Fort Collins is one of America's sour-beer capitals: tart, barrel-aged ales built in oak foeders at New Belgium and in Peter Bouckaert's tiny Purpose cellar.
Where to eat it: 2 restaurants across 1 city.
New Belgium's wood-cellar programme, long steered by brewmaster Peter Bouckaert, made La Folie one of the defining American sour ales and put a hall of oak foeders in the middle of the Linden Street brewery tour. When Bouckaert left after 21 years, he stayed in town, opening Purpose Brewing and Cellars on South Mason Street to blend four-hectolitre batches with fruit, spice and barrels. Between the two, Fort Collins offers sour beer at both industrial and jewel-box scale.
Common allergens: Gluten
Tip from the editors. Dedicate plastic gear to sour projects; brettanomyces never fully leaves equipment and will haunt your clean beers.
New Belgium Brewing pours Fat Tire and La Folie at its Linden Street mothership in Fort Collins, with tours, food trucks and the Tour de Fat bike parade.
Tip: Book the 90-minute brewery tour ahead; it ends in the foeder hall where the sour programme lives. Tour de Fat returns 29 August 2026.
Purpose Brewing and Cellars is Peter Bouckaert's tiny Fort Collins taproom on South Mason Street: four or five new beers a weekend, barrels and sours first.
Why locals love it: Peter Bouckaert brews 4-hectolitre one-offs in a strip-mall unit; the beers never leave the room, so you drink them here or never.
Tip: Bouckaert spent 21 years as New Belgium's brewmaster; whatever barrel-aged beer is on this weekend is the order. Closed Monday to Wednesday.
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