Fat Tire - New Belgium ditches classic recipe

[3 Dawg Night]

I had the new recipe last week. It's...fine. It still has some of that biscuit malt taste but it's toned down and a less interesting beer. I tried it out of curiosity but I bet I'll buy it as often as I did the old recipes these days, which is once every few years. Fat Tire was one of the few craft beers I could find regularly for a long time when I first got into beer where I lived. I've drank a lot of it but don't tend to pick it up anymore.

I wonder if this is just a marketing move to try to get people excited about Fat Tire. According to their market research Fat Tire was still a huge seller before the recipe change. I could see them running this recipe for a year or so and then bringing back the old one like public outcry made them do it. NB tried to break out Fat Tire as a string of beers like Voodoo Ranger with a lot less success. I wonder if this is an attempt to refresh the whole brand concept.

I tried it on Sunday, and this was my take: it's "fine." It's a very non-descript beer now. There's nothing that sets it apart.

I wonder if New Belgium is going to go "New Coke vs. Old Coke" on us in a year or two.

 

[wsmith1625]

Sam Adams Boston Lager also got a recipe change.

https://www.americancraftbeer.com/samuel-adams-beer-remasters-its-iconic-boston-lager/

 

[Pennine]

Sam Adams Boston Lager also got a recipe change.

https://www.americancraftbeer.com/samuel-adams-beer-remasters-its-iconic-boston-lager/

Seems a bit better than what fat tire did.

And according to Boston Beer this beer’s revamp is more about the brewing process rather than a pronounced recipe change. Samuel Adams remastered Boston Lager still uses Founder and Brewer Jim Koch’s great-great grandfather’s mid-19th century original recipe, but they’ve added a process to reduce filtration using a traditional German practice of biological acidification, resulting in a brighter, easier-drinking beer.

The article does bring up a good point, are these beers just a name?

I am going to get a case of SN Pale right now just in case...

 

[ncbrewer]

they’ve added a process to reduce filtration using a traditional German practice of biological acidification, resulting in a brighter, easier-drinking beer.

Does anyone understand what they mean by this?

 

[rmr9]

I’m wondering if they mean sauergut?

 

[DoctorDuvel]

I picked up a half case of Boston Lager, the old version. It's been a long time, and I think I like it more now than I ever have, really lovely brew.
I was unfamiliar with sauergut, but if that's all they're doing differently then I suppose it's an acceptable tweak - the change may not even be perceived by all, but it generates some new buzz for the beer. Clever.

 

[wsmith1625]

I picked up a half case of Boston Lager, the old version. It's been a long time, and I think I like it more now than I ever have, really lovely brew.
I was unfamiliar with sauergut, but if that's all they're doing differently then I suppose it's an acceptable tweak - the change may not even be perceived by all, but it generates some new buzz for the beer. Clever.

I haven't tried the new version yet. I was at a restaurant last week and ordered 2 Sam Adams for my wife and me thinking they with bring us Boston Lager but they brought us Cold Snap. Still a good beer, but not was I was expecting.

 

[wsmith1625]

Okay so I finally did pick up a six pack of remastered Boston Lager and it's very good. It's definitely brighter, cleaner tasting and very close to some of the better German lagers that I enjoy. I don't think this was a marketing gimmick or a way to appeal more to BMC drinkers, but likely a true improvement to an already good beer.

 

[Airborneguy]

I'm finally about to brew my Fat Tire clone. I made some changes to accentuate the nuttiness (hopefully). Here goes round one.

https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/1362780/fat-tire-clone

 

[Airborneguy]

I just recently started working at a bar/grill. I saw the new Fat Tire for the first time last night. It’s a truly sad sight to see. There’s no other way to put it.

