Anchor Liberty Ale [Archive] - Realbeer.com Beer Community

Bryant

11-15-2003, 01:13 AM

Anchor Liberty is a reasonably hoppy golden ale brewed by Anchor Brewing Co. in SF Ca. If it is available in my area, there is a good chance it is available in yours. The biggest pros of this beer is that there is a good bit of subtleties in the flavor to me in the aftertaste and the beer actually tastes ever so slightly more pleasant out of the bottle than it does in the glass. Though I normally like to release the flavors of the beer by pouring it up, the carbonation level seems to be perfect right out of the bottle (though higher than many ales, but it fits this one well,) so this is a great beer when a pils glass is not ideal to have along. The bottle is also nicely shaped and would be good for homebrewers.
If my reviews seem out of the ordinary, it is due to the fact that it is easy to find reviews of beers that talk about head, color, flavor, etc. I try to give an opinion that adds to the other ones available.

Bryant

L.H.H.H.Brown

11-15-2003, 09:32 AM

Just wanted to state that I have toured the Anchor brewery several times ( I think they stopped that this year ) and each time I am amazed at how delicious the Liberty is. The problem is that every time I have bought a bottle it doesn't taste anywhere near what I remember from the brewery. I might be daft but ...

jlttb

11-15-2003, 11:02 PM

Between the Steam and the Christmas Ale, the Liberty doesn't get much notice, but it is terrific, and you're right, it's a great 'carry-along' brew.

ratman03

11-17-2003, 09:41 PM

Originally posted by Bryant
[i]Anchor Liberty The biggest pros of this beer is that there is a good bit of subtleties in the flavor to me in the aftertaste and the beer actually tastes ever so slightly more pleasant out of the bottle than it does in the glass
Bryant

I agree, some brews really DO taste better straight from the bottle. Perhaps it is the shape of the bottle and how air mixes with the beer when it is sipped?

b3s

11-17-2003, 09:48 PM

just got some of this tonight...drank it from a glass, but i think i'll put aside my snobbishness for a moment and try one from the bottle as well, just for comparison sake.

definitely a good ale...seems to me it's predominately the same recipe as the steam beer, only with an ale yeast. of course, it's been months since i've had the steam beer, so i could be wrong.

Bryant

11-17-2003, 11:34 PM

Originally posted by ratman03
I agree, some brews really DO taste better straight from the bottle. Perhaps it is the shape of the bottle and how air mixes with the beer when it is sipped?

I drink my Harp from the bottle once in a blue moon out of pure laziness. I prefer it in a glass, but Harp is what I drink often when watching a football game or something and don't feel like fooling with the glass. Pretty much everything else less the Liberty Ale I drink in a pils glass though. I think the main reason I drink the Liberty Ale from the glass is even though I really like the brew, it is just ever so slightly undercarbonated for it's flavor. Keeping it in the bottle spares a little of that carbonation.
Of course, your reply sounds quite reasonable. I am sure there is other beers out there that I would prefer out of the bottle, but it would be the exception as compared to the norm...... Then again, I'm not "normal" anyway. If it tastes best out of a cereal bowl to me, that's probably what I would drink it out of.

Bryant

Bryant

11-17-2003, 11:55 PM

Originally posted by b3s
just got some of this tonight...drank it from a glass, but i think i'll put aside my snobbishness for a moment and try one from the bottle as well, just for comparison sake.

definitely a good ale...seems to me it's predominately the same recipe as the steam beer, only with an ale yeast. of course, it's been months since i've had the steam beer, so i could be wrong.

