Beer Review: Anchor Liberty Ale

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: Six percent

Appearance: This beer was a pretty shade of orange. It was an attractive combination of orange and mango, to be more exact. There was a initial layer of vivid white foam for the brew's head. A little bit of weakness was evident by the extreme lack of lacing, but there were a few noticeable carbonation bubbles. Still, these bubbles didn't appear to provide for any decent texture later in the process. There was also the slightest of hazes in this.

Smell: The aroma of this brew was very fruity, overall. Still, it was citrusy and floral. It had an easy-going hop nose. Amazingly, my sinuses weren't destroyed! The smell of this reminded me more of a fruit beer than an IPA, which I liked.

Taste: This was very balanced. There was a hint of citrus and fruit up front before getting some hop bitterness on the middle and back portions. A tasty cracker/bread flavor accentuated the finish. A touch of paleness was the explanation point at the end of each sip. Very smooth.

Overall Rating: 

I don't want to make a pun given the name of the beer, but this is best described as what I'd call a "free IPA." It's not totally dominated by hops as many of the style are nowadays. The flavor is all there, but I'd like a little more feeling and texture to it. Not a lot of carbonation and the head was hardly present in this beer. I still enjoyed, though.

Beer Review: Anchor Humming Ale

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 5.9 percent

Appearance: This came off to me as slightly foggy, but an interesting color similar to clover honey. The color itself seemed to be textured. it was very vivid and flashy to the eye. There were only just a few bubbles that I could notice with the haze, but there was a thin white head that got even thinner after a minute or two. What remained of the head had some great retention and even left some average lacing. I was intrigued by the interesting appeal of this beer.

Smell: The aroma of this brew could easily be classified as somewhere in between fruity and citrusy in my mind. I got hop notes that were quite pungent. In case you aren't really familiar with my tastes, this usually worries me. My first inclination was that this was a very bitter beer.

Taste: There was a ton of floral taste from the hops hat I noticed at first. Oddly, this struck me on the front of the tongue. I didn't pick up much of the citrus that I noticed in the brew's smell. What I did get was a big bite from the hops in this. I expected just a touch of paleness knowing that this was a form of a pale ale. I got plenty of hops instead. I've tried some IPA's that were loaded with hops. They never gave me hiccups. This pale ale did!

Overall Rating: 

I really loved the way this beer looked. The aroma was just as intriguing  as it was worrisome (mostly because I'm not Mr. Hoppy Beer). As for the hiccups? I'm assuming it's from the hops. Yikes! A good while back I wrote a Monday Rant post about the diversity I've found in the American Pale Ale style. That's if it is even an actual style or something American brewers here in the states just developed over time. I think this definitely fits in with what I explained in that post.

Which is Worthy?

There was a post in The Session beer blog series just a few months ago that had a subject matter of "One Beer to Rule Them All." Being a lazy piece of trash, I forgot about the monthly session posts for quite a few months over the last year. I'm the worst.

Beauty.

It took me forever to finally compile a review for yesterday of my beer that rules all other beers. I've never experienced anything like it before. No other beer has a color like it does. It also has a wonderful combo on the finish that's a little hoppy and biscuity. It's awesome. Perhaps one of the reasons I didn't partake in that edition of The Sessions because I didn't want to spoil the review I had been planning for months prior.

I know there are some craft beer fans out there that love IPA's and might even drool a bit more for a Double IPA. You could be like me and enjoy something a little more subtle or balanced in terms of malt and bitterness. Is it a chewy stout or porter that you crave when it comes to an awesome pint?

I'm curious to know. I know there are about three or four people that stop by these parts and leave a comment or two once a week at least. Maybe we can get a bit of debate going on this issue. I'd enjoy comparing my favorite to that of others.

