New Belgium Ponders The East Coast

As mentioned previously, Asheville, NC is one of the East Coast sites under consideration by Colorado brewery New Belgium Brewing Company. The coloradoan.com is reporting that the brewery is also looking at several other East Coast sites, including Philadelphia and two undisclosed locations

New Belgium Brewing Co. has revealed it is considering Philadelphia, Pa., Asheville, N.C., and two other cities for its new East Coast brewery and has announced two new beers in development.

For the past year, New Belgium, known for such beers as Fat Tire and Sunshine Wheat, has been exploring locations for a second brewery to keep up with recent growth.

New Belgium previously named Asheville, N.C., as an option, and on Monday, spokesman Bryan Simpson said Philadelphia is also on a short list of four potential locations.

New Belgium isn't the first Colorado-based brewery to expand operations eastward. Flying Dog Brewery did the same in 2007, eventually relocating entirely to Maryland. One of the reasons given for the move was that 60 percent of Flying Dog's beer was sold east of the Mississippi River. Obviously I don't expect New Belgium to pull out of Colorado, but the trend certainly speaks well of the devotion of East Coast craft beer fans.

See "New Belgium announces 2 new beers, potential locations for East Coast brewery".