Live Episode! New Belgium Brewing Company: Kim Jordan

Enlarge this image Phuong Nguyen for NPR Phuong Nguyen for NPR

In 1991 newlyweds Kim Jordan and Jeff Lebesch took out a second mortgage on their home in Fort Collins, Colorado to start a craft brewery in their basement.

Jeff had been inspired by the fruit and spice-infused beers he had tasted on a bike trip to Belgium, so they named their company New Belgium, and launched a beer with the whimsical name, Fat Tire.

Today, New Belgium Brewing Company is one of the largest craft brewers in the U.S., and Kim Jordan remains one of the few women founders in a male-dominated industry.

This show was recorded live at Boulder Theater in Boulder, Colorado.