Valentine's Day Special - New Belgium Brewing Fat Tire (!!!!)

Happy Day-After Valentine's Day everyone. I hope cupid was nice to you, because this is the last fairy gift giver until the Easter Bunny. I, for one, not only gave an amazing gift, but also received an amazing gift. Background: in November, the wife and I went up to Savannah for a short weekend getaway. While we were up there, we stopped into one of the local hotels which had a bar on the roof. My wife got some crazy liquor drink, and I had my first New Belgium Brewing offering, Fat Tire. I had heard a lot about Fat Tire up to that point, so I needed to try it for myself. Like most of 2010, I hadn't really tried too many craft brews, but Fat Tire quickly became a favorite after that day. Unfortunately, living in Florida, Fat Tire is pretty much impossible to get a hold of (they don't sell it here, or ship it here). Well, that all changed as of Valentine's Day 2011. The wife surprised me with a Fat Tire gift basket! It came with three bottles of Fat Tire, a bag of pistachios, pretzel sticks, and cheese straws. Pretty much the most amazing gift for a Floridian beer lover. I suppose the best part of this gift is that it gave me a chance to do a proper review of Fat Tire, as, like I said, I hadn't expanded my tastes yet when I first tried it. So it's time to take off the training wheels and take the Fat Tire for a spin!

Pour before you GULP! Fat Tire is an amber ale, so you pretty much know what to expect. Upon pouring I was greeted with a dark amber coloring and a nice foamy head, basically what I surmised and what I remembered from our trip to Savannah. The bottle is dressed up with, what comes off to me as, a European flair label - and a red bicycle smack in the middle. Apparently the story with the bike is that one of the founders rode such a bicycle through Belgium when the idea for the brew was realized. Such a nice piece of serendipity, no!?

GULP! It Up! Don't expect very strong scents with this New Belgium Brewing favorite. In fact, don't expect to be overpowered with flavorings while you drink either. I'm not saying that in a negative way, I actually think that's what makes Fat Tire so freakin' popular, the subtly of the flavors make it incredibly drinkable. For the connoisseurs out there, you will find small notes of malt, and biscuit. For the non-connoisseurs, you might not taste much! But again, I don't think that's such a bad thing in this case; and actually, as you move on through the drink, you find some bitter hops, but it's far from overpowering. Overall it's a very crisp and malty experience. Very enjoyable.

Grade the GULP! When I would think about Fat Tire, it reminded me of a mild Savannah afternoon, sitting on the roof of a hotel. Thankfully I'll be able to enjoy a couple more of these in the comfort of my home, sifting through the different flavors while watching reruns of Seinfeld. Moving to the grades... I'm going to change things up a little bit. I have found the numerical grading system to be a bit of a pain, so I'm switching to letter grades. They hold the same weight as when you were in grade school, so no syllabus is required. I'm giving Fat Tire an A-. Where it lacks in the power flavor department, it makes up in drinkability and crispiness. Unfortunately, if you're a Floridian reading this, I don't think you'll be finding this in your local grocer or package store anytime soon; however, they do sell it in Georgia! Road trip!! I'd recommend taking a car though, not a flimsy looking red bicycle. Enjoy!