New Belgium's Fat Tire clone

5 gallons, extract with grains; OG = 1.050; FG = 1.01; IBUs = 16

Ingredients:

• 5 lbs. Laaglander plain extra-light DME
• 0.50 lb. crystal malt (20° Lovibond)
• 0.50 lb. crystal malt (40° Lovibond)
• 0.50 lb. carapils malt
• 0.50 lb. Munich malt
• 0.50 lb. biscuit malt
• 0.50 lb. chocolate malt
• 3 AAUs Willamette pellet hops (0.66 oz. at 4.5% alpha acid)
• 1.33 AAUs Fuggle pellet hops (0.33 oz. at 4% alpha acid)
• 2 AAUs Fuggle pellet hops (0.50 oz. at 4% alpha acid)
• 1 tsp. Irish moss
• 2/3 to 3/4 cup corn sugar to prime Wyeast 1056 or BrewTek CL-10

Step by step:

Steep specialty grains in 3 gallons of water at 154° F for 45 minutes. Remove grains and add dried malt extract. Bring to boil and add 0.66 oz. Willamette pellet hops. Boil for 60 minutes and add Irish moss. Boil 10 minutes and then add 0.50 oz. Fuggle hops. Boil another 20 minutes, add remaining Fuggles and remove from heat. Cool to about 70° F and transfer to fermenting vessel with yeast.

Ferment at 64° to 68° F until complete (7 to 10 days), then transfer to a secondary vessel, or rack into bottles or keg with corn sugar. (Try lowering the amount of priming sugar to mimic the low carbonation level of Fat Tire.)

Lay the beer down for at least a few months to mellow and mature for best results.

All-grain option:

Omit extract and mash 6 lbs. pale malt with specialty malts in 9 quarts of water to get a single infusion mash temperature of 154° F for 45 minutes. Sparge with hot water of 170° F or more to get 5.5 gallons of wort.

Bring to boil and use above hopping and fermentation schedule.