New Belgium Brewing Named Top Small Workplace

New Belgium Brewing Named One of 15 “Top Small Workplaces” in the U.S. by The Wall Street Journal and Winning Workplaces

New Belgium Brewing Receives the Top Honor for Its Culture, Sustainability and Employee-Ownership Practices

Ft. Collins, CO – New Belgium Brewing, makers of Fat Tire Amber Ale, today announced that it has been named one of the Top Small Workplaces in the United States by The Wall Street Journal and its partner, Winning Workplaces. New Belgium was selected from more than 400 entries for a variety of reasons, including open-book management, sustainable business practices and its commitment to an employee-owned culture. This is the second year that the Journal produced the list of the best small workplaces in the country.

The full list of winners and related stories appeared in yesterday’s Journal Report on Small Business and in online editions. Click Here for a complete list of winners.

“It is an honor to be recognized as a Top Small Business in the country by such esteemed organizations,” said Bryan Simpson, media relations director for New Belgium Brewing. “We love what we do and are passionate about creating world-class beer in an environment that gets people excited about coming to work every day.”

Top Small Workplaces is a list compiled by the Journal in partnership with Winning Workplaces, a nonprofit whose mission is to help the leaders of small and midsize organizations create better workplaces. The list showcases exceptional small businesses in the U.S., which includes private, nonprofit and publicly held organizations. The Journal Report spotlights those small businesses that have built workplace environments that encourage collegiality, professional growth and provide an atmosphere and benefits that make their employees stay.

“These small businesses are leading innovators and role models for larger companies,” said Larry Rout, editor of the Journal Reports, The Wall Street Journal. “At a time when most employers are cutting back on employee benefits it is important to recognize those organizations that are creating environments that encourage productive behavior and expanding programs to keep employees happy.”

Criteria that launched New Belgium Brewing into the Top 15 include:

• New Belgium has a 97% employee retention rate.
• Co-workers are encouraged to commute by bike and receive a custom cruiser bicycle at the end of their first year. For employees who have to commute by car, New Belgium offers Toyota Prius hybrids for lease.
• New Belgium Brewing is employee-owned and practices open book management style – all co-workers have full disclosure of financial data and other company performance indicators.
• After five years of employment, co-workers enjoy an all-expense paid pilgrimage to Belgium to learn about beer culture.
• New Belgium Brewing has an extensive recycling program that is open to co-workers for personal household usage, taking in many products from co-workers that are not picked up curbside.
• For every barrel of beer brewed, New Belgium donates one dollar to charities and participates in 1% For the Planet, giving away one percent of its sales to support philanthropy.
• New Belgium hosts a yearly Tour de Fat, an 11-city event festival, that helps spread the word about the benefits of the bicycle and encourages people to bike more, recycle and add some folly to the day.

The Journal and Winning Workplaces began soliciting nominations last fall and received 406 recommendations. The nominees were asked to fill out full-length applications and the batch was culled to 35 finalists. The Journal and Winning Workplaces selected a national panel of small-business experts to judge the finalists. The workplace winners were chosen based on both metrics and qualitative assessment of their success in creating workplaces that nurture, challenge and reward employees.

As part of its continuing coverage of this year’s Top Small Workplaces, the Journal will be interviewing leaders of the winning companies every week on “Independent Street,” WSJ.com’s small business blog (http://blogs.wsj.com/independentstreet/). To read the 2008 Top Small Workplaces report, please go to http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122347733961315417.html.
For more information on New Belgium Brewing, visit www.newbelgium.com.

About New Belgium Brewing Company
New Belgium Brewing Company, makers of Fat Tire Amber Ale and a host of Belgian-inspired beers, began operations in a tiny Fort Collins basement in 1991. Today, the third largest craft brewer in the U.S., New Belgium produces eight year-round beers; Fat Tire Amber Ale, Sunshine Wheat, Blue Paddle Pilsner, 1554 Black Ale, Abbey, Mothership Wit, Mighty Arrow and Trippel, as well as a host of seasonal releases. In addition to producing world-class beers, New Belgium takes pride in being a responsible corporate role model with progressive programs such as employee ownership, open book management and a commitment to environmental stewardship. For more information, visit www.newbelgium.com.

About The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal, the flagship publication of Dow Jones & Company, is the world’s leading business publication. Founded in 1889, The Wall Street Journal has a print and online circulation of more than 2 million, reaching the nation’s top business and political leaders, as well as investors across the country. Holding 33 Pulitzer Prizes for outstanding journalism, The Wall Street Journal provides readers with trusted information and knowledge to make better decisions. The Wall Street Journal franchise has more than 750 journalists world-wide, part of the Dow Jones network of nearly 1,900 business and financial news staff. Other publications that are part of The Wall Street Journal franchise, with a global audience of 3.8 million, include The Wall Street Journal Asia and The Wall Street Journal Europe. The Wall Street Journal Digital Network comprises The Wall Street Journal Online (WSJ.com), Barrons.com, MarketWatch.com and AllThingsD.com. The Wall Street Journal Radio Network services news and information to more than 300 radio stations in the U.S. In 2008, the Journal was ranked No. 1 in BtoB’s Media Power 50 for the ninth consecutive year.

About Winning Workplaces
Winning Workplaces (www.winningworkplaces.org) is an Evanston, IL-based not-for-profit, whose mission is to help the leaders of small and midsize organizations create great workplaces. Founded in 2001, Winning Workplaces serves as a clearinghouse of information on workplace best practices via a website and a monthly e-newsletter; provides seminars and workshops on workplace-related topics; and, helps organizations assess their workplaces through employee surveys and other feedback tools.