Hmmm..... it has been a while since I drank the Steam as well, but that is because I find it a little mild for my normal taste. It is a "refreshing" beer for things like lying around at the beach when it's 100 degrees, but despite being Anchor's flagship, I am fairly unimpressed with it.
As far as drinking from the bottle, until I realized I like the Liberty Ale out of the bottle about the same as I do from my trusty pils glass, I never really drank beer from the bottle unless I was just in a situation where the glass was quite inconvenient. Now if I test a six of a beer I haven't tried (many times a single is not available,) the first sip of the second one is always straight from the bottle. Because I normally like to look at the color and enjoy the aroma, I typically prefer it in the glass, but then again I wouldn't know that unless I tried.

Bryant

steveh

11-18-2003, 05:58 AM

Originally posted by Bryant
Hmmm..... it has been a while since I drank the Steam as well, but that is because I find it a little mild for my normal taste. It is a "refreshing" beer for things like lying around at the beach when it's 100 degrees, but despite being Anchor's flagship, I am fairly unimpressed with it.

Hmm. You find Anchor's Steam more "mild" than Harp? I find it to be a pretty complex beer - malty character with big ester nose and flavors from the warm fermentation. It wouldn't be my first choice on a hot day.

AFA the Liberty Ale being the same recipe, I see the LA being more comparable to SNPA - it's definitely lighter in color and body, and hoppier than the Steam. A closer choice for me for that hot day.

S.

chazwicke

11-18-2003, 12:12 PM

I too enjoy Liberty Ale but sometimes overlook it when beer shopping. It is consistanly good. It was one of the beers that I served at my wedding ten years ago this month.

MmmBeer

11-18-2003, 01:07 PM

Liberty Ale is great---and often overlooked. It is the "original" micro brew. I definately like it better than the steam beer which I find to be subtle but fairly unappealing. Liberty is perfectly hopped for one of those nice hot summer days! also, being dry-hopped it has a very pleasant aroma.

Bryant

11-21-2003, 02:05 AM

Originally posted by steveh
Hmm. You find Anchor's Steam more "mild" than Harp? I find it to be a pretty complex beer - malty character with big ester nose and flavors from the warm fermentation. It wouldn't be my first choice on a hot day.

AFA the Liberty Ale being the same recipe, I see the LA being more comparable to SNPA - it's definitely lighter in color and body, and hoppier than the Steam. A closer choice for me for that hot day.

S.

Yes I do consider Anchor Steam "milder" than Harp. The Steam beer is mildly (very mildly) hopped and the Harp is moderately hopped for a lager and heavily hopped compared to most US lagers. That gives it a great balance and to me is the best macro beer available to me. As far as the Steam being complexed, my palette probably is not as complexed as some others here as it craves hops especially at night and is not as keen on malt characteristics. That's not to say I don't enjoy malty sweetness, but body and color are slightly less important to me than wonderful hop bitterness and the sweet malty beers I enjoy more on warm days.
The LA is comparable to SNPA, but the pale seems to be a bit on the tart citrus side and the Liberty more earthy. The LA does have a citrus hint in it, but it is not as pronounced as in the SNPA to me. SNPA is a good ale, but I prefer the Liberty and taste quite a difference.

Bryant

steveh

11-21-2003, 07:03 AM

Originally posted by Bryant
Yes I do consider Anchor Steam "milder" than Harp. The Steam beer is mildly (very mildly) hopped and the Harp is moderately hopped for a lager and heavily hopped compared to most US lagers. That gives it a great balance and to me is the best macro beer available to me.

Okay, so you're just saying milder in hops, I'd certainly agree with you there. But balance in beer means just that, a balance between hops and malts that compliments each other. And not to knock the heavily hopped beers, or the craving for that flavor - I get that often too.

Mouth feel/body plays a big part in what I find refreshing and what I'll choose in a beer for that purpose. Anchor Steam is more thick and sweet than Harp (or the Pale) and, while being a great beer, wouldn't quench my thirst as well on a hot day. More for a cool autumn afternoon of tailgating!

I just bought a six-pack of SNPA for the first time in a long while, it's still pretty tasty, but doesn't hit me as hoppy as it used to. Guess all the "mega-hopped" brews have conditioned my palate. I'll have to pick up a six of the Anchor Pale soon too.

