What's the deal with fat tire? It sucks.

[NickTheGreat]

I like Fat Tire. There's better stuff out there, but WAY worse stuff. :shrug:

I'd put New Belgium above Sam Adams, in most cases.

 

[Hello]

I like Fat Tire. It was my gateway to craft beer and I still consider it a pretty solid amber. There are tons of styles that are far more interesting but if I'm out and about, Fat Tire is still a choice sometimes over some good IPAs on tap. I don't snub it, I'll leave that job to others.

 

[ColoHox]

Fat Tire (or Flat Tire as it is now known around here) is fine for a standard amber; well balanced and easy to drink. That beer launched New Belgium, so it has really become synonymous with the explosion of craft beer. As NBB distribution expands, the first the people usually see or buy is Fat Tire. The hype of the beer is the NBB name, not the beer itself. It is, by far, not NBB's best offering, and it should not be treated that way. But, it was their first offering, and is responsible for the success of NBB.

 

[PKLehmer]

I enjoy Fat Tire so I guess I'm in the minority here, but the one that pissed me off was people getting absurdly excited for the introduction of Yuengling here in Ohio. I'll have a Fat Tire or even a BMC long before drinking a Yuengling and most people I know agree, but for some reason people went nuts for it here in Ohio

 

[ericbw]

I enjoy Fat Tire so I guess I'm in the minority here, but the one that pissed me off was people getting absurdly excited for the introduction of Yuengling here in Ohio. I'll have a Fat Tire or even a BMC long before drinking a Yuengling and most people I know agree, but for some reason people went nuts for it here in Ohio

I think people who drank it in Pennsylvania and moved were glad to see it come over the line. That's all it can be.

 

[Airplanedoc]

I think Fat Tire is OK, but around here, for a long time your could not get it east of the Mississippi. If you thought about going to St. Louis, you had better bring back a case for your friends. Sadly Coors was the same way many years before.

 

[Rotgut]

New Belgium isn't high on my list. It's definitely better then BMC's, but I rate it about the same as Sam Adams and Pyramid. All 3 have a few really good beers.. maybe even a couple really great ones (especially some of their collaboration stuff), but for the most part it's all just... ok.

 

[ericbw]

You know what else is nothing special? Anchor Steam.

 

[Temptd2]

I don't get why certain beers are up for such contempt on this board? It's like everything else - you like it, you DON'T like it, but why try to make OTHER people feel somehow inferior if THEY like it?

We all have preferences. If yours doesn't run to Fat Tire, that's great, there are a zillion other choices out there. Personally, I can't stand a lot of the beers that some people on here rave on and on about - but I don't make it a point to come in here and start a thread saying "why the hell would anyone drink this crap?" (or that's the gist anyway!)

I'm glad to have so many choices, and even more glad that KOTC and I brew our own now - it's fun and we love the results. But I'll still drink a Fat Tire or some other "lesser" beer when out and about. [shrug]

 

[Zuljin]

Okay. Time to come clean. All craft beer sucks. It's like that new age music you hear late at night on public radio. It's lousy. No one likes it. They only listen to it so other people will think they're cool.

Go order your micro brew, turn the retro label to the crowd and coyly take a sip, trying not to wince at the seventy-two hundred IBUs and fish tank yeast. But know this, we all know what you're doing because we're doing it too.

 

[PRE66_6TART]

I don't get why certain beers are up for such contempt on this board? It's like everything else - you like it, you DON'T like it, but why try to make OTHER people feel somehow inferior if THEY like it?

We all have preferences. If yours doesn't run to Fat Tire, that's great, there are a zillion other choices out there. Personally, I can't stand a lot of the beers that some people on here rave on and on about - but I don't make it a point to come in here and start a thread saying "why the hell would anyone drink this crap?" (or that's the gist anyway!)

I'm glad to have so many choices, and even more glad that KOTC and I brew our own now - it's fun and we love the results. But I'll still drink a Fat Tire or some other "lesser" beer when out and about. [shrug]

I just read through the whole thread and I didn't see any condescending comments or people really hating on the beer. The general consensus seems to be that it's ok but just not that interesting. I can see how people used to drinking more overtly flavorful beers could have certain expectations because of Fat Tire's enormous popularity, and then be disappointed when it doesn't match those expectations. I mean, I agree with your general sentiment, I just don't really see it happening in this particular thread.

Maybe saying "it sucks" in the title is a bit hyperbolic, but I didn't take that too seriously.

 

[Temptd2]

"It's bland and boring" and "it sucks" - that's pretty self-explanatory, I think, and why I offered MY opinion.

 

[autobaun70]

I just read through the whole thread and I didn't see any condescending comments or people really hating on the beer. The general consensus seems to be that it's ok but just not that interesting. I can see how people used to drinking more overtly flavorful beers could have certain expectations because of Fat Tire's enormous popularity, and then be disappointed when it doesn't match those expectations. I mean, I agree with your general sentiment, I just don't really see it happening in this particular thread.

Maybe saying "it sucks" in the title is a bit hyperbolic, but I didn't take that too seriously.

My sentiments exactly. It does not live up to the hype. Also, anytime you walk into a bar/Resturant, and ask what micro's are on tap, a pimple faced college kid will excitedly start with "we have fat tire and Sam Adams," even if there are 100 other choices available. This is especially aggravating if I ask "what pale ales/IPA's do you have," and they predictably give the same answer. I've just started walking to the bar to see the taps and not even give them the option to embarrass themselves.

