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Just this month, I kvetched about the loss of some iconic Anchor Brewing beers and a replacement IPA. But then news comes down the beer pike about their new spring seasonal, a saison. And my hopes are lifted again.
I still would like to see the Bock back though.
When I heard that Anchor Brewing was stopping their bock, I was a bit miffed. Certain styles in the U.S. were being phased out it appeared. Anchor had done such a good job adding a lager to their line-up that I felt a step had been taken backward.
That worry was amplified by what appears to be the replacement, another IPA. I certainly hope it is good. I will try it but I wish they could do it and the bock ½ and 1/2.
Here is how Jay Brooks at the Brookston Beer Bulletin, described the new beer, “Anchor IPA is brewed with six different hops, including Apollo, Bravo and Cascade for bittering, and the five used in dry-hopping are Apollo, Cascade, an experimental hop still know as 431, Nelson Sauvin and Citra.”
I have saved up Anchor Christmas beers from 2008 through this year’s version for a special taste test. Notes below are on each year as it tastes when opened in December of this year. Followed by a short video of the major tasting….
2008-2010
The 2008 has a mixture of a brandy or sherry / soy sauce. The head really holds up on this one. Lots of maple syrup and soy sauce in this one. I fear it’s prime is now way long past. And yet I still have 1 bottle for next year.
The 2009 is still woodsy. A touch of spruce is there. Lighter than the 2008 and a little crisp as well. Very much like the Steam beer just with age and spruce.
2010 has a lot of cider notes to it. It reminded me of some English beers that have a touch of that note in the back. It sticks to the tongue as well.
2011 – 2013
The ’11 is the worst smelling of the bunch. I get a little bit of tree note but then more cardboard. It is worse when cold. As it warms it does get better but it is the least of the bunch. Has some sour to it as well. Some light coffee notes in the back.
2012 has more of an espresso head to it. It is a mix of spruce and caramel. It is smooth and a little viscous. A touch of cider to it as well.
And here are my notes from last year when I did the vertical tasting……
2008
Very frothy pour with an espresso head. Aroma hints that this one may have passed prime tasting time. An old ale background with a touch of sour creeping in. Very British ale tasting.
2009
Another frothy beer. Both were stored standing up so I don’t think it was my cellaring technique. But this one had a much lighter head to it. Some minor roast notes and a little whisper of pine. That same sourness and apple cider taste is evident in this one as in 2008.
2010
This one poured better. More Belgian-y. Good sparkle to this one in comparison to the flatter beers form ’08 and ’09. More coffee acidity here. Again the tree and pine notes are only faint and way in the background.
2011
Dark with a brown ale backbone. Not much spice or flavor in the 2011. Even tastes a little thin. If the others did not stand up to aging then I fear for this one.
Food GPS has been running my choices of Top 10 California beer styles. I have covered IPA’s and stouts and now it is time to do a round-up of Holiday beers!
A quick glance at my blog shows my love for the style(s) that encompass the gamut of beer creativity. And one of the best, in my opinion is the Anchor Christmas label and their website has added a cool feature that showcases all the labels in the series…
Check out the range right HERE
Always fun to see that you have caught up to a series. Granted only four in the Anchor Brewing Zymaster Series, but I have had all of them! Pours a reddish orange. Nice 1/2 finger white head of foam. A crazy quilt of funk, hops and some metallic notes in the first sip. Maybe that is the Yerba Santa? Very earthy to me. A little dry at the end as well. A search finds some tea notes and vanilla in the aroma. As it warms some rose and citrus notes start to come forth. But to me closer to a dubbel than a saison.
No book to report on currently but I am watching the Netflix series Orange is the New Black and listening to Ratchet from Bloc Party too much.
Anchor Brewing is not only growing bigger in the coming years but they are ramping up their special beers as well with two new entrants in the Zymaster series. Of these two new ones, the farmhouse ale sounds the most intriguing.
Today I am doing a West coast vs East coast beer smackdown. But instead of doing an IPA, I am comparing lagers.
On one side is the new Anchor California lager and from the east is the Underdog Atlantic Lager from Flying Dog of Maryland.
The Anchor pours a dark yellow and has a sweet wheat aroma. The flavor is a touch to sweet for me and could use a burst of carbonation to cut through some of the slickness in the mouthfeel but it is a solid beer. I also love the backstory on how this is a re-creation of an old Gold Rush lager. So it has great history behind it. And I think the bear on the label would kick the ass of the Underdog on the Flying Dog label. But the beer is more sweet than refreshing.
The Underdog Atlantic lager pours a very light yellow with plenty of both foam and bubbles. There is really no aroma at all. There is no sweetness at all and has a tiny bit of metallic at the back. A bit dry as well. Very crisp.
The winner?
I have to go with the Underdog. It seemed more of a lager to me. The Anchor sweetness reminded me of the overly sweet industrial lagers though obviously light years ahead. I preferred the simpleness of the Underdog.
Those worried about the future Anchor Brewing when Fritz Maytag sold them should be less so as of a week ago. That is when Anchor teamed up with the San Francisco Giants to announce plans for building on Pier 48 part of what San Francisco is calling the Mission Rock Development Project.
Here are the press release details that are most important (in my mind):
Anchor will continue to operate its facility in Potrero Hill, but will greatly expand its operations with the development of the Pier 48 facility. The two facilities will allow the company to quadruple its annual production capacity from 180,000 barrels to 680,000 barrels.
Pier 48, the southern-most structure of the Port’s Embarcadero Historic District, will be fully rehabilitated and re-established as an industrial hub of the central waterfront. The new Anchor facility will feature production facilities for brewing, distilling, packaging, storing, and shipping; a restaurant, museum and educational facility in the headhouse of Pier 48; and a restored walkway around the entire pier apron that will connect pedestrians to the Portwalk and allow views into the Anchor brewhouse. Anchor will offer tours of the facilities and educational seminars with a focus on the history of craft beer, the art of craft distilling and Anchor’s history in San Francisco. The construction project beginning late 2014 will feature the use of green and sustainable materials, setting the standard for a modern urban brewery.
The Anchor Brewery expansion project also represents the first major tenant of the Mission Rock Project – a new, mixed use urban neighborhood currently being developed by the San Francisco Giants. The Anchor Brewing facility will cover 22% of the overall project site.
In addition to Anchor Brewing’s new facility, the Mission Rock Project will include more than eight acres of parks and open space, 650-1,500 residential units, 1-1.7 million square feet office space, parking structure to serve ballpark and Mission Rock patrons, and up to 250,000 square feet of retail, restaurants, and public amenities. In total, Mission Rock is expected to create 4,800 construction jobs and 6,400 permanent jobs.”
This announcement is one heck of a way to put a cap on the 2013 SF Beer Week.
Anchor has been adding new recipes via their Zymaster series this year. I missed the first (a lager) but was surprised by how much I liked their second a mild. And now comes this stout. Will they go two for two?
Anchor Brewing has unveiled a new line of beers going by the name of the “Zymaster Series,” which will have its coming out party during San Francisco Beer Week.
It will be a modern re-creation of a lager using California malt and cluster hops to match up with what may have been brewed back in the days before even Anchor Brewing started up. To read up on the research that went into creating this new beer check out the Brookston Beer Bulletin HERE.