Beer Review: Anchor Steam Beer

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 4.9 percent

Appearance: Anchor Steam Beer is a shiny and attractive copper. It has both pink and orange hues floating around in the body of the brew as well. I've never seen a color like this before. There are your typical amber and copper beers, but this (at least in my mind) is the measuring stick. I just want to keep staring at it. I also noticed a slight cloudiness within the body. It wasn't totally obscuring, but it seemed to be less hazy towards the bottom of the glass and got a bit more intense as I looked higher. The head is an awesome-looking cream white and was very lively. It ended up leaving a ton of thick and ample lacing. There was also a plethora of carbonation bubbles quickly approaching towards the head of the beer.

Smell: I took in a large helping of caramel aroma at first. It was strong, but intriguingly it didn't come off as sweet. There was also a hint of dark bread as well as some dark, but not-so-dark malt. There was also something fruity behind all of that. To me, it seemed close to something such as a pear. That was a nice compliment of sweetness.

Taste: This is where it all came together for me and this brew. This beer is interestingly sweet and malty up front, but tangy and bitter on the back. Everything compliments something else amazingly. The caramel and the dark bready grain bathed my tongue at the beginning of my first sip. At the midway point (which I rarely pick up in some beers) the sweetness of the pear peaked through albeit just a bit. The fruitiness in this was just enough to make this beer look kind of heavy, but play lightly. The finish and aftertaste ended up being the two most fascinating pieces in this beer's taste. There's a bitterness and a slight zest. The bitterness isn't your typical hop bitterness though. There's a slight biscuit taste from the malt that jumps in right before it goes down. Both bitter tastes stick around in the aftertaste.

Overall Rating: 

This beer is pretty much my standard. I don't think beer gets better than a glass of this does. That's just my thoughts. I sometimes lean towards Southern Tier's Pumking, but I always end up coming back to this one. I've waited to review this beer so long because I wanted it to transfer from my fingers through to the keyboard perfectly. The same goes for the photographing process. I love the color of this beer. I've never seen a color that compares to this one. The taste is also unlike any other beer out there. Just an extremely unique beer.

Monday Rant: Plenty More Football Than Beer

I'll try my best to not talk football on this mournful day following Super Bowl XLVII, but I do need to let a few frustrations off of my chest. In case you haven't figured it out by now, I'm a Pittsburgh Steelers fan. If you can throw some simple addition in there you'll figure out that I don't like the Baltimore Ravens either.

The last two years of the NFL Playoffs haven't been comfortable to watch for me. Each year three of the last four teams have been teams that if they win the Super Bowl it would be a punch to the stomach of any passionate Steelers fan.

One of my favorite labels, too.

If the San Francisco 49ers would've won either of the last two the team would have tied Pittsburgh with six Super Bowl championships (I know Green Bay has more NFL titles, but that argument isn't so convenient for me). If the New England Patriots happened to win the combination of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady would have tied Chuck Noll and Terry Bradshaw with four Super Bowls as a coach/quarterback pairing. With the Ravens, the reasoning is somewhat obvious.

I especially don't care for how a certain Baltimore linebacker and his tendency to proclaim how his practice of religion is somehow better than other people that happen to play the exact same sport that he does and this is coming from someone that's a terribly inconsistent Catholic.

As you can see, yesterday's big game was a no-win situation for me. The best possible solution? Look at it as a competition between beers. My favorite brewery in San Francisco is Anchor Brewing, whose flagship is Anchor Steam Beer. In Maryland I narrowed it down to Flying Dog. If I had to pick a favorite from Flying Dog it would have to be Raging Bitch IPA.

In terms of beer, this is an easy choice for me. I believe Anchor Steam Beer is one of the truly great beers in existence. I have Raging Bitch ranked up there pretty high as well and my girlfriend literally lives a two minute drive from the brewery, but I from a strictly beer perspective I love Anchor Steam Beer.

So, maybe I was actually rooting for the 49ers last night? I'm not really sure. Anyways, if you're a Ravens fan congratulations. Enjoy it. I sure enjoyed the two my Steelers gave me.

