For many Colorado millennials, the first taste of a craft beer was life-changing. This wasn’t your dad’s garage beer; it was something more. The taste was different, it felt more meaningful, and special.
A Colorado Craft Beer Original
Like many Coloradans, my very first taste of a craft beer came from a Fat Tire Amber Ale that was brewed at New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins. The malty taste was unlike any other beer I had prior. It wasn’t a light beer or a Budweiser that was lovingly known as a “Bud Heavy”.
For years, Fat Tire Amber Ale was almost always in my refrigerator and my go-to any time I wanted to have a beer. In 2023, something changed with my beloved beer. New Belgium changed everything about Fat Tire. Veering away from its original recipe, to a lighter blonde ale, redesigning the logo, and essentially keeping only the name, nothing more.
While I was scrolling on Instagram this morning, I saw a reel that immediately captured my attention from craft beer content creator, BeerAficionado, talking about New Belgium’s Fat Tire. The video is part speculation, part evidence-based on Fat Tire’s return to an amber ale.
New Belgium Brewery will be celebrating its 35th anniversary in 2026, and it appears the original amber ale recipe is making a comeback. One thing about government regulations surrounding alcohol is that approvals need to be made by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. One of these approvals is for the labeling of alcoholic beverages such as beer…