I have been under the impression for some  time, that success in business requires more than just a great product. The beer industry is no exception. Besides all the obvious ingredients to success (sell-ability, marketing, passion, etc.), the burden lies, primarily, on the owner/founder. Often, greed and extreme egotism results in mediocrity or even failure. With the nation bearing witness, the financial industry has recently revealed the inevitable negative consequence of a top down, ‘my wallet isn’t heavy enough’ mindset. So reading a story of innovative selflessness is not only refreshing, but worthy of repeat.

New Belgian Brewery, producers of the shelf worthy line of Belgian style beers (Fat Tire being the most renowned), demonstrates the ingenuity that celebrates not only a love for the product and the inherent creative process, but the reversal of the top down mentality in valuing the toil of employees and thereby encouraging company loyalty. This is reflected in a ‘no duh’ flavored statement by CEO Kim Jordan: “There’s something wrong if making beer can’t be fun.”

And just how does the brewery go the extra mile to make beer fun? (as if beer wasn’t fun enough already!) From CNN:

After one year of work, each employee receives an ownership stake in the company and a free custom bicycle. After five years every employee enjoys an all-expenses-paid trip to Belgium — the country whose centuries-old beer tradition serves as a model for the Fort Collins, Colo., brewery. Oh yeah, and employees get two free six-packs of beer a week.

The perks aren’t just for fun, though. Each one is an expression of the company’s ethos. The free bikes help the environment. The trips to Belgium commemorate Lebesch’s bicycle tour of that country’s breweries in 1989 — the original inspiration for the company, now the third largest craft brewery and the eighth largest overall in the U.S.

“Operating a business in a way that is consistent with your values is particularly pleasing,” says Jordan, 50.

Those values include employee ownership. Workers own 33% of New Belgium, which has 320 employees and posted $93 million in revenue last year. A large proportion of the staff participates in strategic planning and budgeting. “People are engaged and committed,” Jordan adds.

Breathe a breath of fresh air with me…exhale AIG, Merrill Lynch, and GM…inhale New Belgium Brewery.

I, for one, could not be more impressed and exceedingly overjoyed to have found my niche in the craft beer culture

Besides the fact that New Belgium can go to sleep at night with an easy conscious having given in to a high ethical standard, they have convinced one beer geek to search out their product the next time he finds himself attempting to wet his whistle in the aisle of his local bottle shop.

Tip of the hat to you, New Belgium!

Any other heart warming beer stories?  Please share!