New Belgium Fat Tire

Brewed by New Belgium Brewing Company
Style: Amber Ale
Fort Collins, Colorado USA

This is a re-rating: Bottle, Kegs & Barrels, McKinney, TX. Pours a light hazy amber, off-white head that laced the glass, but had low retention. Aroma has citris notes along with dark fruity notes. Flavor is caramel, some fruit notes, slight bitter, semi sweet. Palate is medium body, medium carbonation....

Because I grew up in CO, I have an sort of fondness and bias towards this beer. This is one of the best session ales that gets beer with each one. There are many haters because there is a lot of hype about this beer, and yes this is a gateway beer to finer brews. But I do always enjoy a fat tire and the nice wholesome malt flavor that until I read the bottle I could not put my finger on (slightly biscuit like) The sublte taste gets better and more noticeable as you drink it. So cheers to fat tire and the haters!

This is a nice Amber Ale. Good head and retention, nice light copper color. malty flavor that encourages a second or third beer! A good session brew.

Actually a pretty good beer despite it’s mainstream appeal among college/high school kids. Pours brown but not too dark with a decent amount of head. Taste is malty, caramel. Better than average beer for something so popular.

A friend at work who doesn’t drink much beer gave me the remains of his short case of this brew. He claimed it gave him a headache. I haven’t encountered that problem but I did note a real funkiness in the hop profile of this beer. Maybe a quality control problem as not every beer in the pack seems to have that quality. Would score it higher except for the inconsistency of this batch. May revise my review upward after I consume the remainder of the bottles. Update: 031909 Pours clear amber with two fingers of white head. Some lacings. Aroma is like bread dough. Taste is yeasty sweet malts with enough earthy hops to balance the flavors. Mouthfeel is fine though a bit over carbonated. It has a slight bitter dry finish. I made the effort to find a fairly fresh example and was rewarded for my effort. I have had less stellar examples of this beer and can usually trace it to poorly stored or just plain old product. Not the best American Amber I’ve had but one of the most unique. Very sessionable if you enjoy the taste.

Bottle from Safeway in Fairfield, CA. It pours an amber color and smells of carmel. An overall sweet beer with just the right amount of hoppiness. Nothing spectacular about this brew, but it hits the spot on a warm summer day.

One of my favorites! Pours a wonderful amber color and a good head forms and remains for some time. Tastes of toasted biscuits and small notes of dried fruit. Has a good mouthfeel.

Actually a pretty good beer despite it’s mainstream appeal among college/high school kids. Pours brown but not too dark with a decent amount of head. Taste is malty, caramel. Better than average beer for something so popular.