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Fat Tire (1991-2022)
New Belgium Brewing Company
- From:
- New Belgium Brewing Company
- Colorado, United States
- Style:
- American Amber / Red Ale
- ABV:
- 5.2%
- Score:
- 82
- Avg:
- 3.6 | pDev: 14.72%
- Reviews:
- 2,195
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Feb 19, 2024
- Added:
- Oct 07, 2000
- Wants:
- 281
- Gots:
- 2,956
Fat Tire Amber is the easy-drinking Amber Ale born in Colorado from New Belgium Brewing Company, a certified B-Corp.
See: Fat Tire Ale for the relaunched/reformulated version.
See: Fat Tire Ale for the relaunched/reformulated version.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by thehyperduck:
Reviewed by thehyperduck from Canada (ON)
3.79/5 rDev +5.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
3.79/5 rDev +5.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
355 mL bottle served well-chilled; best before May 25. One of several American classics that I picked up on my last cross-border trip.
Pours a clear, golden-amber colour, generating nearly two fingers' worth of fluffy, off-white head at the surface. It maintains cohesion for quite a long while, slowly condensing into a dense, creamy cap thickest around the edge of the glass. Great lacing, too - just an attractive-looking beer all-around. The aroma is fairly subdued, consisting of some bready malts, toasted nuts, caramel and some earthier notes.
A tasty, straightforward amber ale. Caramel, crystal malt and grainy sweetness grab my attention first, with toasted biscuit and nuts soon taking over. It finishes with the hops, which provide an earthy, slightly spicy conclusion to the sip. The aftertaste is a little nutty and bitter, perhaps reminiscent of almond, though not lingering on the palate terribly long. On the lighter side of medium-bodied, with moderate carbonation that lightly prickles the palate. Easy to drink, and enjoyable to do so - it's rare for me to polish off the glass before the review, but here we are.
[Updated July 13 2019]
Tallboy from The Beer Store; dated Jun 7 2019 and served slightly chilled. Now available in Canada - or Ontario, at least - I don't think I've had this since 2014, and my opinion hasn't changed much, if at all. Fat Tire is one of the best examples of a basic, malt-forward amber ale I've ever tried. Not the most unique example of the style, but this particular brew has a lot of history behind it and is a damn fine beverage regardless. Märzen fans might find this to be an agreeable year-round alternative, but anyone seeking out a reliable, lighter ale that keeps the hop bill in check should give this bike a test run.
Final Grade: 3.79, a B+
Apr 23, 2014Pours a clear, golden-amber colour, generating nearly two fingers' worth of fluffy, off-white head at the surface. It maintains cohesion for quite a long while, slowly condensing into a dense, creamy cap thickest around the edge of the glass. Great lacing, too - just an attractive-looking beer all-around. The aroma is fairly subdued, consisting of some bready malts, toasted nuts, caramel and some earthier notes.
A tasty, straightforward amber ale. Caramel, crystal malt and grainy sweetness grab my attention first, with toasted biscuit and nuts soon taking over. It finishes with the hops, which provide an earthy, slightly spicy conclusion to the sip. The aftertaste is a little nutty and bitter, perhaps reminiscent of almond, though not lingering on the palate terribly long. On the lighter side of medium-bodied, with moderate carbonation that lightly prickles the palate. Easy to drink, and enjoyable to do so - it's rare for me to polish off the glass before the review, but here we are.
[Updated July 13 2019]
Tallboy from The Beer Store; dated Jun 7 2019 and served slightly chilled. Now available in Canada - or Ontario, at least - I don't think I've had this since 2014, and my opinion hasn't changed much, if at all. Fat Tire is one of the best examples of a basic, malt-forward amber ale I've ever tried. Not the most unique example of the style, but this particular brew has a lot of history behind it and is a damn fine beverage regardless. Märzen fans might find this to be an agreeable year-round alternative, but anyone seeking out a reliable, lighter ale that keeps the hop bill in check should give this bike a test run.
Final Grade: 3.79, a B+
More User Ratings:
Rated by EdwardGallegos from North Carolina
4.84/5 rDev +34.4%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 5
4.84/5 rDev +34.4%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 5
Used to be the gold standard Amber Ale. Now it’s just garbage. Sad, RIP old homie.
Jun 26, 2023Reviewed by Hmmmmm from Florida
4.59/5 rDev +27.5%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 5
4.59/5 rDev +27.5%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 5
Harkens back to a time in America when beer was just tipping off into the GLOBO-SPHERE. Microbrews were new. Imports were great, but this was OUR version.
May 29, 2023Rated by Reedtimothy
4.6/5 rDev +27.8%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
4.6/5 rDev +27.8%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
A classic. RIP
May 28, 2023Reviewed by burnstar from Pennsylvania
3.58/5 rDev -0.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.5
3.58/5 rDev -0.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.5
Pours a nice clear amber with a good sized persistent head. Nice caramel malt smell. Taste is rather watery. Toasted malt again. Pleasant. Very drinkable. A good session-able summer beer.
Apr 30, 2023Reviewed by UWDAWG from Washington
3.55/5 rDev -1.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
3.55/5 rDev -1.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Poured from a 12 ounce bottle marked enjoy by 4/30/23 into a tulip glass.
Look- Pale amber, white frothy head, clear, scant amount of smell visible particulate, above average lacing and head retention.
Smell- Barley, floral, wet grass, earthy, weak strength of scent.
Taste- Biscuit, barley, earthy, medium strength of flavor.
Feel- Medium body, average carbonation, moderately creamy, moderately bitter, crisp finish.
Overall- Found an in date bottle of the original recipe and I couldn’t resist revisiting this beer, that I served at my wedding in 2005, one last time. Look was pale amber with above average head retention and lacing, but I had expected it would be deeper amber. Bouquet was malt heavy with some wet grass character. Flavor was also malt forward with medium strength and some earthy notes. Feel consisted of medium body with moderate bitterness and creaminess. This beer provided me with a sentimental trip down memory lane. I would not be motivated to buy anymore of this should I see it, but it was nice to have the opportunity to say my goodbyes.
Apr 18, 2023Look- Pale amber, white frothy head, clear, scant amount of smell visible particulate, above average lacing and head retention.
Smell- Barley, floral, wet grass, earthy, weak strength of scent.
Taste- Biscuit, barley, earthy, medium strength of flavor.
Feel- Medium body, average carbonation, moderately creamy, moderately bitter, crisp finish.
Overall- Found an in date bottle of the original recipe and I couldn’t resist revisiting this beer, that I served at my wedding in 2005, one last time. Look was pale amber with above average head retention and lacing, but I had expected it would be deeper amber. Bouquet was malt heavy with some wet grass character. Flavor was also malt forward with medium strength and some earthy notes. Feel consisted of medium body with moderate bitterness and creaminess. This beer provided me with a sentimental trip down memory lane. I would not be motivated to buy anymore of this should I see it, but it was nice to have the opportunity to say my goodbyes.
Rated by bspainhour
4.53/5 rDev +25.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
4.53/5 rDev +25.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
Nice smooth taste even as it warms.
Apr 05, 2023
Fat Tire (1991-2022) from New Belgium Brewing Company
Beer rating:
82 out of
100 with
9425 ratings
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