA called Ranger, an extra heavy hop-filled beer that has gone through three iterations on its way to the marketplace. "I loved the first one," says Simpson about the first Ranger brew. "But I was told this isn't going to stand up. I was told what was wrong and I deferred to their expertise."