Someone Tell Me About Fat Tire Ale

[RCCOLA]

BYO magazine has a clone for Fat Tire.I haven't brewed it so don't know how it tastes.Here it is if interested. Brew Your Own: The How-To Homebrew Beer Magazine - New Belgium's Fat Tire Clone -

 

[Schnitzengiggle]

BYO magazine has a clone for Fat Tire.I haven't brewed it so don't know how it tastes.Here it is if interested. Brew Your Own: The How-To Homebrew Beer Magazine - New Belgium's Fat Tire Clone -

That looks good, I will have to try it soon.

 

[blackwaterbrewer]

i may be on to something with the saison yeast. i have tried every combo of grains bills and come up short. i think they have some special yeast strain made for them. almost all of their beers have the same yeast character. i just bought some bombers while working on the outer banks of NC (since i cant get it her in VA beach). the 1554 and the mothership wit both have this similar yeast flavor that is unique. i am stoked to have some New Belgium in the fridge as my wife spent a lot of time in colorado snowboarding when she was younger. i was quite popular when i got home.

 

[kornbread]

The Wife and I went to a tasting a couple of weeks ago when New Belgium came to NC.

I didn't particularly care for the Fat Tire.

I hated the Wit.

But the 1554..... Was very good!

 

[CABeerMaker]

When I lived in Denver 15 years ago I was introduced to Fat Tire and loved it. It is probably the main reason I got into homebrewing. I will second all who say a clone is worth trying. +1 on the 2 below

 

[worxman02]

I brewed Midwest clone kit and it taste nothing like fat tire. I thought it tasted horrible at first so i let it sit longer since i didn't like it. It now taste pretty good but nothing like fat tire. I have had people say they liked it and people say they didn't even want to finish it.

I would advise against Belgian yeast when trying to brew a fat tire clone.

Yea, I brewed the same kit from midwest and while it was good. It tasted nothing like fat tire. They dont put any/enough biscuit malt in it for some reason. I was really pissed though when I brewed it cause a couple days after I brewed the special Fat tire yeast strain was released. I wanted to buy it and store it but I was about to go back to college and didnt have the time to properly culture the yeast, etc.

Did anyone who bought the fat tire yeast have any that they stored that I could buy from them?

I want to try my hand at another clone. Fat tire isn't bottle conditioned I assume so I couldn't get my hands on some and culture yeast from it huh?

 

[carnevoodoo]

i may be on to something with the saison yeast. i have tried every combo of grains bills and come up short. i think they have some special yeast strain made for them. almost all of their beers have the same yeast character. i just bought some bombers while working on the outer banks of NC (since i cant get it her in VA beach). the 1554 and the mothership wit both have this similar yeast flavor that is unique. i am stoked to have some New Belgium in the fridge as my wife spent a lot of time in colorado snowboarding when she was younger. i was quite popular when i got home.

Wyeast has released the Fet Tire yeast as a VSS strain in the past, but it baffles me to think there's any Belgian character in Fat Tire at all. Just because they're called "New Belgium" doesn't mean they're using Belgian yeast.

I would go more neutral on the yeast profile on this beer. Yes, they use a house strain, but from everything I read it is similar to cali ale, but it might attenuate a little less, leaving a slightly maltier beer. The flavor in Fat Tire is from the malts (lots of biscuit) and not so much the yeast.

 

[madavis25]

Fat Tire is a completely underwhelming beer. There is nothing offensive about it, but also, nothing makes it stand out from the pack.

Of course, there may not have been much of a "pack" when New Belgium started brewing.

They do make fine brews, just not Fat Tire

I would prefer to clone New Belgium's Abbey, Trippel, 1554, Sunshine Wheat...almost anything to producing a clone of an unremarkable beer.

 

[carnevoodoo]

I would prefer to clone New Belgium's Abbey, Trippel, 1554, Sunshine Wheat...almost anything to producing a clone of an unremarkable beer.

I wish I could clone La Folie.

 

[KatoBaggins]

I'm confused!

