New Belgium Fat Tire and Friends Fat Sour Apple Ale

The New Belgium Brewing Company is from Fort Collins, Colorado. Fat Tire is their flagship ale, and to celebrate their 25th anniversary they collaborated with several breweries to make different versions of the beer, and released them in a Fat Tire and Friends 12 pack. This 5.9% ABV beer is made in collaboration with  Hopworks Urban Brewery. It uses apple juice and lactobacillus to impart a tart, apple flavor.

The beer pours copper colored with a short head of off-white foam. The aroma is apple juice, apple cider, a bit of soft tart, over toasted caramel malt. The taste follows the aromas, the flavor is very mild, and in my estimation could use a bit more aggressive apple flavor. The finish is dry and tart. The beer drinks with a medium body and a fine, but intense carbonation.