 

[DoctorDuvel]

Yeah, it's New Belgium in name only now. I'll never quite understand how people can sell out and allow what they've built to be transformed into something unrecognizable, but maybe i wouldn't be a good business person.
I had the "remastered" Sam Adams recently. That's another loss. For me, they've dulled it and removed the most enjoyable qualities, now it's something I don't care about. They say they didn't alter the recipe, but is a major change in process not altering the recipe? lol sure tastes like it.
And now Sierra Nevada just stopped producing their famous Stout, and Anchor is stopping distribution outside CA plus killing their Christmas Ale.
Well there are plenty of small and local breweries doing great things, so we can't be sad for too long.

 

[Airborneguy]

True, there’s so much available now, plus our own, that the loss is more in the nostalgia than anything else, but still. It sucks.

Fat Tire was my introduction to craft beer, at a monumental time in my life. Lots of memories around that beer. It just hits hard. I couldn’t even bring myself to try it.

 

[MaxStout]

Reminds me of when Miller got their grubby hands on North American distribution for Löwenbräu back in the '70s. Miller imported it from Germany for a while, then started brewing it here and "adapted the recipe" for American tastes.

Like the old engineering trope: If you mess with something long enough, eventually you'll break it.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

A question about the yeast for Fat Tire, as it’s brewed by New Belgium why does it use US yeasts rather than Belgian one?

 

[mac_1103]

...Anchor is stopping distribution outside CA plus killing their Christmas Ale...

Yeah, one of these things is not like the others if you know what I mean. Personally, I don't think I have a right to expect them to lose money just so I can buy a couple of six packs a year.

 

[tracer bullet]

Reminds me of when Miller got their grubby hands on North American distribution for Löwenbräu back in the '70s. Miller imported it from Germany for a while, then started brewing it here and "adapted the recipe" for American tastes.

Like the old engineering trope: If you mess with something long enough, eventually you'll break it.

I remember finding some, maybe the late 80's, on a road trip. Was so excited. It sucked, and the bottles did say they were made in the US. I think that was about the point at which I decided lagers suck" and totally gave up on them for a few decades.

Anchor is stopping distribution outside CA plus killing their Christmas Ale.

Well, hell. I really love Steam. It, and Pete's Wicked Ale, were the 2 beers that got me "into" beer in the late 80's, around the same time as the Lowenbrau fiasco mentioned above.

 

[DoctorDuvel]

Yeah, one of these things is not like the others if you know what I mean. Personally, I don't think I have a right to expect them to lose money just so I can buy a couple of six packs a year.

It's like the others in that it's a big change that people will probably be disappointed about. Steam is one of my all-time favorites and I loved the Christmas beer. Relieved they'll still be in business though...at first i thought they were folding.

 

[mashpaddled]

Yeah, it's New Belgium in name only now. I'll never quite understand how people can sell out and allow what they've built to be transformed into something unrecognizable, but maybe i wouldn't be a good business person.
I had the "remastered" Sam Adams recently. That's another loss. For me, they've dulled it and removed the most enjoyable qualities, now it's something I don't care about. They say they didn't alter the recipe, but is a major change in process not altering the recipe? lol sure tastes like it.
And now Sierra Nevada just stopped producing their famous Stout, and Anchor is stopping distribution outside CA plus killing their Christmas Ale.
Well there are plenty of small and local breweries doing great things, so we can't be sad for too long.

The two bolded statements have a lot to do with each other. The larger, legacy craft brewers are under attack from a lot of directions and smaller local brewers are one of the biggest collective assailants. They can brew beers that larger breweries just can't get into national distribution as easily. There has also been a long shift towards locavore that favors the local taproom.

Those legacy brewers fought mostly successfully in the mid to late 2010s to dominate shelf space and tap handles, but beer and especially craft beer is on the decline. A larger share of beer sales are from taproom sales--especially for local breweries--which is hurting those national distributors.

