NB Phat Tyre Extract w/ New Belgium Yeast

[chase]

Yeah. I think it will be good. When I sampled my gravity reading, it only had a very slight biscuity flavor. Otherwise it tasted like a good-ole wholesome amber ale.

 

[Chello]

Yeah, mine is lacking in the biscuit flavor. Its not noticeable at all.

 

[worxman02]

I hope mine has that biscuit flavor in it. Thats what makes it a Fat Tire. Shouldn't the biscuit flavor be down to the specialty grains and not the yeast? I could be wrong on that however, otherwise what would be so special about the Fat Tire yeast?

 

[jvh261]

Yooper's recipe called for 3 oz. Biscuit malt.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=27648

The info at northern brewer doesn't show any. I'd think that'd account for the lack of a biscuit flavor.

 

[Chello]

AHBS kit came with 3oz biscuit in the grain bill. Next time i brew it (soon) i'm going to use a different recipe

 

[jelsas]

I just got this kit from NB for christmas (thanks sister-in-law!) and the hops included are Hallertau + Liberty instead of Summit listed in the NB inventory online or Fuggles + Willamette listed in some of the clones I've seen online. Is this the hop shortage taking its toll? any idea how far off the mark the the Hallertau kit will be?

 

[Scotty_g]

We looked at the NB Phat Tyre extract kit but because it seemed to be missing some of the malts (particularly the aforementioned biscuit), we passed on it. I found two other recipes for Fat Tire, one in BYO and one in Beer Captured (?), and those were similar enough that we chose one of them. I forget the exact malt loadout, but it did use biscuit.

We got the Fat Tire yeast from NB, though, and it fermented really clear and made a nice thick cake. The final product is carbonating right now, and I have a 12-er of actual Fat Tire imported from Texas to compare it with. There will be a wonderful Friday night coming up...

 

[chase]

jelsas, I would recommend running those hops through BeerSmith and determine if the IBUs workout for the style. My kit used the Summit hops, and with the amount they provided (0.5oz I think) the IBUs come out really low. Just something to consider.

And yes, I would imagine that the hop shortage could be to blame. NB did just announce though, that they are starting to get in the 2007 hop crop, and it will be available soon.

 

[Scotty_g]

I just checked my paperwork after returning from a couch-moving party. We did use the recipe from the Szamatulski's Beer Captured (a fine tome) with the Wyeast Fat Tire smack pack.

It calls for 8 oz crystal 80, 6 oz Munich, 4 oz Victory, and 3 oz Biscuit; 1/3 oz Yakima Magnum, 1/2 Hallertau Hersbrucker (we subbed in a mix of Hallertauer and Hersbrucker), and 1/4 Willamette. In comparison, the NB kit uses 8 oz crystal 60 and 8 oz of Victory; 1/2 oz of Summit.

I knew the flavor profile for the real Fat Tire was more complex, so we used the book's recipe. The dregs from the primary were nondescript, sludgy, and really green...but I look forward to the final results.

To hear that the Fat Tire yeast is now history makes me sad, but also glad we saved 2/3 of the starter. It took off nicely, seemed to ferment pretty quickly, and like I said left a really clear beer--now if the beer tastes good, we'll have to find something else to use the yeast in.

 

[jvh261]

I think I'm going to wash the yeast once I get it out of primary (Its still fermenting!) and save it and try to come up with some kind of brown ale to use it in.

 

[98EXL]

I've built my FT yeast starter up nicely....don't have time to brew this week though

 

[jvh261]

I racked my FT clone last night after letting it ride out in primary for about 2 weeks. It was a really long fermentation, likely because my temp was probably more like 65 degrees instead of 68 throughout most of the fermentation time. It was already loooking pretty clear. Looked and smelled great. Going to let it sit in secondary another two weeks and then bottle.

I washed the yeast and have a quart jar in the fridge right now. I didn't have any pint jars (otherwise I followed the directions in Bernie Brewer's excellent thread). First time washing yeast so hopefully it works out. I'm planning a brown ale to brew sometime next month, maybe throw in a little biscuit malt, and hopefully can use the Fat Tire yeast.

 

[Jonnio]

Does anyone know if any stores still have some of the fat tire yeast for sale? I just did a clone using california ale yeast, so I would kinda like to do another with the right stuff.

 

[Jesse17]

Does anyone know if any stores still have some of the fat tire yeast for sale? I just did a clone using california ale yeast, so I would kinda like to do another with the right stuff.

Just checked with http://www.austinhomebrew.com and they don't offer it anymore.

Damn New Belgium for filtering!

 

[chase]

Does anyone know if any stores still have some of the fat tire yeast for sale? I just did a clone using california ale yeast, so I would kinda like to do another with the right stuff.

