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I have brewed this probably ten or more times. It is the only clone brew that I have brewed that is dead on!



New Belgium Brewing Company got underway in 1991 and has since expanded production to 170,000 barrels. The brewery is now run by Peter Bouckaert, who worked as the brewmaster for the famous Rodenbach Brouwerij of Belgium from 1987 to 1996. Bouckaert shies away from handing out recipes, but he agreed to offer a few clues and tips for homebrewers.
When trying to emulate Fat Tire Amber Ale, Bouckaert advises that you pay particular attention to the malt bill and the aging process. "We have a malt character that asks for a lot of light-colored malts," he says. "Specialty, Munich and light caramel malts comprise up to 30 percent. For the signature toasted biscuit flavor of this brown-amber beer, add from 5 to 10 percent of malts with a nutty character." For hops, he recommends shooting for 16 IBUs with a subtle late addition of aroma or dry hops. "Don't use Cascade or other overpowering hops," Bouckaert adds.
As for yeast, Bouckaert suggests using a strain low in esters and other flavor components, like American pale ale yeast (Wyeast 1056 or BrewTek CL-10). Fermentation should take place at the low end of the temperature range. The beer should look clear, have low carbonation and give off a malty, fruity aroma with hints of bread crust. It should leave a toasted flavor on the palate and a subtle hop component for balance.
For more information on New Belgium Brewing Company and its well-regarded beers, go to http://www.newbelgium.com or call (888) NBB-4044 or (970) 221-0524.


Fat Tire Amber Ale
(5 gallons, extract with grains)


Ingredients:



o 5 lbs. Laaglander plain extra-light DME
o 0.50 lb. crystal malt (20° Lovibond)
o 0.50 lb. crystal malt (40° Lovibond)
o 0.50 lb. carapils malt
o 0.50 lb. Munich malt
o 0.50 lb. biscuit malt
o 0.50 lb. chocolate malt
o 3 AAUs Willamette pellet hops (0.66 oz. at 4.5% alpha acid)
o 1.33 AAUs Fuggle pellet hops (0.33 oz. at 4% alpha acid)
o 2 AAUs Fuggle pellet hops (0.50 oz. at 4% alpha acid)
o 1 tsp. Irish moss
o 2/3 to 3/4 cup corn sugar to prime
o Wyeast 1056 or BrewTek CL-10

Step by step:

Steep specialty grains in 3 gallons of water at 154° F for 45 minutes. Remove grains and add dried malt extract. Bring to boil and add 0.66 oz. Willamette pellet hops. Boil for 60 minutes and add Irish moss. Boil 10 minutes and then add 0.50 oz. Fuggle hops. Boil another 20 minutes, add remaining Fuggles and remove from heat. Cool to about 70° F and transfer to fermenting vessel with yeast. Ferment at 64° to 68° F until complete (7 to 10 days), then transfer to a secondary vessel, or rack into bottles or keg with corn sugar. (Try lowering the amount of priming sugar to mimic the low carbonation level of Fat Tire.) Lay the beer down for at least a few months to mellow and mature for best results.
All-grain option: Omit extract and mash 6 lbs. pale malt with specialty malts in 9 quarts of water to get a single infusion mash temperature of 154° F for 45 minutes. Sparge with hot water of 170° F or more to get 5.5 gallons of wort. Bring to boil and use above hopping and fermentation schedule.
OG = 1.050
FG = 1.011
IBUs = 16

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Tags: fat tire homebrew clone

I tried this recipe recently. I think the flavor is close. I'll back down the Chocolate malt next time. It comes through fairly distinct in mine. It's also WAY too dark. That's my take. Overall, a damn good beer!

P.S. I did the all grain version.

sup curlyfat,

Yeah I did all grain too. Did you mash for an hour or 45 minutes becuase my all grain turned out perfect in color. The extra mash time might give it a darker color. What do I know though.

Cheers,
Jeff

Good call. I mashed with a 15m rest at 35, before the 45m at full temp. I use boiling water to raise to the final temp. I usually do this because it seems to help head-retention (which I did get with this brew). Perhaps I'll try a straight-up infusion next to see. Fat Tire has been my go-to beer for years and this recipe seems close, although I'm not convinced so many specialty malts are neccessary. I taste the biscuit and the carmels primarily.

If anyone is still watching this post, how much yield did you get. At 5.5 in my brew kettle and a 90 min boil I had a little over 4 gal in the primary. Did this all grain, and it is really dark. I believe the color would have been right if I had topped to 5 gal in primary.
All comments welcomed

I do have an epiphany now, going back. I, too, did it all grain and it was way to dark. I think this is because the recipe is designed as an extract recipe and you don't get nearly as much color out of grains simply steeped. I might try this again and mash the pale malt, then steep the specialties.

I am going to try again, and just use all crystal 20. and sparge out to 6 gals. I'll post my results.

Looking forward to it! it'll be awhile for me to revisit this one. I have two beers I have to make for my brothers wedding this fall. That'll take up most of the summer brewing budget...

Why clone a beer like Fat Tire?

I'm guessing you want to start a fight there, penguin.. . For me Fat Tire is nostalgic. It was the beer that taught me there was more to beer than BMC, since it was the most available craft beer in Wyoming for a long time (still is, really). That said, I love the toasty, malty, low carbonation, complexity of Fat Tire. New Belgium is still in my "top three" list of favorite breweries. I feel that they embrace the home-brewing spirit by not normally conforming to specific styles, but rather just putting out great beer that meets their own taste standards. I do want to make it clear that I don't like all of their beers, but I made it a point a long time ago to appreciate all beers and understand their place regardless of my personal preference. or to shorten it, I may not like it, but I appreciate it.

I sound like a self-righteous ass, but I have had several homebrews tonight. I apologize if it came off abrasive.

Well I've had a couple bombers of big commercial brews, so of course I was hoping to start something. Turns out chugging a double Belgian that comes in around 9 after chugging another strong bomber makes arguing fun. It also = interesting blog posts

edited to make me look less drunk

Bring it on! although, your post is a little hard to understand.... Perhaps your level of consumption is slightly higher : I had several wheat beers at just over 5%....9% is pushing it for me on a work day (service industry doesn't know the meaning of weekends!).

In all seriousness, I'm curious about your criticism of Fat Tire. It's not a "perfect" beer (I havn't found one yet), I'm just curious on your side of things...

ok. the misspellings are as much of a result of typing in a dark room with a buzz going as they are indicative of alcohol consumption. Sorry about that. I can now see what I'm typing... well kinda. Personally I've just never been a fan of fat tire. It is a good beer, but deffinatly not one I'd drink everyday. Instead it's a stand by beer for when I visti pubs where that is the best thing on tap.

by the by, two 22oz bombers of 9% abv beer will get a good buzz going. Also tis a work night for me too.Apparently the industry I work in doesn't understand typical weekends either

I'll give you that. I normally drink it because it's the best thing available outside of BMC. Standby beer is a little harsh for me. They (New Belgium Breweries) make much "better" beers, but there's something about the good solid drinkability of Fat Tire that I like. It's sort of like a BMC for people who like their beer to have flavor. And I mostly like to attempt "recreating" beers as a test of my skill. Which I usually fail...

I would like to point out, however, that my #1 favorite brewery is Deschutes in Oregon. They seem to put out beers that "define" the style they are creating.