New Belgium’s Fat Tire
Fat Tire Amber Ale’s appeal is in its feat of balance toasty, biscuit-like malt falvors coasting in equilibrium with hoppy freshness. Named in honour of Jeff’s mountain bike trip from brewery to brewery through Europe.
This bottle of Fat Tire was brought to me from Las Vegas, via my parental units, along with two other american brews: Blue Moon and Rolling Rock. From what I’ve read, Fat Tire is very popular in the states and has somewhat of a cult following. I’m assuming it’s also very widely available (since my parents picked it up on the Vegas strip).
Let’s start from the beginning, it comes in a gorgeous Belgian-style bottle with an attractive, rustic label. Definitely on for the bottle collection. It pours a typical amber ale colour, with a quick, but not fully diminishing head.
If you’ve gotten this far, you’ll have already noticed that the entire room smells like multigrain bread. When you get up the nerve to bring it to your face, your nose is in a bakery. Not the best bakery though. The aroma’s a touch stale. Existing somewhere within there is also light buttery notes.
Its flavour is about as unique as the smell. It has its pleasing aspects, as well as some turn-offs. The bread is repeated in much the same way ias the aromar, but there’s a definate burnt aspect in there. There’s some honey next to the hops, on the backend. Its bitter-ness is adequate, but could be improved.
Overall, I could see how Fat Tire would have a cult following. Consumers of the generic macros could really latch on to its unique flavours and I don’t blame them. I think this would make a perfectly acceptable session beer, but there’s plenty of room for improvement. I can imagine this one pairing well with cheeses.
Tasting Notes: pours the typical amber, with mild carbonation forming white head. aroma of whole wheat bread and grains with a touch of butter. Taste is very similar to the aroma, with a bit of burnt and a touch of honey in front of the bitter hops. palate is fizzy, borderline watery.