NorthernBrewer does!

 

[GloHoppa]

where can i get this fat tire beer in the northeast?!

 

[skybrew]

where can i get this fat tire beer in the northeast?!

Sorry the furthest east they go right now is Chicago.

 

[Jonnio]

NorthernBrewer does!

Awesome - Thanks for the tipoff. I ordered some today, I am thinking about just making a big starter to harvest this and either freeze or refrigerate it.

 

[chase]

Sorry the furthest east they go right now is Chicago.

They do distribute in Chicago, but that is the only place in Illinois. I live about 3 hours south of Chicago, and it is nowhere in site. I think New Belgium convinced their distributor to at least sell it in Chicago. F'ing distributors.

 

[Scimmia]

They do distribute in Chicago, but that is the only place in Illinois. I live about 3 hours south of Chicago, and it is nowhere in site. I think New Belgium convinced their distributor to at least sell it in Chicago. F'ing distributors.

haha, it's all over here in Iowa, and you're probably closer to Iowa than to Chicago!

 

[chase]

haha, it's all over here in Iowa, and you're probably closer to Iowa than to Chicago!

Well I may end up at the University of Iowa for grad school, so...

I guess it won't be a problem then.

 

[jvh261]

They do distribute in Chicago, but that is the only place in Illinois. I live about 3 hours south of Chicago, and it is nowhere in site. I think New Belgium convinced their distributor to at least sell it in Chicago. F'ing distributors.

Its all over northern Illinois for the most part. They have it in most of the big chain grocery stores in Rockford.

 

[chase]

Its all over northern Illinois for the most part. They have it in most of the big chain grocery stores in Rockford.

WTF??? That's ridiculous. Why can't they sell it down here?

 

[98EXL]

I miss Fat Tire out of the keg.....I need to go back to the brewery...as I sit here in my New Belgium hoodie

 

[amishland]

so should I consider adding 3oz of biscuit malt to my steeping grains in my NB PT kit?

 

[Chello]

so should I consider adding 3oz of biscuit malt to my steeping grains in my NB PT kit?

mine had 3 oz in it, and i did not notice any biscuit taste. I'll probably go up to 6 - 8 oz next time i brew it.

 

[cowgo]

I would go 1/2 pound on the biscuit. For the brewer whose kit contained Liberty, that would be a great substitute for Willamette. In fact, New Belgium uses it quite heavily in their 2 Below seasonal brew which is, basically to my tastes, a Fat Tire base with additional toasted barley and Liberty hops for aromatic and dry hopping. Liberty is a very very nice aromatic hop.

I'm still trying to get the perfect Fat Tire Clone with AG. Many brewers here have a weird snobbishness against Fat Tire, but that biscuit aroma you get when you have the pint glass tilted just so and you exhale across the brew, causing a little ripple, that aroma just before taking a drink...heaven, and then the taste of what you just smelled. Man. I can down a 6 pack of this in short order. I have to explain to SWMBO, I don't have a drinking problem, I just love the taste of this beer. I'd drink just as much, if not more, it if it was non alcoholic.

 

[DRAGGER]

I have just popped the top on my second one tonite while checking on the 3 tiral of cloning this brew...... I agree with you on the biscuit..... However I think this time I might be close as I had 3 hop additions in this batch.... I will let you know how it turned out.....

Willamette .75oz 60 minutes
Fuggles .75oz 20 minutes
Fuggles .33oz 5 minutes


DRAGGER.....

 

[amishland]

This is all that came with my kit, what should I change to best clone my fat tire?
Sounds like 1/2# of biscuit malt would be a start


Kit Inventory

Specialty Grains


* 0.50 lbs. Victory Malt
* 0.50 lbs. Briess Caramel 60

Fermentables


* 6 lbs. Amber Malt Syrup
* 1 lb. Pilsen DME

Boil Additions


* 0.5 oz. Summit (60 min)

Yeast


* Wyeast #1792 Fat Tire Ale Yeast. This eagerly-anticipated Wyeast VSS release is the proprietary strain used by New Belgium Brewery in their cult favorite Fat Tire Amber Ale. Flocculation: low. Apparent attenuation: 73-77%. Optimum temperature: 65-72.

 

[jvh261]

Which kit is that? Only .5 oz of hops fro the length of the boil ? Its not a hoppy brew, but that seems way low. IBUs will be next to nothing. Take a look at a few of the other clone recipes floating around. The IBUs should be in the 20 -30 range.

Yes, at least 3 oz. of biscuit malt is recommended. I don't see how these clone kits could not include the biscuit malt. Pretty much one of the defining characteristics of fat tire if for the aroma alone. Though maybe the fat tire yeast makes up for it. I've yet to taste mine. I'm planning on bottling it this weekend.