“ Born on a Bike is a joyride of great personal (and commercial) growth within the heady early days of the craft beer revolution of the nineties.” —John Hickenlooper, US senator and cofounder of Wynkoop Brewing Company From jotting down a new beer recipe after a solo bicycling trip to building a million-barrel brewery—this is the untold story of the New Belgium Brewing Company. Written by founder Jeff Lebesch, this autobiography intertwines his life with the early days of the company he helped create. Jeff’s path to founding New Belgium began with a lesser-known mountain biking adventure through Great Britain, where he penned the recipe for Fat Tire Amber Ale. However, it was a later trip to Belgium that sparked his passion for Belgian-style beers and led to an epiphany. But the inception of a business is about much more than that initial spark. It’s a complex brew of background and influences, knowledge and ignorance, confidence and fear, and success and failure, all seasoned with a healthy amount of luck. That’s why this book opens with Jeff as a young boy in 1962, racing down his grandmother’s Belgium, Wisconsin, driveway on his single-speed bike. Unbeknownst to him at the time, every facet of his life to come would steer him toward his later role in shaping a revolutionary brewery alongside cofounder Kim Jordan. Within these pages, you’ll uncover Jeff’s personal history, beer-industry insights, and hard-won lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs. This compelling tale demystifies the craft beer world while providing an insider’s perspective on the trials and triumphs of building a business from the ground up. And let’s not forget: Fat Tire Amber Ale, the beer that started it all, was indeed born on a bike. You’ll even find the original recipe tucked inside so you can brew your very own batch at home.