Born of a flood and centuries-old Belgian text, 1554 Black Lager Beer uses a lager yeast strain and dark chocolaty malts to redefine what dark beer can be. In 1997, a Fort Collins flood destroyed the original recipe that researcher, Phil Benstein, found in the library. So Phil and brewmaster, Peter Bouckaert, traveled to Belgium to retrieve this unique style lost to the ages. Their first challenge was deciphering antiquated script and outdated units of measurement, but trial and error (and many months of in-house sampling) culminated in 1554, a highly quaffable dark beer with a moderate body and mouthfeel.
New Belgium Brewing Company is a craft brewery located in Fort Collins, Colorado. It was opened in 1991 by Jeff Lebesch and Kim Jordan. In 2011, it produced 712,800 barrels of its various labels. As of 2012, it was the third-largest craft brewery and eighth-largest overall brewery in the United States.
