Fat Yak -- Thin Yak?

[pbrosnan]

I know I shouldnt admit this, but I just bought a 6 pack of commercial beer, my favourite Fat Yak, and it tastes like shit. Almost like they've added water to the brew.. This beer used to have a malty rich flavour but its crap now..

I guess its another reason to more brew more of my own

Has anyone one else noticed the same thing?

I've always thought FY was a poor imitation of Alpha. In fact I thought it has always tasted like diluted Alpha. If you want a good Australian US PA then go for Alpha or more recently Hop Hog. FY is not a good beer.

 

[bum]

If you want a good Australian US PA then go for Alpha or more recently Hop Hog.

These beers really shouldn't be spoken in the same breath. Alpha really is a pretty insipid beer. Hop Hog does have some genuine American-ness about it.

As for Fat Yak, it used to be okay as a stand-by sixer to take to a BBQ or something but as most have found it has gone downhill of late. Not so long ago I had it on tap for the first time and it seemed an entirely different beast - genuinely hoppy, pleasant malt character, a touch of grassiness - I was happy enough to drink it all night. Just last weekend I had it on tap again and it was watery crap - I left after the one. Might just be batch issues (which I doubt from this company), possibly keg issues (but it didn't taste bad, it just didn't taste like much), seems like there's a pretty clear recognition that it isn't what it was.

 

[mje1980]

FY is not a good beer.

Boy you must drink some bloody good beer.

 

[jbirbeck]

These beers really shouldn't be spoken in the same breath. Alpha really is a pretty insipid beer. Hop Hog does have some genuine American-ness about it.

As for Fat Yak, it used to be okay as a stand-by sixer to take to a BBQ or something but as most have found it has gone downhill of late. Not so long ago I had it on tap for the first time and it seemed an entirely different beast - genuinely hoppy, pleasant malt character, a touch of grassiness - I was happy enough to drink it all night. Just last weekend I had it on tap again and it was watery crap - I left after the one. Might just be batch issues (which I doubt from this company), possibly keg issues (but it didn't taste bad, it just didn't taste like much), seems like there's a pretty clear recognition that it isn't what it was.

Alpha shits all over FY and I prefer it to LCPA as well...provided its fresh. FY has never been as good as alpha, it is alpha's poor cousin dumbed down for the masses and tastes like it. Not a bad beer but not as good as others.

The pub you drink at or the bottle shop you buy from can have a huge impact on how the beer ends up tasting. FY at one pub will taste insipid and watery (probably old, served through dirty lines and served too cold - there are a few places I know...) and at the next it will be what it is supposed to be. Same can happen in the bottles. Micros in Aust are pushing shit up hill when it comes to getting their beer tasting as it should after it leaves their hands because too often it isn't treated with respect.

2009 International beer award.
2010 results

make of it what you will...

 

[husky]

Personal experience - Fat yak in the bottle is lacking in taste. Fron the tap in Docklands recently it was much better. A freshness issue I would say. Never checked the date on the slab I drank recently but was most likely sitting at Dans for a while before I got to it.