Beer Rankings Now Stretch to 34

I do get really behind on keeping my beer rankings updated, but as of today the ranking list has been expanded to 34 brews. Stock has risen for some beers and has also dropped severely for others.

Quite a few new beers are now on the rankings. These brews include Troegs Sunshine Pils, Fat Head's Head Hunter IPA, Shipyard Smashed Blueberry and Wild Hare Pale Ale.

For the newer beers on the list, I've linked the reviews for those that I've already done. Many of them still haven't been reviewed, but I've already taken pictures, sampled most of them and recorded notes. Beer Reviews on-deck include East End's Monkey Boy, Anchor Steam Beer and the infamous Gummi bear Beer from Kenai River Brewing Company in Alaska. You can enjoy the rankings in its entirety right here.

Monday Rant: Untappd Profile Favorites

Behold.

I've noticed that when I venture over to my Untappd profile on the web version, that I pay particular attention to the "Your Favorites" section of my profile. I've also cruised through the profiles of other Untappd users and paid good attention to the very same section as I do on mine. I've taken into account those five beers that are shown and deducted somewhat of a sense of the beer tastes of said users.

Now, there's a few distinctive questions that I have concerning the top-five beer list on our Untappd profiles. Is it meant to communicate to other users our tastes in beer? If not, are they influenced by whether or not we own a case of a certain beer? Do some Untappd users drink a beer multiple times just to check-in to it and get it on the favorites list?

I've somewhat become compulsive about what beers show on my favorites list. I first became obsessive about it when I finished a case of Sam Adams Octoberfest last fall and slowly started to have more of a hate relationship with Sam Adams brews. Due to the fact that I had a case of it and had checked-in to the beer so many times, Octoberfest was obviously displayed on my favorites list. Thus, I began a mission to rid my Untappd favorites of Sam Adams Octoberfest.


I often wonder if other Untappd users follow a protocol similar to mine when checking-in to other beers. If I have a case of the same beer, There's a good chance that it will end up appearing on this Untappd list. I obviously don't check-in to every beer in a case as I don't want a situation where I end up with 24 check-ins of the same beer and have no way of bumping it from the favorites list. As I write this I'm grinding my teeth in anguish that i have too many check-ins for both Yuengling Traditional Lager and Blue Point Blueberry Ale.


I've been outspoken about Anchor Steam Beer being among the greatest beer in existence, and recently received a case of it as a college graduation present. I will adhere to my normal policy of not checking into all 24 beers, but I most certainly want Anchor Steam Beer appearing on my favorites for others to see. It appears to be a two-way street.

I'm really interested in seeing somewhat of a response on this issue from fellow Untappd users. I think this brings up an intriguing point. It also reminds me of how many MySpace users, back in the day, ranked their top friends on their profiles.

Beer Review: Anchor Old Foghorn Ale

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 8.2 percent

Appearance: Old Foghorn Ale is a dark shade of copper. The beer's body almost has a muddy look to it. The carbonation in the head of the beer is its own layer, separate from the rest of the body. There's no other evidence for carbonation elsewhere in this beer. I assume that this is because of the thickness of the beer. It looks somewhat syrupy.

Smell: This beer smells very sweet, initially. Honey, toffee, and caramel are all present. I also got a hint of brown sugar, which was the dominant aroma and also seemed like it was burnt or charred.

Taste: It's been years since I experienced a taste like this. It reminded me of when you've got a bad cough as a kid and your mother comes into your room with that spoonful of Robitussin. The taste of this beer instantly reminded me of cough syrup. The sweetness of the flavor seemed so charred that it had that effect on me. It was quite a struggle to get down.

Overall Rating: 

This was a fight to finally finish. I was very disappointed with this one as I've heard many good reviews about it. Might be a bad batch, as that is certainly possible, but I didn't care for this. That and I'm not all too familiar with barleywines so I wasn't sure what to expect going into drinking this beer.