Anchor Small Beer

[steveh]

Anchor Brewing, San Francisco, CA. 22 oz. brown bottle. Brewed from the second runnings off the mash for the Anchor Old Foghorn Barleywine. No ABV, but the anchor site reports 3.3%.

Bright golden color with a firm white head that settled to a thing cap.

Hoppy - nearly skunky - nose. The glassful may have been a bit cold, so I let it warm some: Skunkiness mellows, grassy hops with biscuit malts peeking through, huskiness back.

Mild biscuit malt flavor with crisp, bitter hops in finish and aftertaste.

Thin body with a crisp mouth-feel.

Not having had an Anchor Liberty in some time, I can't compare this brew (stay tuned), but I'd venture to call this an A.P.A. Hopped more bitterly than those utilizing a hop with more citrus character. This brew reminds me of some home-brewed A.P.As I sampled when I first got into home-brewing.

Interesting beer, but not beckoning me for a second.

S.

[fretlessman71]

That's too bad... I had high hopes for this beer. I think that when I return to brewing I'm going to concentrate on creating lower alcohol brews that have lots of flavor. Doesn't really sound like this was in that same vein.

[steveh]

I'm going to give it another try, for the sake of science. But I just didn't find it terribly well balanced or exciting.

S.

[studentofbeer]

it is not well balanced at all, imo. Very dry and very hoppy. almost fizzy. i find it interesting. if it were really cheap i would likely keep some on hand because of the low abv. in some ways i kind of like the almost seltzer water carbonation. but i agree it is a bit odd and not overly exciting.

[MeridianFC]

Remember the point of a small beer is to be strictly a quencher. Anchor make this with the second running from the Old Foghorn. It is intended to fill the roll of the true small beers of yore, something to slake the thirst after mowing the lawn, after shooting hoops, or for children(!).

It's not supposed to be a world beater or even competition for low abv session brews.

Odd I agree, but I respect Anchor filling in this one forgotten gap in the brewing world.

[fretlessman71]

Put in that light, it may well be true to its form and intended purpose. If I see it I'll just have to give it a shot.

Funny that such a small beer comes in such a big bottle, eh? :)

[chazwicke]

I cannot remember this beer although it was served at an Anchor tasting that I attended some years ago at the Brickskeller. I am actually curious to try it again.

[studentofbeer]

Originally posted by fretlessman71
Put in that light, it may well be true to its form and intended purpose. If I see it I'll just have to give it a shot.

Funny that such a small beer comes in such a big bottle, eh? :)

at the tour the guide said, it has such low alcohol we have to give you more, right?

and meridian, thank you for saying that so clearly. i agree 100% like i said, i only wish it were less expensive so i could feel like i could drink the beer in those contexts. i also agree that the large bottle doesn't necissarily help. put the small beer in the 7oz. bottles and sell them for like $3 a sixer, that would be awesome.

[fretlessman71]

...with little teeny-tiny cute little bottle caps! :D

[steveh]

Originally posted by MeridianFC
It's not supposed to be a world beater or even competition for low abv session brews.

On the contrary, I've had Sam Smith's mild in the past, and a cloned version of the beer by our local brew-pub that were outstanding in character but very low in alcohol (3.4 or 3.5 IIRC) - not to mention Guinness Draught is comparatively low in ABV yet high in character.

The Small beer seemed a bit over-hopped without enough malt to back it up - sort of reminded me of the cooled off runnings of wort in brewing.

S.

[ADR]

I had a hard time with this one too, seems to be far on the hop side, like that remains when you run an American Barleywine a second time...the idea of a low alcohol big bottle for lunch has some appeal however...very cool they do it...

[MeridianFC]

Originally posted by steveh
On the contrary, I've had Sam Smith's mild in the past, and a cloned version of the beer by our local brew-pub that were outstanding in character but very low in alcohol (3.4 or 3.5 IIRC) - not to mention Guinness Draught is comparatively low in ABV yet high in character.

The Small beer seemed a bit over-hopped without enough malt to back it up - sort of reminded me of the cooled off runnings of wort in brewing.

S.

Again I maintain that it's intention is to be like that because it's a quencher. Small beers (and some table beers) are not about character per se, it's strictly about thirst reduction. This is designed, or more accurately utilized, for the person who's thinking about downing an ice cold schlitz after doing the gutters (thus the slightly higher hop and lower malt). This would be similiar, though even milder, than the beers served to workers in the field or foundry in the past.

The only problem I have with the beer is it's relatively scarce and expensive for what it is. It should be a marked step down in price from Anchors other wares. I will agree that this is not something one should go out of their way to get.

[steveh]

Originally posted by MeridianFC
...it's intention is to be like that because it's a quencher. Small beers (and some table beers) are not about character per se, it's strictly about thirst reduction.

I completely understand the theory, but I just think the Anchor Small is more distracting in flavor than quenching or refreshing - and again, just my opinion.

AFA a direct definition of "small," does that only apply to 2d running beers, or can it also apply to beers brewed specifically to be "small." If it can, I'd say that the Sam Smith Mild (if it's even still brewed) is a big exception to the "not about character" aspect.

S.

[steveh]

Originally posted by ADR
...seems to be far on the hop side, like that remains when you run an American Barleywine a second time...

I nearly made this same misconception, but the second runnings are off the mash, so any hops are are added to either beer (first or second running) after the running (sparge) in the boil - making the hope character between the Small and Old Foghorn (more than likely) very different in character.

What struck me in the Small was a mild huskiness that reminds me of the flavor of a sparge when all fermentable sugars have been washed away - any stronger and the character could be a real fault in the beer.

Yes, I understand that some brewers are experimenting with hops in the mash these days, but it's a fairly new practice.

S.

[Sladek]

I realise this thread is being brutally bumped, but I just wanted to comment on Anchor's Small Beer.

I like this beer. I haven't had it in a while, but I used to get it frequently. I'll tell you why: my taste for good beer was formed living in Prague, drinking Prazdroj, of course, but also lower-gravity, lighter pilsners. I went back to the States and explored the wonderful range of brews we have there. But sometimes I really thirst for a light, yet flavorful, beer, and Small Beer did that for me. Yes, it is too expensive, but I think more craft breweries should brew something like this. (I also love all things Anchor, so maybe that blinds me a bit)

By the way, it's really not well liked over at Beer Advocate.