Tag: Anchor Brewing

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Holiday Beer Review – Anchor Our Special Ale 2013

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….

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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.

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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.

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Food GPS Teaser – Holiday Ales

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

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Review – Anchor Zymaster # 4 Fort Ross Farmhouse Ale

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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.

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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.

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Review – East Coast vs West Coast lagers

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Anchor 2

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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.

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Zymaster 3


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?

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Zymaster


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.

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Strong Ale Festival at Library Alehouse

When the shopping and tree trimming start to get you down, you need something strong to lift you back up and the Library AleHouse probably will have it on tap during their strong ale festival. Below are the details:(truncated a bit because the list was soooo damn long!)

“It’s our favorite time of year for beer at Library Alehouse. The weather cools down and the ABV goes up. It’s as though the universe is telling us to stay in inside and sip strong, dark beers. To that end, we are proud to announce our 2nd Annual Strong Ale Holiday Fest, running December 19-31, 2011. We’ve been stashing away big beers all year long and we’re finally ready to unleash them upon the drinking public. We expect the list to include the following beers:
• FiftyFifty Totality
• FiftyFifty Eclipse Elijah Craig 12
• FiftyFifty Eclipse Four Roses Single Barrel
• FiftyFifty Eclipse Elijah Craig 18 (Bottle Pour)
• FiftyFifty Eclipse Brandy (Bottle Pour)
• FiftyFifty Eclipse Grand Cru (Bottle Pour)
• FiftyFifty Eclipse Rittenhouse Rye (Bottle Pour)
• Lost Abbey Ad Lib
• Eagle Rock Jubilee
• Stone Double Bastard 2011
• Karl Strauss Two Tortugas
• North Coast Grand Cru
• Alaskan Smoked Porter 2010
• Alaskan Smoked Porter 2011
• Scaldis Noel 2011
• Bootlegger’s 78 Anniversary Ale
• TAPS Barleywine 2010
• Ommegang Adoration
• Ommegang Three Philosophers
• N’ice Chouffe
• Bruery Cuir
• Bruery 4 Calling Birds
• Bruery Melange #3
• Bruery Burly Gourd
• Bruery Smokin’ Wood
• Anchor Our Barrel Ale
• Anchor Christmas 2010
• Anchor Christmas 2011
• Anchor Old Foghorn
• Sierra Nevada 30th Anniversary Brewers Reserve Grand Cru
• Deschutes Black Butte XXIII
• Deschutes The Stoic
• Deschutes The Abyss
• Uinta Labyrinth
• Oskar Blues ODB
• Ballast Point Victory at Sea
• Ballast Point Indra Kunindra
• Dupont Avec Les Bon Voeux
• Evil Twin Christmas Eve in a NYC Hotel
• Emelisse Jack Daniel’s Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout
• Emelisse Jack Daniel’s Barrel-Aged Barleywine
• De Dochter van de Korenaar Oak-Aged Embrasse
• Great Divide Hibernation

But we couldn’t stop there. We’ve also got an amazing series of events
lined up during the fest:

Monday December 19th, FiftyFifty Brewing Kickoff Event:
For our Strong Ale Holiday Fest Kickoff Event on December 19th, we welcome FiftyFifty Brewing from Truckee, CA and local ice cream
producer Sweet Rose Creamery to the Alehouse. We will we have FiftyFifty Owners Andy and Alicia Barr in the house, along with several
varieties of their much sought after Eclipse Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout and the base beer, Totality. Here’s what we’ll be pouring and serving:
DRAFT:
-Eclipse Four Roses Single Barrel
-Eclipse Elijah Craig 12
-Totality
BOTTLE POURS (Extremely Limited):
-Eclipse Elijah Craig 18
-Eclipse Rittenhouse Rye
-Eclipse Brandy
-Eclipse Grand Cru
FROM SWEET ROSE:
-Bacon Bourbon Sundae
-Spicy Chocolate Ice Cream
-Salted Caramel Ice Cream
But we didn’t quit there. Any Alehouse customer who purchases any serving size of any variety of Eclipse on the 19th will be given access to a special menu just across the street at our new neighbor Areal (2820 Main St). We’ve partnered with them to bring you the opportunity to taste the whiskeys that came out of the barrels in which Eclipse was aged. They have prepared a special menu, allowing you to taste a full flight of spirits, or try them a la carte. They’ve even prepared some special savory pairing bites for the occasion. It promises to be an excellent evening.

Wednesday December 21st, Ommegang & La Chouffe Keep the Glass Night:
On Wednesday, December 21st, we’ll play host to Ommegang and Brasserie d’Achouffe. Sales Representative Stuart Knight is bringing
three strong dark Belgian beers with him: N’Ice Chouffe, Three Philosophers and Adoration. We’ll have a limited amount of glassware
for you to take home with the purchase of any of those beers along with an available flight of all three.

Friday December 23rd, Horrible Holiday Music and Ugly Sweater Party:
We couldn’t just have an ugly sweater party, so we decided to dress it up with some terrible holiday music too! Come revel with us in the cheesiest fashion possible, listening to elevator music renditions of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and glam rock versions of “Frosty the Snowman.” Don’t forget to don your most hideous of holiday garments as anyone who sports an ugly sweater that evening will receive. $2 off their first draft beer.

Tuesday December 27th, Anchor Our Barrel Ale Release:
You know Anchor for their classic Christmas Ale, but they’ve also quietly started a superb barrel-aging program. They’ve blended together some of those barrel-aged beers to make “Our Barrel Ale”, a beer previously only available for purchase at the brewery. We’ll have a small keg of Our Barrel Ale along with Old Foghorn, Christmas 2011 and Christmas 2010 for this special event. A flight of all four beers will be available. We also welcome LACBC to Alehouse this night, with 10% of sales going to the charity. So if you love bikes and beer, or just one of the two, make sure you come by on the 27th.

Thursday December 29th, The Bruery Belated Christmas:
A Strong Ale Fest wouldn’t be complete without a visit from those masters of all things high-ABV, The Bruery. We saved a keg of Autumn
Maple for this event and we’ll also have Melange #3, Smokin’ Wood, Burly Gourd, 4 Calling Birds, and Cuir (Anniversary Old Ale). Beer
flights will only make the evening tastier.

As though all this weren’t enough, we’re holding a Glassware Garage Sale for the entire month of December. We’ve amassed quite a collection of tulips, pokals, pint glasses and goblets over the years and we’re giving you the opportunity to add them to your collection (or to someone else’s as a gift). Premium glasses will be $4 each and all others will be $2 each. Spend $25 (before tax and gratuity) in a single visit to the Alehouse and buy up to two premium glasses for $2 each or any two others for $1 each. Spend $100 or more in a single visit and buy as much as you want at the reduced rate. Also, be on the lookout for keep the glass promotions littered throughout the Beer Menu during the garage sale. The glassware selection will change every day so make sure you visit often.”