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

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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.
 
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.
 
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.


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
 
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.
 
That the hook with home brewing, beer you thought you liked now sucks


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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...
 
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.........
 
that's because it takes me 37 times longer to type it than the average person.....:smack:
 
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.
 
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.:mad: 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
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
Exactly. I lived in Ft. Collins when the production was smaller, and I've lived within an hour of the brewery ever since. The change was very obvious to me and many of my friends who still live in Ft. Collins, it really seems the recipe changed at that time.
 
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