Fort Collins, Colorado-based brewing company, New Belgium, famed for its Fat Tire beer brand, hosted Connecticut distributor teams who are launching the product in the Nutmeg State: Northeast Beverage Corp. of CT (NEBCT), Rogo Distributors and Levine Distributing. Each team spent a comprehensive day with brewery representatives training on New Belgium’s history, the beers and the brand. The teams also enjoyed a bicycle ride into Fort Collins for lunch, following the inspiration of the Fat Tire Amber Ale. That flagship brew, reflected now in the company’s logo, originates from a co-founder’s bicycle trip through Belgium from brewery to brewery.

Other beers to hit the CT market last month include Ranger IPA, an India pale ale (IPA); Citradelic, an India Pale Ale with Tangerine; Rampant Imperial IPA, an American double/imperial; Heavy Melon, a Watermelon Lime Ale (summer seasonal) and two gluten-free beers, Glutiny Pale Ale and Glutiny Golden Ale. Other offerings from the brewery that will hit the market sometime later this year include Shift Pale Lager, an American pale lager; Sunshine Wheat, an American-style wheat ale; 1554 Black Lager, a Belgian dark beer; Blue Paddle Pilsner, a Czech-style pilsner; Abbey Belgian Ale, an abbey dubbel beer; Trippel Belgian Style Ale, a Belgian-style tripel; and various seasonal and limited-edition beers.