Brew #2 - Fat Tebow Ale

Tebow's not fat, he's just big-boned!   

We brewed this beer back in October, 2011 and I only have 1 left in my fridge. This was the last extract recipe that we did before switching to partial mash. There were several reasons I decided to call this the Fat Tebow Ale, but none have to do with Tebow's weight. The TD Brewing Fat Tebow Ale was a New Belgium Fat Tire clone. Both are Colorado products - New Belgium is in Fort Collins and Tebow is in Denver. It was our 2nd homebrew and Tebow's 2nd season. It tastes somewhat like the original and Tebow looks somewhat like an NFL quarterback. Both this beer and Tebow are very sweet but some people would say they are full of crap.

This beer isn't really full of crap - it is full of yeast sediment. Everything went normally on brew day. However, we ended up with far more yeast sediment in these bottles than we should have, approximately 1/4". We let the beer ferment in the primary for 3-4 weeks. We didn't cold crash the primary or use a secondary fermenter and we were a little careless (aka tipsy) on bottling day and stirred up a lot of yeast into the bottling bucket. I know many homebrewers have great success not using a secondary, but this was the only time we didn't do it and for our process we have found that we get much better results with 3 weeks primary and 1-2 weeks secondary, depending on the style and gravity of beer.

To drink the yeast, or not drink the yeast? Generally, you do not want to drink the yeast from the bottom of a homebrew bottle. The best practice is to decant - slowly pour the beer into a glass, leaving the yeast sediment stuck on the bottom. If the yeast is looser and not stuck to the bottom, you can see it "catch" at the shoulder of the bottle and then stop pouring. It is fine to drink a little bit of yeast - some people enjoy the added flavor and it contains healthy B vitamins that are said to help reduce the effects of a hangover. But NEVER drink 1/4" of yeast as shown in the photo above. If you're dumb enough to try it (like me) you will regret it a couple hours later as you are racing to the bathroom.

Todd

AHS Fat Tire Amber Ale (New Belgium) (10B) [03567]
Extract: 7 lb Liquid Malt Extract, 1 lb Base Grains, .88 lb Specialty Grains 
Brewvint 1% Alcohol Boost - 55% maltose, 45% glucose
Wyeast American Ale II + Brewvint Yeast Fuel