S.

hopjack13

11-21-2003, 09:59 AM

i've never tried the anchor la, the steam beer and i think a summer brew and i was not realimpreesed with either, they were both good don't get me wrong but nothing i would rush out to buy again. when me and my wife were at a tattoo convention (i have a friend in the business) they served only swill , but on the othe side they had swill and anchor steam, well it didn't take me long to make up my mind. i was glad to have it. i was at the beer store yesterday and i was eyeballing the chistmas ale but didn't pick it up, i grabed an allagash tripple instead, did i make a mistake?

fretlessman71

11-21-2003, 10:18 AM

Nah... you didn't make a mistake, but maybe you and I BOTH ought to pick up some Liberty Ale next time we get the chance. I've been overlooking that beer for about 7 years now, and it's just not fair - I remember loving it! I also remember liking it much more than the Steam beer. And their Christmas Ale - YIKES!

hopjack13

11-21-2003, 10:37 AM

well we'll just have to do that then, next time im out i'll grab a sixer. so the christmas ale is pretty good then huh? how about the allagash tripple? thats the first time i've seen it out here so i grabed a 750ml , and it was only about 6 or 7 bucks! i also grabbed 2 double bastards and some yule smith as i had a couple bottles i was going to send out, but that beer is sooo damn good, i came home and my wife took them out over the last four days. guess i shoulda told here i was saving them. she's not really a hophead either, but this hoppy beer has got a balance that is just down right malty goodness and extreamly drinkable, i could have one right after the other and another and another and another...well you get the idea.:rolleyes:

fretlessman71

11-21-2003, 10:39 AM

Never had the Allagash - don't get a whole heck of a lot in NashBurg. We'll just have to orchestrate a trade sometime...

hopjack13

11-21-2003, 11:28 AM

We'll just have to orchestrate a trade sometime...
now dont go using such intricte verbalism, my feeble unpretentiuos and inferior mind can not ascertain precisely what you're trying to convey to me. your copious vocabulary is just too recondite for my diminutive level of comprehesion.

but a beer trade sounds good, let me get a few others i have going on right now out of the way and then we'll talk ;)

newportstorm

11-21-2003, 12:50 PM

Originally posted by chazwicke
It was one of the beers that I served at my wedding ten years ago this month.

Same here. As a surprise, my wife had the caterer buy one case of Liberty Ale for me - he ripped her on the price but MA liquor laws are pretty restrictive, so she didn't bitch. The bar put 8-10 aside for me and gave the rest to the guests during the open bar - they were gone in minutes! Very tasty ale.

hopjack, definitely grab some Anchor OSA - spruce in the recipe this year and I hear it's fantastic. Picked up a sixer recently that was coded wrong - $1.95!!! :D The Allagash Triple is sublime. I also love their Dubbel Reserve. Their Grand Cru in the 750ml bottle is their best effort, imho. Don't see it often but jump on it when I do. The only beef I have with them is they put a batch# on the bottle but no other info. Great brewery, though.

Cheers!

fretlessman71

11-21-2003, 12:52 PM

fretlessman71

11-21-2003, 12:53 PM

;)

Bryant

11-21-2003, 11:22 PM

[i]

Mouth feel/body plays a big part in what I find refreshing and what I'll choose in a beer for that purpose. Anchor Steam is more thick and sweet than Harp (or the Pale) and, while being a great beer, wouldn't quench my thirst as well on a hot day. More for a cool autumn afternoon of tailgating!

S. [/B]

I understand your point completely and your opinion is probably more agreed with than mine by most, but if I am out in the summertime drinking beer it is typically a socias event. If I am out cutting my grass I'll be drinking water. The maltier beers don't hold my attention as well as the hoppier ones, so in a social setting I would probably be a real "beer snob" paying more attention to my beer than my friends and family. Most of them are Bud/Coors/Miller kind of people as well anyway. They are actually always interested to see the new beers (to them) I am drinking, but they call it "weird beer."

