New Belgium's "Fat Tire" Amber Ale

Beer hipsters in the US have claimed for some time now that the Fat Tire Amber Ale (ABV 5.2%) from New Belgium Brewing is the coolest, best beer in the USA, and that I have to try it. Well, now that I see it's available in BC, I went out and bought some. It's apparently one of the most well-travelled brews in the states, and it's been well-received.

Time for your average beer appreciator (AKA Brewji) to take a sip and tell you what it's really like.

New Belgium Brewing "Fat Tire" Amber Ale @ Brewji

Here's a closer look at the label. Look for this at your local store!
New Belgium Brewing "Fat Tire" Amber Ale @ Brewji

On first sniff, the aroma reminded me of biscuits, sweet biscuits...not in a bad way. It had almost a bready-biscuit aroma, if I may. Biscuit and malt? I'm not quite sure, but definitely not a bad aroma.

So I went in for the first sip (note that I didn't snap a picture with the beer in a glass -- the first one I drank was straight out of the bottle), and was surprised at how well the flavours work together to make this a solid amber ale. The aroma of the biscuit-bread translates into a rustic, amber ale taste with a hint of sweetness and malt to brush all of the necessary taste buds on my palate.

Why was I surprised? Beer hipsters (AKA snobs) generally annoy me, and the fact that a lot of them recommended this beer to me made me have slightly lower-than-average expectations. However, New Belgium has done well with this one. I've had a couple of other brews from them as well, and have never been disappointed (yet).

Either way, take a good look at the label, and see if you can find this at your local liquor or beer store. It's definitely worth the pick-up. It stands out against most ambers on the market, and at $14 for a 6-pack (in Canada, beer is expensive), it's quite the steal.

So there you have it, the Fat Tire from New Belgium Brewing. I recommend this to newbies who are trying to transition out of the econo-lager phase and into ales. This, and the Blue Buck from Phillips are great transition-ers.

New Belgium Brewing's Fat Tire gets a surprisingly-not-so-hipster 8.5 / 10