{"id":"TBU-ANSWER-00000128","questionId":"TQ-002","questionSlug":"is-independent","entityTuid":"TB-5RGK0ADX","entitySlug":"new-belgium-brewing","entityType":"brewery","question":"Is this brewery independent?","answerType":"INDEPENDENCE","canonicalAnswer":"No. Employee ownership ended with the sale to Lion, approved by the employee-owners in December 2019.","directOwner":null,"ultimateParent":null,"answerStatus":"YES","verification":"VERIFIED","evidenceStrength":"B","lastVerified":"2026-09-07","effectiveFrom":"2019-12","effectiveTo":null,"howTallyKnows":"New Belgium was 100 per cent employee-owned through an ESOP fully implemented in 2012. The employee-owners voted in December 2019 to accept Lion's all-cash offer for the whole company, which ended both the ESOP and the brewery's independence.","uncertaintyNote":null,"publicCitations":[{"sourceId":"src-answers-pass03-0001","whatItProves":"The 2019 sale and the end of the ESOP","accessedDate":"2026-09-07","public":true,"title":"New Belgium Brewing to join Lion Little World Beverages","url":"https://www.newbelgium.com/globalassets/press/new-belgium-brewing-to-join-lion-little-world-beverages_press-release.pdf","publisher":"New Belgium Brewing","publicationDate":"2019-11"}],"timeline":[],"researchGaps":[],"relatedAnswerIds":[],"updatedAt":"2026-09-07T00:00:00Z","publicationStatus":"PUBLIC","publicationReason":"YES + VERIFIED, all named entities resolve","entityResolution":{"resolved":[],"unresolved":[]},"revision":1,"previousRevisionId":null,"createdAt":"2026-09-07T00:00:00Z","claims":[{"claimId":"TBU-CLAIM-00000213","subject":{"tuid":"TB-5RGK0ADX","name":"new-belgium-brewing","type":"brewery"},"predicate":"IS_INDEPENDENT","object":{"name":"false","type":"value"},"validFrom":"2019-12","validTo":null,"verification":"VERIFIED","evidenceStrength":"B","citationIds":["src-answers-pass03-0001"],"note":"Independence ended with the sale, not with any change in how the beer is made.","archiveClaimRef":null}],"hasInternalEvidence":false,"indexing":{"index":true,"reason":"YES + VERIFIED"},"canonicalRoute":"/answers/is-independent/new-belgium-brewing","apiRoute":"/api/answers/is-independent/new-belgium-brewing","relatedQuestions":[{"questionSlug":"who-owns","question":"Who owns this brewery?","status":"PARTIALLY","answered":true,"canonicalRoute":"/answers/who-owns/new-belgium-brewing","apiRoute":"/api/answers/who-owns/new-belgium-brewing"},{"questionSlug":"who-founded","question":"Who founded this brewery?","status":"NOT_YET","answered":false,"canonicalRoute":null,"apiRoute":null},{"questionSlug":"when-founded","question":"When was this brewery founded?","status":"NOT_YET","answered":false,"canonicalRoute":null,"apiRoute":null},{"questionSlug":"lifecycle-status","question":"What is this brewery's current lifecycle status?","status":"NOT_YET","answered":false,"canonicalRoute":null,"apiRoute":null},{"questionSlug":"operator","question":"Who operates this brewery or site?","status":"NOT_YET","answered":false,"canonicalRoute":null,"apiRoute":null},{"questionSlug":"ultimate-owner","question":"Who ultimately owns this brewery?","status":"YES","answered":true,"canonicalRoute":"/answers/ultimate-owner/new-belgium-brewing","apiRoute":"/api/answers/ultimate-owner/new-belgium-brewing"}]}