Taste ID help....

Ok, time to admit defeat and ask for help...

I've been trying to identify the technique, hop, and malt that gives New Belgium Fat Tire its distinctive taste, but i've been having trouble putting my finger on it. Recently, NB Shift pale lager came out, and it shares the mysterious flavor i'm trying to identify. This is the only other beer that i've tasted that shares that characteristic.

Problem is, I really cant descern whether it comes from the hop, process, or the malt. I would like to incorporate that taste/feeling into a recipe i'm building. I can duplicate the creamy head, toastiness, color, and most of maltiness with rest temps and my method (decoction). I have used the ingredients listed individually and in combination but have been unable to replicate/isolate.

As per NB website, there are several common ingredients between the two (and I'm sure that what they have on their website is NOT all inclusive).

http://www.newbelgium.com/beer/detail.aspx?id=fc35795d-8d9d-4f04-9e35-c1c55c2a0018

http://www.newbelgium.com/beer/detail.aspx?id=7c5b394b-d7b7-486a-ac9a-316256a7b0ee

Help would be greatly appreciated. These two beers are not the same style, but share the characteristic i'm trying to identify.

Anyone else taste what i'll call "Taste X" in both those beers? Any Ideas???

Mike
(pssst...glug...glug...glug...aaaaahhh!)

If I had to guess, I'd say either the Target hops, or the yeast strain. The grainbills are similar, but also generic enough that they would share a lot of ingredients with others brews, so that eliminates them, in my opinion.

Get your hands on some Target hops and see if they remind you of the taste. If not, I would suspect the yeast is the answer. I read that Wyeast released a Fat Tire yeast a while back, but I don't know if it's still available.