For some reason, beer drinkers everywhere are enamored of a certain amber ale that goes by the name Fat Tire. As a beertender, I can't go one night without being on the receiving end of some nonsensical harangue about how Fat Tire is the best beer ever made and every bar in the world should have it on tap.

I might catch a fair amount of sass for this, but Fat Tire is the Schlitz Malt Liquor of the New Belgium product line.

Let me make this perfectly clear: I'm not dissing New Belgium Brewery. They demonstrate admirably sound environmental practices and craft outstanding beer like Le Terroir, La Folie and Abbey Grand Cru. This diss is directed specifically toward Fat Tire Amber Ale, perhaps the least of the New Belgium line. But we all want what we cannot have.

Fat Tire is only available in 21 states, all west of the Mississippi. When east-coasters head out to the mountain states on business or vacation, Fat Tire appears before them as the beacon of sophisticated beer drinking. Of course, any beer tastes fantastic after you've spent a full day skiing or sitting at a conference table.

Take away the thrill of the environment and you're left with a puny, lifeless amber ale. I'd still choose Fat Tire over many of the other beers produced in Fort Collins, Colorado, like Busch, Michelob and Natural. But if I were asked to fill my empty glass with one brew from New Belgium's offerings, Fat Tire is the last beer I'd pick.

In spite of that, beginning March 4, Fat Tire fanatics in North Carolina can have their fill.

New Belgium's 1554 Enlightened Black Ale (a Brussels style dark ale) and Mothership Wit (an organic wheat beer) will accompany Fat Tire on this journey east. Both of these lesser-known brews are far more impressive, though they'll likely remain in Fat Tire's shadow both in promotional budgets and in the minds of macro beer drinkers.

New Belgium's expansion also means that Fat Tire is headed for the Sunshine State, probably sooner than later. So, hooray. It's coming. But, please, don't get too excited. Not over something like Fat Tire.

(Editor's note: Anyone remember the plot to Smokey and the Bandit? Yep, at one point Coors was the Holy Grail for beer drinkers east of the Mississippi.)

This article appears in Mar 11-17, 2009.