Sunday Night Suds - New Belgium's Fat Tire

This week's Sunday Night Suds looks at New Belgium Brewing Company's Fat Tire Amber Ale.

This beer has a large cult like following but is sadly not available in New York, or anywhere near New York. The New Belgium website (http://www.newbelgium.com/faq ) indicates that New Belgium is available in the Midwest and on the west coast, but other than the Carolinas and Georgia, it is not available on the East Coast.

So why would you call a beer Fat Tire? The website indicates that it was named by the founder of the New Belgium brewery in honor of his bicycle trip across Belgium where he sampled various beers. I guess that is a good reason. The New Belgium people have seized on the Fat Tire as an identity for the brewery as all the bottle caps for the New Belgium products which I have seen have a picture of a bicycle with fat tires over the New Belgium name.

So what does the Fat Tire taste like? The beer has a somewhat fruity smell and a crisp taste with some hops, but quite a lot of other flavors mixed in. Like all the other New Belgium products which I have seen, the Fat Tire has a recommended temperature for serving the brew (45 F) although I had mine tonight a little bit colder than that. In fact, I have learned from experience that the New Belgium brews can actually last more than the standard 1/2 hour in the freezer (if you need to get them cold in a hurry) without becoming a beer slushie. This could be related to their slightly higher alcohol content, or could be based on something else completely. Still, I would not recommend excessive time in the freezer, unless you need an excuse to clean out the freezer.

Fat Tire is a great beer to have on its own as the complex flavors give a different feel with every pour. I can see why the beer has developed the following that it has in the Midwest (some have called it a vacation beer).

New Belgium Fat Tire is under the Kosher Supervision of the Scroll-K of Colorado. Although the beer does not bear the kosher symbol on the label, it can be found on the bottom of the six pack carrier. Additionally, if you would like me to e-mail you the LOC for New Belgium Fat Tire, send me an e-mail and I will gladly oblige.

Please note that not every brew produced by New Belgium is under kosher supervision. Please check my latest Kosher Beer List (http://kosherbeers.blogspot.com/2009/09/kosher-beers-semi-annual-kosher-beers.html ) for a complete listing of those New Belgium brews which are certified kosher.

To see what the experts on Beer Advocate think about New Belgium Fat Tire, please follow this link http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/192/607 .

As always, please remember to drink responsibly and to never waste good beer unless there is no designated driver.If you've tried this beer or any others which have been reviewed on the kosher beers site, please feel free to post your comments (anonymous comments are acceptable).

If you have seen this post being carried on another site such as JBlog, please feel free to click here to find other articles on the kosherbeers blogsite. Hey its free and you can push my counter numbers up!