Bryant

Bryant

11-21-2003, 11:27 PM

Originally posted by fretlessman71
Nah... you didn't make a mistake, but maybe you and I BOTH ought to pick up some Liberty Ale next time we get the chance. I've been overlooking that beer for about 7 years now, and it's just not fair - I remember loving it! I also remember liking it much more than the Steam beer. And their Christmas Ale - YIKES!

If I'm not mistaken, The Christmas Ale is a different recipe every year. I would give it a try, but finding it here may prove difficult. I'll have to make a run to Atlanta to get real holiday micros. : /

Bryant

BluesHarp

11-22-2003, 12:28 PM

...just picked up some Anchor X-Mas yesterday. A very interesting beer; lots of banana in the aroma, especially when swirled a bit in the glass. Definite spice, some sweetness with roasted coffee undertones. Finishes with a real bitter bite: I think this would be terrific cellared, which I plan to do with a couple bottles.

BTW...they don't advertise the ABV of this stuff, but I think it is pretty high this year...I had two Bell's Oberons with dinner, then two Anchors...they hit like a hammer!!

Richard English

11-22-2003, 02:22 PM

Whate verb would you suggest, then, to convey the meaning of "to combine the elements of a situation for best effect" rather than "orchestrate"?

Incidentally, to get back to the thread - Anchor Steam was the first beer I ever drank in the USA (in 1986) that tasted of anything better than cold, fizzy soapsuds. I actually arranged to stopover in SFO (rather than LAX) on my way back from Australia simply to ensure that I could get a decent drink after three weeks of Australian rubbish.

fretlessman71

11-22-2003, 11:05 PM

Originally posted by Richard English
Whate verb would you suggest, then, to convey the meaning of "to combine the elements of a situation for best effect" rather than "orchestrate"?

YEAH! What he said! :D

fretlessman71

11-24-2003, 02:40 AM

Originally posted by hopjack13
now dont go using such intricte verbalism, my feeble unpretentiuos and inferior mind can not ascertain precisely what you're trying to convey to me. your copious vocabulary is just too recondite for my diminutive level of comprehesion.

but a beer trade sounds good, let me get a few others i have going on right now out of the way and then we'll talk ;)

...DON'T....

...INTRICATE....

...UNPRETENTIOUS....

....just doing a little spell checking here to revive the thread. Time for me to pick up some spiced ale pretty soon - hope the Anchor Christmas makes it out here to the sticks!

hopjack13

11-24-2003, 08:03 AM

how about integrate? nah...smaller and more inelaborate context of your posts would be appreciated. how bout set up?
i could understand that.....oh and i know my speeling sucks!:p

L.H.H.H.Brown

11-25-2003, 02:50 PM

Just to say the Anchor Xmas is delicious this year. Have had some since it came out. It's my dessert beer. My, aren't we loquatious on this thread.

hopjack13

11-25-2003, 02:57 PM

better watch it or fret will get you on your speeling;)
you got meon that one i had to look it up ...he he he
damn , i was going to pick up the x-mas ale but when i found out about the yulesmith i had a fit! and forgot all about it!

Bryant

12-21-2003, 06:14 AM

BrewDog

09-17-2005, 09:01 PM

Just got back from a conference in San Francisco. Enjoyed the Anchor Liberty very much while I was there. I was VERY pleased to see both an Anchor pub AND a Gordon Biersch pub in the concourse of SFO on my way out. What a relief from the typical BMC swill joints you find in airports.

I also had a few 'house brews' in a couple restaurants. They were decent, but nothing out of the ordinary. (Scoma's Pale Ale one night and another one the next, can't remember where, though.). One other restaurant had FRESH SNPA on tap and it was great, too. Scoma's was IMO a wildly overpriced Italian restaurant place on Pier 41 in Fisherman's wharf. The food was good, but I've been to others that were way better for way less.
Chalk it up to doing the 'tourist' thing.

