A friend brought this unusual bottle of beer to me one day, picked up while she was traveling, as I recall. I have been meaning to share the liquid wealth for some time now, but never seemed to get around to it. Anyway, have a peek and feel comfortable that I will not be partaking either;-(

Fat Tire is an excellent beer.

Why will you not be partaking? Fat tire is pretty good.

On a side note, I love the way you have your work stand set up with the nails for wrenches and holes for hex-wrenches. I might be stealing that one. Thanks.

Fat Tire is definitely good beer. Sadly, New Belgium doesn't sell in Virginia yet. Their 1554 is sooo much better though (not to say fat tire isn't good. It is. But 1554 is a whole different league). I stock up whenever I leave the state.

Its definitely pretty decent beer. I prefer their 1554 Black Ale, but I'm a dark beer kinda dude.


**edit**

20Grit beat me to it! 1554 is really good.

Well known here. Heartily consumed on occasion.

New Belgium is among the myriad "craft" American brewers that have emerged in the past decade or two. There are no doubt hundreds, if not thousands, of them. We have a half dozen or so in a city of 150,000.

Speaking of per capita breweries, I visited friends in Bamberg, Germany, a Bavarian city of 80,000. There were more than 80 breweries in that one small city. Yummy stay. We have a ways to go.

What the concern with Fat Tire, Randy?

J

Doesn't do anything for me. Sorry guys.

I'm a Shiner guy. I often become a hipster at the bar scene though...PBR is usually $1 or $2 a can/pint, depending. Lol.

The man speaks truth.

Stick around - I am in the final throws of writing a multi page article on Tools, sharing many of my wonderful ideas and all free of charge. Another great idea is the Park Apron, a tool, for lack of a better word, that I just love.



Though I like beer, I am by no means a conniseur. Steam Whistle, however, is kicka$$ stuff but costs a lot. Generally, I am a bargain seeker. And why not drink it? Same reason I won't Drew a bike - preservation is the key for me.

I should check out the Brewer's Retail, that's what we call beer stores in Canada, to see if they sell Fat Tire.

If they don't carry it around there, maybe someone in the states could sneak you a bottle. You may as well get to try it once.

Is beer like Star Wars figures? Once you open it, it loses all its value? Meh, screw it...just save the empties

What he said^ I have a small collection of bottle caps that I plan to use for bar end plugs instead of Champagne corks. Beer is more my style

The only time I had Fat Tire Ale was when I was in Lake Tahoe. Unfortunately, it is not sold here (yet) nor is Mad Anthony's for that matter (another fantastic beer!)

I don't care for Fat Tire, but do like 1554. They are both popular on tap here. I do like FT's tap glasses though, they also have neat signs.

Dude I Have a beer store near my house we need to visit. You can get New Belgium Beers there....and all kinds of others. like Wolavers. Yum.

Again, what he said. Really, though, I don't think Fat Tire is anything special if that affects your decision at all. On the one hand, you may as well save it because you can just buy another fairly decent amber and drink that instead. On the other hand, you may as well drink it. What's the point in saving a regular decent beer vs. just keeping the cool bottle around? May as well have yourself a decent beer in a nifty bottle next time you're wrenching on a bike.

I stole some Fat tire coasters that were in good condition, glued some magnets on the back, andnow have awesome bike/beer themed fridge magnets.

I like Fat Tire; it fits in my bottle cage.

I mean, that's why they call it a bottle cage, right?
I mean, the bottle cage is just the right size, too.
It's like they were made for each other.

Yeah 1554 is good. So are NB's Abbey, Ranger and Somersault (summer seasonal). I'm kinda spoiled living where I do, as we must have the highest number of craft breweries per capita in the known universe - something like a dozen in a city of 80,000.

SP
Bend, OR

1811, is Brewed Here at the Ft George Brewhouse, its good stuff.,
shipping pint tins, to Portland these days,

It is 'Coals to Newcastle' a bit. but,
not anything like Newcastle Brown Ale, BTW.

I'm rather surprised that New Belgium doesn't have a more complete North American market saturation. Fat Tire is not an especially favorite beer of my but there's no denying how cool the label art is and I've also lusted after many of the promo cruiser bikes that bars raffle off.

I'm wondering if Randy is referring to the April 2010 "Best before" date.

I lived in Fort Collins for 4-1/2 years, and though I drank their [i.e. New Belgium's] beer, I never drank the New Belgium koolaid [i.e. the hype that it was anything special compared to other micros]. The beer is OK, but nothing to write home about in the context of American micros. My favorite brewery in the Fort is one you have to visit to sample their wares, Coopersmiths. They brew and sell only on the premises, and serve only their own beers, ales and softdrinks. If you're partial to English style ales, that is one of their specialties, and they offer several that are cask conditioned.

I like almost all the New Belgium products...except Fat Tire! It has a funny off-after-taste I can't get past, don't know if it's the small amount of wheat in the recipe (I doubt that) or some combo of hops that interact, but it's probably the small thing that makes it some people's favorite (and my least favorite).
I'd like to tour the Brewery someday and sample it fresh/draft to see if it's something that develops in shipping...plus, I'd like to tour the brewery.

A-Ha!

I bet it's probably still good. Chances are better if it's been kept out of direct sunlight and in a relatively stable temperature range.

My issue with American Micros and mid size breweries is the extreme use of hops. I cannot stand over hopped beer and tend towards the bock, doppelbock, and dunkel end of the spectrum. I also dislike most whites and belgian abbeys. 1554 fits my tastes incredibly well though. I liken it to a cigar. I can almost use the same terms to describe a good cigar that I can to 1554.