Fat Tire on a roll in 25 states.

• Author: Dedrick, Jay
• Position: BREWING

Fat Tire's tracks are stretching farther beyond Fort Collins than ever.

Earlier this year, New Belgium Brewing began first-time distribution in five states - Georgia, Indiana, Wisconsin, South Dakota and North Carolina--with a sixth, South Carolina, joining the lineup June 1. That makes a total of 25 states where New Belgium offers its brews, including the flagship amber ale Fat Tire.

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With half the states in the country accounted for, the country's third-biggest craft brewer looks to have big plans in store for its small-batch brews. And in the craft-brew world, there's always a question of whether too much, too fast is a danger.

"On the outside looking in, the growth seems fast," says Bryan Simpson, media relations director for New Belgium. "But we take a measured approach to growth. We always want to make sure the markets we're already in are being serviced. Before we made this recent push, we brought on our new packaging line, which gives us an 850,000 barrel capacity. This year, we're on target for 500,000 barrels."

That increased production capacity was put in place two years ago, Simpson notes. So it's not as if the brewer immediately leapt at the chance to blanket the country with beer.

"We tend to look at markets we're adjacent to, so we're not hop-scotching states," Simpson says. "We look at markets where there's interest. As people become more enlightened to craft beer, they also become more curious about the different brands that are out there."

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