It is hard to come up with new ideas. Especially when you have been brewing the same beer for 20+ years but New Belgium Brewing to celebrate that day in 1981 when the Amber Ale came out five collaboration beers will take Fat Tire in different directions by enlisting Allagash Brewing Company, Avery Brewing, Firestone Walker, Hopworks Urban Brewery and Rhinegeist Brewery to riff on the iconic beer.
And here is what will be happening:
“New Belgium reached out to collaboration partners who were long time friends and innovative brewers. For the mixed 12-pack, Allagash is producing a version of Fat Tire using a Belgian yeast sourced from the Poperinge region and a touch of the Allagash house Brettanomyces – expect notes of stone fruit, sweet tart and peppercorn; Avery will focus on a fruitier hop bill also with a dose of brett evoking notes of apricot and pineapple; Firestone Walker is creating a west coast interpretation of Fat Tire with an assertive hop profile and a light lager yeast; Hopworks Urban Brewery (HUB) is creating a tart Fat Tire bringing in apple and lactobacillus to help highlight that beautiful green apple snap inherent to the original Fat Tire; and Rhinegeist has transformed Fat Tire into a Belgian XPA, combining a fruity Belgian yeast strain with bready-sweet European and Colorado malts for a beer to please hopheads and wine drinkers alike.”
The Mixed-Twelve packs start rolling out in mid-June.