The other night I had a Fat Tire at the local watering hole and enjoyed a nice malty ale. Tonight I had a Fat Tire Amber Ale I bought from the local grocery store and it Tastes a lot like the Mothership Wit I had the other day.


What's gives? It Fat Tire Amber Ale a Wit, or have Wit overtones? I'm definitely getting the coriander.

Or does my local bar have the wrong beer hooked up?

 

[enicholson]

Fat Tire & Mothership should be pretty obviously different. Fat Tire is a pretty amber/red hue with nice malty notes and no wheat. Mothership is pale blonde with a citrusy wheat character.

Maybe the taps or bottles got mixed up?

 

[tdavisii]

Im a die hard fan of New belgium brewery. I really like fat tire but think Mothership wit is masterpiece sent from heaven by god himself.....and on top of it all its a employee owned company. How many companies out there give two S#*Ts about there emplyees? A+++ in my book

 

[JoeMama]

+1 to all the +1s for this brew.

I tried my first in Vegas a while back, and found another 6er down the road.
Now this is going to be added to the 'must brew' list. Good beer.
-Me

 

[JeepDiver]

Heading to Ft Collins to visit SWMBO's Dad in a couple of weeks. Will be stopping by the brewery for a tour and free set of samples and some fresh Fat Tire

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

i have tried every combo of grains bills and come up short. i think they have some special yeast strain made for them. almost all of their beers have the same yeast character. i just bought some bombers while working on the outer banks of NC (since i cant get it her in VA beach). the 1554 and the mothership wit both have this similar yeast flavor that is unique.

The 1554 is made with the same lager strain as Blue Paddle...but the 1554 is fermented warmer (like, low ale temps). As for the others, I don't know but Fat Tire doesn't have the Belgian yeast flavors/aroma...never tried Mothership Wit so I don't know if that has any Belgian yeast flavors/aromas.

I have family in Ft. Collins and hope to take a brewery tour during the Christmas holidays.

 

[camiller]

If you decide to brew a clone, I'd stay away from the recipes that feature Belgian yeasts. According to my local beer guru, New Belgium uses fairly traditional American Ale yeasts.

For Fat Tire, New Belgium uses "Fat Tire Ale Yeast". It was released as part of what was then call the Very Special Strains program (now call the Private Collection) from Wyeast Labs during the fourth quarter of 2007. I've made a 5 gallon and a ten gallon from that pack and have 4 vials frozen, currently the only yeast in my "ranch".

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

For Fat Tire, New Belgium uses "Fat Tire Ale Yeast". It was released as part of what was then call the Very Special Strains program (now call the Private Collection) from Wyeast Labs during the fourth quarter of 2007. I've made a 5 gallon and a ten gallon from that pack and have 4 vials frozen, currently the only yeast in my "ranch".

Does it have any esters/phenolics to the degree of many Belgian yeasts or is a clean ale type yeast? Anything else you remember about this yeast from those batches?

 

[camiller]

Does it have any esters/phenolics to the degree of many Belgian yeasts or is a clean ale type yeast? Anything else you remember about this yeast from those batches?

Fairly clean, or at least clean enough that the maltiness overpowers any esters coming from the yeast. I used The Pols Fat Tire clone which has a lot of Munich in the mash bill compared to other clones. It comes off with a lot stronger of a flavor than commercial FT. I've been told that commercial FT had a stronger flavor in the past, but those are anecdotal reports at best.

 

[ColonelForbin]

not a fan of fat tire. way overrated in my opinion, but i do love the 1554,

 

[roverlandpark]

Fat Tire is a good beer. However, I find that the biscuit malt to be just a wee bit over the top. I don't know if I could drink all of a five gallon clone batch. That said, It seems like I always get requests to bring it back when I travel. Why Oklahoma is isolated from their brews is a big question mark.

 

[Scimmia]

Does it have any esters/phenolics to the degree of many Belgian yeasts or is a clean ale type yeast? Anything else you remember about this yeast from those batches?

It's clean, I've got some in the deep freeze, too. Before it was released, the brewers at New Belgium suggested just using a clean ale yeast when trying to clone Fat Tire.