New Belgium brewmaster has new venture

Longtime New Belgium Brewing brewmaster Peter Bouckaert had announced he will leave the Fort Collins brewery to form a new one, also in Fort Collins. He will team up with Zach and Laura Wilson, formerly of 1933 Brewing, to form Purpose Brewing and Cellars. Bouckaert will begin working with his new partners immediately, but no formal timeline has been established for when he will leave New Belgium. It likely won’t be before the end of the year.

“We believe that everything in life has a purpose. Our mission at Purpose Brewing and Cellars is to inspire creativity, promote craftsmanship, and support our local community,” Bouckaert and the Wilsons said in a press release.

Bouckaert, a native of Belgium who previously worked at Rodenbach Brewery, began at New Belgium in 1996. “I got to work for 21 years in the best company in the US, since Google does not create beer,” he said. “I got to work with people that realize daily their love and passion. I said from the get go that I wanted to stay as long as I can learn. Now I want to learn new things. It will be hard to leave all this passion but change is good for learning.”