Craft breweries are expanding both reach of distribution and even moving their entire breweries across country, or even across oceans. Craft beer is getting bigger and bigger. One of the biggest, New Belgium is taking things a step further with their new $7 million expansion. As reported by the Coloradan, NB is going the way of tech companies, they will offer full medical services at their brewery for employees.

“We’ve been adding positions at a steady clip for many years now, and we’ve reached the point where we want to get all our Fort Collins folks back on campus,” said New Belgium spokesperson Bryan Simpson. “We saw this construction as an opportunity to grow out the tasting room and further develop our beer garden as a world-class tasting experience.”

The landscape team has planted some 400 trees on the roof, and Facebook hopes it becomes a haven for local bird species.

Facebook’s on campus rooftop garden

Using language like “campus” and adding elements that create a community, NB sounds similar to a company out of Silicon Valley. The goal of a tech campus is to keep employees closer by offering amenities. They want to work and increase the quality of their working conditions. Facebook and Google do it better than most. Better conditions mean better employee relations and better productivity.

NB employs 650 people, with 400 working in Colorado. They are also expanding to North Carolina and look to be building a similar campus brewery there. This is a case of craft beer remaining craft, but evolving into a modern craft beer company: Expanded employee services on campus with the job still being producing high end beer.

Maybe large craft breweries will evolve to become more efficient, while maintaining their craft roots with these campus-like constructions. We’ll see!