Additionally the core audience for those breweries are largely older craft beer drinkers who are falling back to cheaper mass produced beers and lighter beers in general. So those brewers, like New Belgium, Boston Beer, Sierra Nevada are trying to maintain a relationship with their core audience who might be crushing a couple lighter beers after mowing the yard instead of day drinking IPAs all afternoon. By making Fat Tire "new" they can lure that audience to buy a six pack instead of more Modelo and try to hold on to their former audience.

Also, just looking across the board, craft beer has either gone super sweet and boozy or lighter. Pilsners are huge sellers, west coast IPAs are coming back, etc. Just not a huge audience anymore for the ambers, spiced christmas beers, low abv stouts, brown ales, etc.

 

[3 Dawg Night]

A question about the yeast for Fat Tire, as it’s brewed by New Belgium why does it use US yeasts rather than Belgian one?

New Belgium is a US brewery, not Belgian.

 

[hout17]

New Belgium is a US brewery, not Belgian.

Yup and owned by lion who's an Australian subsidiary of Kirin out of Japan.

 

[Cheshire Cat]

New Belgium is a US brewery, not Belgian.

Really, but that doesn’t answer the question. I guess originally they wanted to brew Belgian beers not another AAA.

 

[3 Dawg Night]

Really, but that doesn’t answer the question. I guess originally they wanted to brew Belgian beers not another AAA.

But they found a larger market for their amber. The market probably wouldn't have been there for a Belgian amber ale.

 

[redrocker652002]

True, there’s so much available now, plus our own, that the loss is more in the nostalgia than anything else, but still. It sucks.

Fat Tire was my introduction to craft beer, at a monumental time in my life. Lots of memories around that beer. It just hits hard. I couldn’t even bring myself to try it.

I completely agree with the statement about there being other stuff available. Just in my area, within a 20 minute drive there are 3 breweries that have really nice patio areas with a full array of beers. I have found a few of the bigger ones I like, Racer 7 (new to me, hazy IPA, and a Sierra Nevada hazy as well), between those, the locals and my own, I am not really missing much. When and if I move to Oregon, there is Wild Ride brewing that makes a really nice Pale and Cascade Lakes that has a great Pils and a really good IPA. I don't see myself really missing out. LOL. Rock On!!!!!!!

 

[DoctorDuvel]

The two bolded statements have a lot to do with each other.

All good points. However, New Belgium has "adapted" by becoming a different brewery with a different lineup lol, I'm not sure if that's a good way to hang on to their old audience, but maybe they don't care to - but I guess new ownership will do that sometimes. And I wonder if the trends (hazies, milk shake beers, etc) that force these changes become somewhat of a feedback loop where the rush to jump on the trend becomes bigger than the demand. Just thinking out loud at this point. But I know that there are many local breweries who offer a wide lineup and have something for everyone, and even specialize in styles that bigger breweries won't touch much (like traditional English styles), i think you referenced some of these points. So yeah, we're just kind of being nostalgic when really the craft beer scene still looks pretty good, especially locally - which i think is a very good trend.

 

[wsmith1625]

Sad news, Anchor Brewery is closing.

https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/anchor-brewing-company-to-cease-operations-in-san-francisco/

 

[redrocker652002]

Sad news, Anchor Brewery is closing.

https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/anchor-brewing-company-to-cease-operations-in-san-francisco/

Not surprising though. I was always curious at how much Anchor sold in the day of super hoppy IPA's and the new kids in town. Too bad another big company did not want them though. I enjoyed a bottle or two of their beer every so often. Another San Francisco business bites the dust.

 

[mac_1103]

Too bad another big company did not want them though.

They were bought by a big company in 2017, when they were already losing money. Can't be too much of a surprise that no one wanted to repeat Sapporo's mistake.

Also, this has it's own thread if you're interested.

 

[redrocker652002]

They were bought by a big company in 2017, when they were already losing money. Can't be too much of a surprise that no one wanted to repeat Sapporo's mistake.

Also, this has it's own thread if you're interested.

Sorry, I did not know about the other thread. Nope, I am good. Rock On!!!!!!!!