Fat Tire And Friends Fat Hoppy Ale
New Belgium Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

 

"Enjoy by 10/16/16"; drank 8/11/16 @ the Yarchives.

See-through orange appearance.

A rough pour yielded a huge eggshell head; a curtain of frothy lace.

Melon, pine & fresh cut grass notes in the nose.

Medium thin mouthfeel.

Melon & pine flavors up front; dry grass notes on the finish.

The dry grass & pine combination was harsh; the melon was welcome but not enough.

Admittedly, this is an old sample from a 12 pack made in 2016, so I won't go into a detailed review. Despite that, there still is a tasty beer. It's definitely more hoppy and fruity in flavor than normal fat tire with a pleasing piney bitterness. Hazy light amber, nice head, good carbonation and lace. I would not be able to tell you that this is related to fat tire at all in a blind tasting. Good stuff.

12 oz. bottle poured into a willibecher.

A- Golden amber in color, with fantastic clarity. Head is off white and a little weak, but leaves great lacing.

S- Tropical, citrus, really juicy. Biscuit malt lingers very mildly in the background.

T- Both sweet and sharp citrus notes. Orange and grapefruit. Some pine. Again, light biscuit backbone.

M- Body light is light. Finishes pretty clean but with a mild bittersweetness.

O- Nice combo of citrus character. Pretty easy drinker.

Poured from 12-ounce bottle into a glass goblet. Sample was outdated, but still a very good beer. Nice burst of orange upon opening. The aroma is malty, with background notes of orange and orange zest. Nicely balanced, with a pleasant citrus character alongside the malt backbone. Not too sweet, with some nice bitterness and a very dry finish. Well done!

 

 

 

 

 

My New Belgium horizontal that I am conducting as part of the eradication of the Bottle Backlog here at Chez Woody is beginning to wind down. I was at the FGBS on Thursday evening for a New Belgium Etch-a-Glass Night & my sometimes trivia partner, Sister Disco, won a bicycle! I began this home stretch with a revisitation of good ol' Fat Tire Amber Ale to kind of set a baseline as this series is predicated on that beer. The remaining five (5), including this penultimate one, are all variations on that theme in collaboration with other breweries, in this case, Firestone Walker Brewing Company.

From the bottle: "A hugely hopified Fat Tire thanks to our California friends. Inspired by brawny West Coast IPAs, they created an assertive hop presence with the likes of Mosaic, Citra and Mandarina Bavaria. The result? A pumped-up hoppy amber version of Fat Tire with an amplified American hop aroma and flavor. Time for you to hop on this Fat, too."

I am SO happy with my etched NB glass! It reads "Bro. Woody drinks New Belgium beer!" & I am getting it seasoned nicely since its creation last night. I Pop!ped the cap & despite it being a fresh bottle, I have begun to embrace a gentle pour followed by an in-glass swirl. Three fingers of dense, rocky, light-tan head later & I was on my way! I watched as it slowly fell away, leaving great, sticky lacing in its wake. Color was Deep Amber/Light Copper to Copper (SRM = > 13,< 17) with NE-quality clarity. The nose was, at last, JUST what my hophead craved. Man, the orange-tangerine notes wailed & the pine dug the groovy scene from the wings while the grapefruit was in the balcony with my ex-Old Lady. What a scene, what a scene! Mouthfeel was medium-to-full, not quite creamy, but definitely big for the style. Dig, man, the hops hit my tongue like the US troops on the Normandy beachhead, wiping out all of the old, weak tastebuds in their path & taking no prisoners. Baby, there was this rockin' citrusiness, ranging from sweet orange & tangerine to grapefruit with a sniper hanging out in a pine tree! A pine tree on the beach? Hey, man, this is my wild fantasy, dig? Don't bring me down with your negativity, man. Wanna fly? I got another of those special Dots gumdrop candies that I scored. Man, they definitely melt in your mind, not in your hand or mouth! Man, this was one rockin' trip of flavors, baby. I could drink this all day and into the night. I don't really get turned on by Fat Tire like I used to, but this really revved my engine. Finish was dry, hoppy & just the fix that my jonesing hophead self really needed & craved. I just kind of sat back & took a deep breath, allowing the cool breeze to waft through my sinuses & into my mind. Wow! Dig the sensation.

12 oz. Bottle

Pours a pretty nice amber color, pretty nice carbonation, with a pretty nice thick/creamy/foamy white head, which leaves some sticky lacing behind. The nose is hoppy, malty, citrus. The taste is hoppy, malty, citrusy. Medium body. Overall, a pretty tasty brew.