Jordan, Kim
name: label: Collection Creator
content: Brewers Association
label: Collection Interviewer
content: Harry, John
label: Collection Interviewer
content: Johnson, Paula, Curator
label: Collection Interviewer
content: McCulla, Theresa
label: Collection Creator
content: National Museum of American History (U.S.)
setName: label: See more items in
content: American Beer Brewing Oral History Collection
label: See more items in
content: American Beer Brewing Oral History Collection / Series 1: Born-Digital Interviews
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 732.06 Megabytes (Total Running Time: 01:12:32, audio/wav)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 2019-04-03
container: label: Container
content: Item NMAH-AC1595-BDA0046
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
objectType: label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Audio
label: Type
content: Megabytes
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: Oral history interview with Kim Jordan, co-founder of New Belgium Brewing Company in Fort Collins, Colorado. Topics covered include Jordan's childhood in California, witnessing and participating in her parents' social and political activism; her move to Colorado for college; her decision with her then-husband, Jeff Lebesch, a homebrewer, to found New Belgium Brewing Co. in their home in 1991, to bring Belgian-style beer to American drinkers. Jordan also discusses the challenges and successes in the brewery's early years; the development of their flagship beer, Fat Tire amber ale; the centrality of bicycles and bike culture to the brewery's founding and Colorado culture; New Belgium's emphasis on environmental stewardship, fiscal transparency, and employee ownership; increasing competition among craft breweries; breweries' transition from bottling to canning; the current portfolio of beers brewed at New Belgium; and her experiences as a woman in the brewing industry.