AHS/MW Fat Tire Clone

So I promised my boss I'd clone him some Fat Tire when he found out I homebrew. He loves the stuff, and has to drive all the way to Wyoming to get it. For some reason, they just don't sell it here in South Dakota.

I'm just wondering if anyone here has had a good experience with the Austin or Midwest extract kits. They both have a clone, and are both darn good sites in my opinion. Any input here would be really helpful, this batch needs to be tasty! Thanks in advance.

I haven't made the AHS clone, YET, but I have heard nothing but great things about it. It's actually their 2nd highest selling recipe kit. I know I'm gonna give it a shot ASAP.

I have done the MW kit and a it was a good beer, just did not taste like Fat Tire. I went with the dry yeast as it was summertime and was worried about shipping temp. I'd try the liquid yeast if you go the MW route.

I did the AHS kit, and liked it. But I've never had "Fat Tire" so I don't know if it's a spot on clone or not. It was really good, though!

Thanks for the info. Sounds like I'll be doing the AHS kit here soon.

New Belgium brewery makes Fat Tire ale. Fat Tire is not a Belgian beer. The head brewer says not to use a Belgian yeast. He uses an American yeast. Midwest uses the Belgian yeast in their kit. This will make the beer taste not even close to the original.

This is why I am partial to this kit: http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?products_id=1113

Forrest

You win, Forrest. It's on my brew list for next week. It'll also be my first purchase through your store, so you might just have a recurring customer on your hands.

Austinhomebrew said:

New Belgium brewery makes Fat Tire ale. Fat Tire is not a Belgian beer. The head brewer says not to use a Belgian yeast. He uses an American yeast. Midwest uses the Belgian yeast in their kit. This will make the beer taste not even close to the original.

This is why I am partial to this kit: Austin Homebrew Supply

Forrest

Click to expand...

So which do you think is better with your kit, the wyeast american ale or the White labs california ale?

I have brewed the MW and Northern Brewer kits, and to me, I do not consider either one of them a clone. They are no where close to tasting like Fat Tire. They are both good beers though.

Had my first Fat Tire a couple of weeks ago while on a trip to the west coast. Been thinking about brewing some, so did a little research. Here’s a recipe with steeped grains that you might want to try. Brewmasters Wharehouse is good for putting kits together for you with ingredients in the exact amouts you need.

http://www.tastybrew.com/brews/view/19
http://www.brewmasterswarehouse.com/

I've made the AHS clone multiple times - its excellent, however, I don't get as much bready flavor as Fat Tire. I've tried adding more biscuit malt to the recipe but it didnt quite give me the flavor I was going for. I like the recipe best as written by AHS.

I have done there HOPHEAD double IPA, came out good. I am just waiting to taste. Only 9 days in the bottle. They were good to work with.

I would recommend

I made the NB Phat Tyre last year in celebration of the birth of my son, but added an extra pound of DME. Everyone loved it -- I've never had the real fat tire so I can't say how close it is.

we did the "flat tire" from MW. it was good, but didn't taste as close to fat tire as we'd hoped. it was quite tasty, and smelled pretty much exactly the same... but it was no fat tire.

Greetings from a fellow South Dakotan. Whatever kit you go with, I recommend K-97 dry yeast. Midwest was out of the yeast they usually give (Nottingham, which I would hardly call Belgian....) so they subbed the K-97. Everyone who tasted it said it was WAY better than Fat Tire. Now I've never actually had Fat Tire, but at any rate, it was a darn good beer. Even if you go with AHS's kit, get the K-97 yeast. It adds a complex flavor profile and aroma that is quite enjoyable.

Oh wow, now there are two of us here! We should start a club.

Edited: Apparently there used to be a homebrew club here a few years ago that met up at the Firehouse in Rapid City. I talked to the founder, and apparently they just kind of dissolved after he had to move away.

I read your post about 12 hours after placing my order, so I wasn't able to change the yeast. I ended up going with AHS' kit, with the White Labs yeast. Since this batch is for my new boss, it's more important that it be close to Fat Tire than for it to be good.

AHS fat tire clone is FANTASTIC, its not 100% similar as everyone has said but your boss won't be dissapointed... I am drinking some right now!!

I've made the AHBS Fat Tyre several times, and decided to throw in a few extra ounces of Biscuit malt, that got it closer, but it's still not exaclty spot on.
It is however my house amber brew now. I find age really helps it.

For anyone who was curious (and I just know that 99% of HBT had this thread added to their favorites, and were just dying to know) I was able to sample this beer tonight for the first time.

It is awesome. I don't have the commercial version available for a side-by-side comparison, at least not until next Monday when New Belgium beers become available here, but that doesn't matter one bit. This is simply an awesome recipe. I used the WLP051 California Ale with a 1 liter starter, and I couldn't have asked for a better beer. Anyone who's been thinking about trying this recipe out, I say go for it!

Forrest: Thank you very much for this kit. It was worth every penny and then some. Cheers to you!

I have it in my primary for week #3. Can't wait to bottle it!!!

I will be brewing the AHS Partial Mash version this coming weekend with my father. Looking forward to it as Fat Tire is one of our favorite beers!!!

I just received the Fat Tire Clone extract kit from AHS. When I plug in the ingredients into BeerSmith, the computed IBUs are 16.5. Does that sound right?

The hop schedule is:
1 oz Northern Brewer - alpha 5.7% - 60 min
2/3 oz Williamette - alpha 4.5% - 15 min
1/3 oz Williamette - alpha 4.5% - 5 min

And the initial boil volume is supposed to be 2.5 gallon.

I was wondering if maybe the alpha's were lower than normal on the hops they use, and that led to a low total IBU. Do you think that 16.5 IB is appropriate? Or should I add to the boil volume to extract more IBUs? For example, an initial boil volume of 3 gallong would bring the IBUs up to 19.4. Or a vol of 3.5 gallon would bring the IBU up to 21.8?

Any suggestions on this?

TIA

I have a FT clone in my secondary right now. I got the recipe from my lhbs and as of 10 day primary, smelled rough. Now, about 4 days in secondary, it smells "ok". Fat Tire is great and I hope I didnt screw this up.

Oh, it was a partial mash. I can post the recipe if you care to view it...

Hi Ya'll - I brewed the PM version of this recipe and let it primary ferment for 4 weeks...per the Revvy discussed method. Hit my OG and FG spot on and looking forward to my 5.3% ABV. The sample was absolutely delicious, and I could already see the similarities with the real deal. Unfortunately, I now have to wait 3 weeks for the carbonation process to occur but I am really looking forward to this clone! If anyone is on the fence, and loves Fat Tire....try this recipe!

Austinhomebrew said:

New Belgium brewery makes Fat Tire ale. Fat Tire is not a Belgian beer. The head brewer says not to use a Belgian yeast. He uses an American yeast. Midwest uses the Belgian yeast in their kit. This will make the beer taste not even close to the original.

This is why I am partial to this kit: http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?products_id=1113

Forrest

Click to expand...

Wish I'd of read this a week ago. Just brewed up a FT clone using White Labs Belgian Ale Yeast. bummer for me!

ButcherBrew said:

Hi Ya'll - I brewed the PM version of this recipe and let it primary ferment for 4 weeks...per the Revvy discussed method. Hit my OG and FG spot on and looking forward to my 5.3% ABV. The sample was absolutely delicious, and I could already see the similarities with the real deal. Unfortunately, I now have to wait 3 weeks for the carbonation process to occur but I am really looking forward to this clone! If anyone is on the fence, and loves Fat Tire....try this recipe!

Click to expand...

Do u have a recipe?