Reviewed: New Belgium Fat Tire Amber Ale
Official description: Fat Tire Amber is the easy-drinking Amber Ale born in Colorado from New Belgium Brewing Company, a certified B-Corp. Malts: Pale, C-80, Munich, Victory. Hops: Willamette, Goldings, Nugget. 22 IBUs.
New Belgium Brewing Co. – New Belgium Fat Tire Amber Ale – 12oz bottle served in Rastal Harmony glass – 5.2% ABV
Background
Fat Tire, often misconstrued as “Flat Tire”, has been New Belgium’s flagship beer for almost 30 years. The name itself originates from a co-founder’s bicycle trip through Belgium in 1988. Once consumers began equating the brewery with the Fat Tire brand name, New Belgium changed the logo for the entire brewery to include the bicycle motif. To further capitalize on the brand recognition, New Belgium added a second beer to their core portfolio with the Fat Tire name, Fat Tire Belgian White, back in 2017.
The question is, how does an almost 30-year-old amber ale recipe hold up in today’s saturated craft beer landscape?
Review
I’m reviewing Fat Tire Amber from a 12oz bottle that I picked for $1.50 plus tax as a single. On the label, there’s an enjoy by date of “12APR20” in the bottom right corner of the label but no bottling date. It’s also worth mentioning that the bottle itself has a ring of thicker glass halfway up the neck with “New Belgium” in raised lettering. This is an homage to Westvleteren and Westmalle Belgian Trappist ales, which use similar bottles that spell out “Trappist” on the ring section.
Into my glass, Fat Tire is a crystal clear amber color with thick, glossy, buttermilk-colored foam that sticks around for several minutes. Bringing up the glass, I get notes of applesauce and maple syrup. Not much else comes through as the beer reaches room temperature. Flavor-wise, Fat Tire is somewhat sweet with hardly any bitterness to speak of. There’s a faint malt fattiness to the mouthfeel, which brings the beer to life and adds some much-needed substance. Some unpleasant red apple flavors come through initially but fade away as the beer warms up. Fat Tire then finishes neutral without any sticky sweetness. Though it does come across as slightly papery despite being within the brewery’s freshness window.
Perceived Specs for New Belgium Fat Tire Amber Ale
Conclusion
It’s been over ten years since I’ve really sat down with a Fat Tire and thought about it deliberately. It’s not a style I particularly gravitate towards as amber ales serve mostly as a gateway for curious buyers seeking something different from macro pale lager but not over-the-top like an IPA. The fact that Fat Tire has endured for so long attests to its crowd-pleasing nature. However, from a technical aspect, Fat Tire is far from perfect. With its modest ABV and neutral hop profile, tiny imperfections stick out. Coming from the country’s fourth-largest craft brewery (though not anymore after a recent buyout), you’d think a nearly 30-year-old flagship recipe would be perfected by now.
And even drinking this today, I find it strange that New Belgium’s flagship beer isn’t a Belgian style. It isn’t even a Belgian twist on an amber ale. House yeast aromas are absent and the mouthfeel isn’t sparkling and vivacious like many Belgian ales. I found it to be underwhelming and forgettable, completely at odds with its origin story about a bicycle ride through Belgium. To me, this comes across as a beer made to pay the bills, not to wow craft beer drinkers. Clearly, I’m not the target audience. But even within the relatively boring Amber Ale category, Fat Tire struggles.
Similar Beers
Bell’s Amber Ale, Alaskan Amber, and countless others.
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March 6, 2020 @ 2:33 pm
I think this might be a classic case of mismatched expectations vs experience. Fat Tire is an homage to the clean, amber ales of the Antwerp area of Belgium. Under BJCP you would call it a “24B – Belgian Pale Ale”. Think De Koninck or Palm, not Bell’s Amber. My understanding is that New Belgium calls it an “Amber Ale” for the American consumer (of the early nineties, mind you), as “Belgian Pale Ale” sounds like a Sierra Nevada with saison yeast (it is not).
These Belgian session beers are very different from their pungent, phenolic and estery Belgian cousins. Amber in color, fruity but typically not very phenolic (low phenols optional), almost lager-like in some cases (Palm). Low-med to medium bitterness, with some optional hop aroma and character (German or UK hops typical). These beers are mainly characterized by a deep biscuit character, not altogether unlike a nice, cleaner example of ESB.
This is one of the most misunderstood styles in the US, in my humble little opinion. If you call it a “Belgian Pale Ale” (which is accurate), people expect a hoppy, bitter, phenolic pale beer. If you call it “Amber Ale”, as New Belgium has done for 30 years, people expect a caramelly gateway middle-of-the-road, but kind of boring, American beer with Cascade hops, as you’ve described.
Do me a favor… go to a trusted beer store and pick up a Palm. Try it next to a Fat Tire.
Your flavor notes are all spot on! A very good review. It’s the last bit about the style notes that I am calling out. Cheers!
March 30, 2020 @ 10:13 am
Very good point. Thanks for the insight!
March 30, 2020 @ 10:37 am
Mr. Jim,
Excellent insight. I have never heard Fat Tire described this way. I am going to do as you recommended and try next to a Palm. Who says you can’t teach on old dog (or Doug) a new trick?
It reminds me of a dish I received at a restaurant. It was described as beef stew and was “horrible”. If it has been described as vegetable beef soup, it would have been “excellent”. All about those expectations.
Thanks again for offering an alternative view.
March 30, 2020 @ 11:23 am
Thanks to Doug and GT,
I was feeling a little insecure about my assertions (which came from memory at the time I wrote that). I did some research to try to confirm my claims, and mostly succeeded. For one example see here (read the whole thing, or text search for “Palm”):
https://www.goodbeerhunting.com/blog/2018/7/31/same-as-it-ever-was-how-belgian-went-from-experimentation-to-ethos-in-the-us
Great style! I distinctly remember sitting in Antwerp years ago drinking De Koninck (delicious) and thinking, “now I understand Fat Tire!”
Doug — great example with soup/stew. 🙂
Cheers.
February 27, 2020 @ 2:49 pm
Thank you. I thought I was alone in my feelings on Fat Tire as “popular” as it seems to be.
Many, many years ago I tried Fat Tire and wasn’t impressed enough to order again or even try other beers by the same brewery. With a name like New Belgium, I expected a bready yeast or a real Belgian vibe, I didn’t get any of that. I was just disappointed in thinking they could (and should) do so much better.
Fast forward, I moved near-ish to Asheville and was told by a lot of people to visit the brewery for a tour. I am glad I listened… the tour was really fun and I was able to discover a lot of good options by New Belgium. They really have some tasty beers that aren’t Fat Tire. I was surprised by their Voodoo Ranger line and the quality of IPAs I was able to sample.
Thanks again for the review.