If you’ve been paying attention to the beer social medias lately, you might have noticed a photo of a Colorado-brewed amber ale making the rounds. It’s called Re-Tired and it’s a clear homage to the original recipe of New Belgium’s Fat Tire. This beer, however, is made by Crooked Stave. Chad Yakobson, the brewery’s founder and brewmaster joined the Drink Beer, Think Beer podcast for a conversation.

About Re-Tired Amber Ale

Chad Yakobson: Growing up in Colorado, there was always New Belgium and Odell, and for New Belgium a lot of people outside of the state would call it Fat Tire Brewing Company because it was such a staple and such a brand.

[Original Fat Tire] is one of those nostalgic things. It’s one of those beers that is a unicorn, so for it to be gone is just the sort of thing you never thought would happen. We thought New Belgium would always make Fat Tire [as an amber ale].

But I applaud them for actually making the change. When you start to look into it, it makes a lot of sense. I’m a big proponent of “never say never” but I definitely said that we will never make an amber ale.

So Re-Tired is making fun of me in a way. It’s our leadership team to drag me a bit, but it was also our distribution company saying they wanted an amber ale and wanted us to make it so they could sell it. We developed this about six or eight months ago during a meeting.

The hoppy amber ale hit distribution last week.

The reception has been really, really good. The amount of texts I’ve gotten from friends around the industry, even people not in the industry, who saw it and texted has been really positive. People love it, which I think is awesome. I personally find that great, because I think a lot of times, there can be a lot of negativity [in the beer industry] and a lot of people jumping to an incorrect conclusion. My take is: we’re in the brewing industry, right? We’re not saving lives, like we’re making beer.  

I don’t think we expected any anything like this. I think for us it was just putting out this little amber ale and thinking it would be cool. Then, we’ll brew another beer and in a month there will be a different style in the market.

Hear the whole conversation on the Drink Beer, Think Beer podcast. Download via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, or wherever you download shows.

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The above transcript was condensed and edited for clairity.