Fat Tire Amber Ale Clone

I finally brewed the great beer I aimed for--A clone for New Belgium's Fat Tire. It turned out slightly nutty due to the biscuit malt and munich with a rich body and slight dry hop presence. Enjoy this one as much as you can. A great all around american amber ale. It is surprising how close this ale is to the original. I did a taste test with the two side by side and they were almost indistinguishable. Fat Tire is a little different than it used to be. I guess that's what mass production can do to a beer.

Brewer:	Michael Uhrich		Email:	ybbcales@hotmail.com
Beer:	Fat Tire Amber Ale Clone		Style:	American Amber Ale
Type:	All grain		Size:	5 gallons
Color:	15 HCU (~10 SRM)		Bitterness:	21 IBU
OG:	1.055		FG:	1.010
Alcohol:	5.8% v/v (4.6% w/w)
Water:	Add gypsum to water and boil for 10 minutes.
Grain:	7 lb. American 2-row .5 lb. American Munich .75 lb. Belgian biscuit 1 lb. American crystal 40L 1 lb. Dextrine malt (Cara-Pils)
Mash:	75% efficiency
	Short mash here. Only about 50 minutes in 3 gallons at 158F to yield a small amount of fermentables. Sparged to yield just over 6 gallons of wort.
Boil:	60 minutes	SG 1.046	6 gallons
	Boiled for 1 hour. Irish moss added to boil with 20 minutes left.
Hops:	.75 oz. Cluster (7% AA, 60 min.) .25 oz. Willamette (5% AA, 15 min.) 1 oz. Willamette (aroma)
Yeast:	White Labs East Coast ale yeast used to keep character failry neutral and clean charactered.
Log:	Fermented for 4 days at 65F. Racked to secondary vessel and conditioned with gelatin for 4 additional days at 65F. In secondary 1/4 oz. Willamettes added for fresh hop aroma in beer (optional)
Carbonation:	Primed with 3/4 cup corn sugar for 2 weeks. Chill additional week before serving.
Tasting:	Served at 45F in a pint glass. First aroma was strong malt with slight bready ester. Rich bisuity malt flavored body with slight dry hop finish and yeast as well. Great batch of a classic Colorado ale.

Recipe posted 03/19/01.