Tag: Fat Tire

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New Tires

It may have been past time for New Belgium Brewing to update the Fat Tire recipe. The VooDoo Ranger series of IPAs has been ahead of the iconic Amber ale for some time now.

And the inside and outside are now new for 2023.

“Today, Fat Tire blends a subtle malt presence with a slightly fruity hop profile and crisp finish, to create a bright and balanced beer that drinks easy, anywhere.”

I might have gone with seasonal versions and used this lighter one for summer and gone with something maltier in Winter.

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Fat Tire BBQ

Now, I have seen craft beers used in various meats. Usually a collaboration between a meat producer using a beer for one item. But Niman Ranch seems to have gone full on with Fat Tire with not one but five items from brats to ribs to pulled pork and shredded beef.

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Featured Review – Fat Tire & Friends – Part 2

At the beginning of the month, I reviewed two of the Fat Tire & Friends riffs. One from Firestone Walker and the other from Rhinegeist Brewing.

Now, I tackle the remaining three of the collaborations variety box which I have dubbed…
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…the Sour & Wild Trio.

Again, there are twin goals here. Which beer “adds” to the original Fat Tire while retaining its essential amber-ness and simply, which beer is best.

Starting with…
The Fat Sour Apple Ale from Hopworks Urban Brewery
Has a pronounced apple cider aroma but the mouthfeel is practically nitro. Very creamy with a green apple taste that is less sour than it is fresh Granny Smith apple juice. I can taste the Fat Tire underneath almost as if the beer was simply layered. The creaminess really ties this together like an anti-rejection drug.

The Fat Wild Ale from Avery Brewing is the closest collab of the group.
When poured it looks just like the regular Fat Tire but that first aroma heads straight to wild country. It is sort of a plain wild too. It doesn’t quite grab my palate though. There is an underlying spice note and a touch of sweetness with a kind of oaky hit to this one.

The Fat Funk Ale teams New Belgium with stalwart Belgian-style brewer Allagash.
Much like the wild ale, the Fat Funk is a perfectly pleasant beer. Not out of place especially in the Allagash universe but when I think “funk”, I guess I am expecting more much like I expected more from “wild”. Lots of clove here that I enjoy but I would order an Allagash White again before this.

The winner for this round is the HUB apple offering. Overall, I would take the Firestone Walker hopped version. And in the future I will have to keep my expectations in check.

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Riff Pack

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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.