How good is Fat Tire?

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I like Sierra Nevada pale ale, Rogue Dead Guy and Mocha Porter, Belgian Wits and Bavarian Hefes. Dazed and Infused was a little heavy on the hops for me. It was good but not a session beer for me. There havnt been many beers I dont like but I dont have a wide variety to choose from either.
 
You should be ok. I'm not a huge fat tire fan, but I am a total snob. It is a good beer for your tastes though, and I assume the clone will actually taste better than the original.
 
Well the reviews of this recipe kit on AHS website the people said it tastes like Fat Tire 7 years ago.. Im guessing the brewery got bigger and their product lost some of its fantasticalness. And yeah since its homebrew it probably will be better.
 
Well the reviews of this recipe kit on AHS website the people said it tastes like Fat Tire 7 years ago.. Im guessing the brewery got bigger and their product lost some of its fantasticalness. And yeah since its homebrew it probably will be better.

It'll be diifferent, at least. New Belgium is a fantastic brewery, but Fat Tire is the beer that shouldn't have gotten popular and somehow did. But you either like it or you don't.
 
It'll be diifferent, at least. New Belgium is a fantastic brewery, but Fat Tire is the beer that shouldn't have gotten popular and somehow did. But you either like it or you don't.


I agree.The same can be said about New Glarus Brewing. They have so many awesome beers out there, yet Spotted Cow, their worst brew, is all you'll find in the taverns.

Fat Tire is just OK. Believe it or not, I actually like Budweiser American Ale better than Fat Tire.
 
I've had Fat Tire both in bottle and tap. Tap was better. IMO it's a good beer. Not too hoppy or strong in flavor but seemed balanced. I'm sure the HB will be better.
 
It's a pretty tasty beer, and I used to love it. I still drink it from time to time, but my palate has changed since I started drinking beer, and now I find the special roast flavor overwhelms the rest of the beer.
 
I am a fan of maltier (?) beers myself now. I'm just giving this one a try because why not. Everytime I have a new brew rdy the guys from work are going to come over and cook out, so I thought what the hell, I'll get plenty of chances to try new brews. Plus I cant say what my favorite is until I have tried them all!!
 
It'll be diifferent, at least. New Belgium is a fantastic brewery, but Fat Tire is the beer that shouldn't have gotten popular and somehow did. But you either like it or you don't.
Yeah, I'd agree. I really wanted to like Fat Tire as I have friends who raved about it, but it didn't do anything for me. There are great craft beers out there, but I couldn't see anything special about this. Though NB is still a great brewery.
 
Not an outstanding beer, but a good standby, I prefer the same company's 1554, Odell's 90 Schilling, and Newcastle to it. It sure beats any of the BMC.
 
I don't get to have it out her on the Eastern seaboard, so when I got to this last July in Portland, OR I was disappointed. Maybe it was because it was in bottles in OR, and not on tap in CO, but I thought it was crap, and really preferred Brooklyn Brown Ale on tap out here in NC for a similar brew. The remainder of my beer requests while in OR were for Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale while I was up in the PNW.
 
Fat Tire would be a decent beer if it had some Belgian yeast character. It's supposed to be a Belgian Pale Ale but it's more like a roasty amber instead. Me no likey.

I have heard the Austin Homebrew kit is good. I'd ask them to sub the WY3522 / WLP550 on it myself. I love that yeast. They use the WLP001 because they are trying to clone the beer exactly.
 
It's supposed to be a Belgian Pale Ale but it's more like a roasty amber instead.

The bottle of fat tire in my fridge says "amber ale"?

They just started carrying it here so I bought a sixer and have had it on tap once or twice. I agree it's good, not great. Also, it is better out of the tap than in the bottle.

My roommate had the 1554 and said it was pretty good, but one of his favorite bears is leinys honey weiss. Still, I think I'll pick that up next time and see for myself.
 
I find it's kind of blah. Reminds me of a standard Scottish 70/-. Doesn't smell great in the glass either. I'd choose it over Sierra Nevada but that's about it.
 
I live in CO, and never drink it myself....just have had too many skunked FT from bottles and kegs.

1554 is damn tasty though, as are their belgian trippel, abbey, and many of their seasonal beers.
 
Had a draught in Colorado airport. Couldn't be much fresher but, I wasn't impressed. It was good but, didn't hold up to the hype.

Meh.
 
I live about a mile from the New Belgium Brewery right here in fort collins, colorado. I agree that the beer is better on tap right at the brewery than the bottles, and they push the heck out of Fat tire here....I think O'dells brewery in fort collins has better beer and I also hit the Budweiser brewery tasting room quite often...i agree that the American Ale is much better too!
 
First of all, Fat Tire is the same color as Sierra Nevada Pale- id call it an american pale thats low in hop character

the thing i like about it is the chocolately nose, and the warm, biscuity flavor- definitely have to get it on tap to make it worth the money, though- here its about two bucks more for twelve than sierra nevada pale
 
Well, it's the toasty finish that sells it. If someone can tell me a beer with a similar finish that is better, I'd love to try and compare. Seems to me it is paling in comparison to beers not at all in its same general type from the comments of the folks that do not like it.
 
It's over-rated and has really dropped in popularity. I don't know anyone that buys it anymore.
 
I had it out of a battle and didn't think it was anything special.
 
Room mate brought a bottle back from her trip to CA as it seems to be hard to find around here. I don't think it lived up to the hype at all. It was alright, but really I didn't think it was anything special.
 
I use to be a big fan of Fat Tire before I really got into craft and that is how I see it now. It is a gateway beer, you can usually convince a BMC drinker into one and they may like it, it is a easy drinking beer and I do love that you can get it in cans. I took a 12 pack to the beach last summer and it was great.
 
My wife and I were talking about why this brew got so popular. She hit it on the head: it's an easy step up for BMC drinkers. If you give a bud drinker a true Belgian, or IIPA etc they won't be able to handle it. Most appreciate the step up to craft beer if eased in. Fat tire is the Yuengling of the west.
 
It is a gateway beer, you can usually convince a BMC drinker into one and they may like it, it is a easy drinking beer and I do love that you can get it in cans. .

I don't think its easy drinking at all. I think the stuff is vomit inducing. It is, IMO, really quite terrible (and I'm generally very forgiving of beer).


I'd much rather give a newb a standard APA or IPA.
 
I don't think its easy drinking at all. I think the stuff is vomit inducing. It is, IMO, really quite terrible (and I'm generally very forgiving of beer).


I'd much rather give a newb a standard APA or IPA.

everyone is entitled to their own opinion, some are just worst than others :)
 
everyone is entitled to their own opinion, some are just worst than others :)

There's just something really funky about New Belgium that literally makes me gag. I don't know if its their yeast, or what, but I can't drink fat tire at all.

I'm not the only one on here who feels like this, there's a whole thread about it.
 
This is beginning to sound sort of silly to me.

What other beer has a similar finish and yet tastes better in other ways? Someone up in this thread suggested Bud American Ale, and being a sap for the idea of hidden treasure buried in plain sight, I tried it. It's plain as a daisy. Now I like daisies, but it's no Fat Tire.

I'm pretty out front about not being knowledgeable, but if you can't suggest anything similar, then it sounds to me like it is a very unique and interesting beer that, for some reason, a lot of people seem to feel builds their cred to slam.

The idea of anyone gagging on it is just sort of laughable. Whatever.
 
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