New Belgium Brewing / Rhinegeist Brewery Fat Tire and Friends Fat Pale Ale Belgian Pale Ale at 6% ABV (C$3.12 at Quarry Park Calgary Co-Op, 355 ml, best before 13-Nov-2016, acquired 17-Aug-2016, reviewed 18-Aug-2016)
Appearance: clear deep gold with a short ivory head, moderate retention and patchy lacing. (3/5) Aroma: bready caramel malt, citrus/floral, grassy. (5/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate-light bitter. (5/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry lightly bitter finish. (3/5)
Part of the “Fat Tire and Friends Collabeeration Pack”, which continues to underwhelm. It doesn’t really do what it claims to, regardless of whether you consider it a Belgian Pale or the XPA (eXtra Pale Ale, typically described as halfway between an IPA and an APA) the label claims. Put bluntly, it doesn’t taste like a hoppy pale, but more like a malty amber, perhaps with a dash of additional hopping. Easy drinking and inoffensive, sure, but who wants to be remembered for being inoffensive? (10/20)
5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