 

[geoffey]

This is a forum for discussing homebrew and by extension craft beer and macros. Personally I don't think it is snobby to express an opinion about a beer. Snobby is looking down your nose at others who like something you don't. I see a lot of people complain about snobbery on this site and very little snobbery taking place. I've often wondered what the big deal is about certain popular beers after the first time I've tried them. Doesn't make me a snob, neither does expressing my opinion about it. Now if I were to tell someone else they are an idiot for liking a beer I don't, that's a different thing.


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[Billy-Klubb]

if anyone here likes Fat Tire, you suck. that also goes for any other beer I wouldn't buy. I won't tell you guys which ones those are, I'll just judge you in front of everyone else on the board when you mention them.

 

[Homercidal]

Fat Tire doesn't suck. Not even close.

Maybe it's not an exciting style of beer. It's made pretty well though.

 

[jesse3474]

That the hook with home brewing, beer you thought you liked now sucks


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[solbes]

Out of a keg (and not every keg) it is fantastic IMO. I hit it good about 60% of the time, and not sure why. Freshness maybe? Brewing variation maybe? Keg lines maybe? Seriously though when its good, its good.

Out of a bottle I would agree it is very ordinary. Never had a great one in a bottle.

 

[Grannyknot]

In my opinion, Fat Tire in ~2003 tasted much different, & better than today's version.
They'll tell you they haven't changed the recipe, but something about it is different.

I think its a decent beer, but like someone else said, its an Amber....so you can't expect your socks to be blown off.

 

[Aileen]

In my opinion, Fat Tire in ~2003 tasted much different, & better than today's version.
They'll tell you they haven't changed the recipe, but something about it is different.

I completely agree. Even when I get it from the tap at the brewery it's not nearly as good as it used to be. I used to like it a lot years ago, it seems that when they really expanded their production the recipe changed. I stopped drinking it altogether a few years ago.

 

[solbes]

The last really good draft F.T. I had was over a year ago (I give it a go once or twice a year). Was fresh, nutty, and delicious. Guess I can't speak to pre 2003 as I'm not sure I had had one at that point.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

I find it interesting that after over a decade of presumably drinking craft beer, as everyone's palate has changed and knowing the "reliability" of the human memory, how people can say it was much better in 2003.

Maybe they DIDN'T change it. Maybe YOU changed...

 

[lalnx]

I am one of those who really enjoy this amber, when it is in a good fresh draft, or my personal favorite for this beer (and the one I find to be nearly always identical every box I buy) poured into a glass from a can! (I will be the first to say, Tire from a bottle is a crap shoot that you will lose more than win.)I always pick up a lot of more complex flavors, it has more than just WHAM hops! like so many people think a beer needs anymore. That being said, the hop forward styles are actually what I usually gravitate to myself, but still like the Tire. The biscuit, a little earthy hops, and a hint of chocolate in the finish, especially as it warms some. I have tried nearly a dozen times to clone these subtle flavors, but can't get it all right, where as other, especially hoppy beers can be easier to call "cloned" just because you can hit the most obvious in your face flavor.

Just my 74 cents.........

 

[hunter_le five]

Just my 74 cents.........

Damn.... you're opinion is worth 37 times what mine is.

 

[lalnx]

that's because it takes me 37 times longer to type it than the average person.....:smack:

 

[dcbc]

About 8 years ago, my wife and I were skiing. One morning, we burried two Fat Tire bottles in the snow next to the remote shuttle stop. At the end of the day, we and about 10 other skiers were waiting for the shuttle (usually about 15 minutes between arrivals). We found our beers and sat in a snow bank drinking them. There was nothing bad about them. Like others have said, not exciting as an amber, but balanced beers with a very recognizable flavor, and certainly not swill.

We are, fortunately, all spoiled with selection these days.

 

[therealrsr]

Actually most NBB products have changed significantly. During college in the 90's often someone would road trip to CO from Columbia MO for kegs, and driving across Kansas SUCKS!, I wouldn't go 5 minutes out of the way for it today. Sunshine Wheat was a favorite, now it is filtered for crying out loud. Lips of Faith are mostly flops to me. I personally look to two events causing the downturn. Expansion is one that impacts everything. (ahem Founders, Stone, Lagunitas) But the bigger one was the divorce. He made the recipes, he took the damn bike ride through Belgium, she got the brewery?????? wth

 

[Grannyknot]

I find it interesting that after over a decade of presumably drinking craft beer, as everyone's palate has changed and knowing the "reliability" of the human memory, how people can say it was much better in 2003.

Maybe they DIDN'T change it. Maybe YOU changed...

To be honest, I noticed the change in 2008, when they upped capacity in order to distribute to a few more Eastern US states.

So, no, I didn't order a Fat Tire yesterday and decide it was different than one I had 11 years ago.

 

[b-boy]

Ok --I just picked up some Rampant IIPA. and Fathead Headhunter IPA while I was in Ohio over the weekend. I'm not too enamored with the Rampant either.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

48 points on Ratebeer kind of says it all.

Ironically, New Belgium makes other far less popular but much higher quality brews.

True. I tried their "Hoppybock" a while back & thought it was very tasty, in fact, I think it's the best thing New Belgium makes. Now of course, it's gone & nobody seems to know if they'll even be brewing it anymore.
Regards, GF.