fat tire taste-alikes?

[nosnhojr]

Lately, I've had several commercial beers that remind me quite a lot of Fat Tire. Has anyone else noticed this? Is it my imagination?

I remember being blown away by Fat Tire ~5 years ago, when I first had a pint of it on 6th Street in Austin. About a year ago, I moved to NC from CA, and I haven't had any Fat Tire since. Maybe I've forgotten what it tastes like. But tonight, I'm drinking a Left Hand "Sawtooth Ale", and it reminds me (at least) of my memory of Fat Tire.

How about it? What brews are similar to Fat Tire?

 

[alemonkey]

Well, my impression of Fat Tire has always been that it's a decent but unremarkable amber ale. That's a pretty common type of beer, so IMO there are a lot of beers that taste like it.

 

[Wolf]

Well, my impression of Fat Tire has always been that it's a decent but unremarkable amber ale. That's a pretty common type of beer, so IMO there are a lot of beers that taste like it.

I got my hands on one a few months ago after hearing so much about it and had the same reaction; I thought it was good, but nothing special...

 

[nosnhojr]

I ended up thinking the same thing once we had it on tap in California. Whereas I really loved Fat Tire the first time I had it while travelling, once it was easily available, I usually would stick with SNPA, or some other hoppy beer.

Lately I've been on an IPA kick, but since starting to homebrew, I'm drinking my own IPA and buying a wider variety of beers. Two this week reminded me of my initial reaction to Fat Tire: Highland's Gaelic Ale and Left Hand's Sawtooth.

I guess my initial post wasn't so much about Fat Tire, but wondering whether the micro/craft brewers are reacting to the success of FT by brewing more ales in this style.

 

[cweston]

I guess my initial post wasn't so much about Fat Tire, but wondering whether the micro/craft brewers are reacting to the success of FT by brewing more ales in this style.

I'm sure that that's true. Fat Tire has been tremendously successful by micro/craft standards, so of course it's going to get imitated.

Also, before FT, it was mostly very hoppy beers that made a splash in the micro/craft market. Since hops are probably the most expensive brewing ingrediant, I'm sure brewers are keen to market beers like FT that use primarily a distinctive grainbill as their signature.

 

[mbreen01]

My first brew was a Fat Tire clone from my LHBS and it was good, but didn't really taste at all like Fat Tire. Since Chicago recently started carrying Fat Tire I thought I'd revisit the brew and found that my version had nowhere near the malty flavor. The clone tasted like your run of the mill amber. Any suggestions on a good recipe for a nice amber with good malt character and subtle hops? (extract or partial grain preferred). Thanks.

Marc.

 

[Cheesefood]

My opinion of FT is that it's very bland, with some malty aftertastes but almost no hop profile. In otherwards, it fits perfectly for BMC drinkers who want to feel elite. It comes in a pretty bottle and has an amber color, so BMC drinkers feel elevated in status over their BMC swilling buddies, but there's not a huge difference in taste. Were it maltier, the BMC tongue would find it too heavy. Were it too hoppy, Mr. BMC would say "Keystone 'Bitter Beer Face' is true."

In order to achieve commercial success, you have to give people the impression that they're trying something exotic, but make sure it's safe enough to not offend.

To prove my point: Has anyone ever had "Fire Death" wings or a "Flaming Hot" sandwich from a macrogrill (McD's, Wendy's, BK, Pizza Hut, Domino's, Etc) that has ever been hot? Why do you think that jalapeno's at Taco Bell taste like pickles, while jalapeno's at "El Taqueria Al Pastor de la Madre de Guadalupe" would make Satan sweat?

We make our food and drinks for our tongues. I'm one of the few people in the world who isn't afraid to try the super-duper hot wings from a REAL hot food place, so my tastes are different from the old jewish man I know who thinks minestrone soup is too spicy.

So, back to beer. If you want to make something that everyone will like, make it taste like nothing. Let them taste with their imagination, not with their tongue. BMC is living proof. 100% non-offensive, no risk flavor. Matza-ball soup of beer.