Someone has already mentioned to me that my “Beer” section is glaringly empty. My original plan was to get through all of my travels up until the point where I started recording my old notes down regarding my thoughts on beers (which I believe was about when I went to the Czech Republic, I will have to dig through my old notes and pictures to be sure) before I started posting about beers. I will still focus on travels, but I suppose I should also post beer posts as I can (notably because I have a large case of various beers that were given to me by friends that I need to get through).

That being said, I make no claims about being a great critic, I am just sharing my thoughts. I figure the most important criteria for a beer would be how it looks, smells, and tastes, so I will cover those topics as best as I can. I definitely don’t have a divine tongue though; I can distinguish wine as far as telling if it’s red or white, and sweet or dry, and that’s about it. I gladly welcome any feedback, or your own thoughts on the beers I talk about in the comments. I am also experimenting with an actual rating plugin, so any feedback regarding that would be welcome too!

Without further ado:

Fat Tire from New Belgium Brewing has been one of my favorite beers for a long time. Since I now live in Germany, I find it hard to get this beer here, which has been unfortunate to say the least. I don’t travel back home often, and I enjoyed Fat Tire as much as possible while I was there last time since I so rarely get it. I like the stronger, yet not too strong taste of it. It’s light enough to drink a few of, but strong enough that it still fills you up after a while. I was in Fort Collins, CO once, and I really regret not stopping by the brewery to get a sticker for my water bottle, which was originally exclusively covered in brewery stickers, but has since devolved into just about any sticker I feel like.

Since Fat Tire is so hard to get in Germany, I brought some back with me when I went to New Orleans in 2014 on a business trip. I drank all but one, keeping it as a memento, but I figured my maiden beer post should be about one of my long time favorites. So I just opened the last of my Fat Tire reserve. While it still had carbonation, the taste had unfortunately gone south in the 2+ years past its prime (ENJOY BY: 25MAY2014). So I will have to do this more or less from memory, but as I recall:

Sight: A nice slightly translucent amber color, with a touch of orange to it. That luckily hasn’t changed much with time.

Smell: The smell is also pleasant enough. A mild fruity hoppiness. I can’t quite recall the smell so well though, so I will have to skimp out on the fine details because I am not sure how much the smell has changed over time with the beer in front of me.

Taste: As I recall, very nice, hence it being one of my favorites. It is mildly strong, and it has some hoppiness to it, which some people who can’t handle hops have complained about. I was originally not too into hops myself, which is why I think I liked the more subtle hops that Fat Tire had, although I can now enjoy a double IPA. I would rate my 2+ year old beer that I am currently drinking a 5 or 6 out of 10, but the real (i.e. fresh) deal is quite nice, I swear!