Unfortunately, my schedule was not conducive to trying to plan a get together (though I did PM Student who unfortunately was too busy to hook up). Hopefully next time it will be easier to arrange something.

bruin_ale

09-17-2005, 10:24 PM

Wow, you revived a two year old thread! Hope you had a great time in SF. You pointed out a few things that we natives take for granted, that being fresh SNPA on tap and GB around every corner. Just wish we could get some magic hat, dogfish head, new glarus, etc over here (not necessarily in that order, just some things I've been wanting to try).

Oh, and everything on the pier (and in the rest of SF) is wildly overpriced unfortunately.

BrewDog

09-17-2005, 10:35 PM

Yeah, I realized it was an old thread, but I figured why start a new one on the same topic?

Up here in Seattle, we get Anchor Steam all the time, but not the Liberty (unless you go out of your way looking for it). I rarely go looking for a particular beer given the vast selection of Pac NW brews readily available requiring no effort hunting them down.
Yes, I'm mighty thankful for that too. :D

Sladek

09-18-2005, 11:17 AM

I read on the first page of this thread that Anchor has supposedly stopped giving tours of the brewery. Is this true? I toured it in 2000 and loved it. I hope they haven't stopped this.

newportstorm

09-18-2005, 11:32 AM

Originally posted by Sladek
I read on the first page of this thread that Anchor has supposedly stopped giving tours of the brewery. Is this true? I toured it in 2000 and loved it. I hope they haven't stopped this.

Maybe it was temporary? I've heard nothing like this - would be odd for them to cut themselves off from the public. Anyone know of any other brewery that doesn't/won't give tours to people really interested in their beer?

Anyway, from Anchor's site:
http://www.anchorbrewing.com/about_us/tourinfo.htm

Cheers!

studentofbeer

09-18-2005, 11:46 AM

nah, i did a tour about 9 months ago (and really should go do another one again soon...).

bruin_ale

09-18-2005, 12:27 PM

oh good.. I read that on earlier in the thread also and was hoping it wasn't true (say it ain't so!). Some friends of mine and I were talking about going to do a tour sometime soon.

Sladek

09-18-2005, 01:02 PM

Originally posted by studentofbeer
nah, i did a tour about 9 months ago (and really should go do another one again soon...).

Well, good! A classy brewery, beautiful copper, cool staff, great tastings at the bar, and cool breweriana. I can't wait to visit Frisco again!

L.H.H.H.Brown

09-19-2005, 06:18 PM

Tours were stopped for at least a year but were resumed at least since Jan. this year ( to the best of my recollection ). I too am very thankful they started back up. I just have to get up there again.

ratman03

09-20-2006, 01:10 AM

Originally posted by Bryant
Yes I do consider Anchor Steam "milder" than Harp. The Steam beer is mildly (very mildly) hopped and the Harp is moderately hopped for a lager and heavily hopped compared to most US lagers.

Umm, no. Harp does not have more IBUs than Anchor Steam. You are probably tasting hops in the Harp because it has 'macro' (read: lighter) body. Good malt body and mouthfeel smooths out the taste of hops.

It took me quite a while to appreciate what is going on with Anchor Steam, but I did come around to it. As Steveh rightly points out, the beer is quite complex. It has depth and interest. I find that I can't quite put my finger on what it tastes like -- but that's what I like about it. It's truly a unique beer.

Wit Memo Jeff

09-20-2006, 09:11 PM

I tend to overlook the Anchor beers in the stores 'cause I'm frugal, and they're a bit pricey here on the right coast compared to the case deals on some fine local brews.

Last Nov I toured the Anchor brewery... it's a beautiful place with a generous tasting tap room packed with breweriana. The Anchor Steam draft tasted just like good, fresh beer should.