Anchor Steam Beer

Beer has been one of America’s favorite beverages for a very long time, and the beer that is made in this country is some of the best in the world.  So it is only fitting that I talk about one that hails from here in California and is a beer that has great history to it.

The next beer that I’m going to review is Anchor Steam Beer that is brewed in San Francisco, California. I say this beer has history because this beer has been around since 1896. This beer became a favorite during the time of the gold rush. People came to the west coast looking to become wealthy by finding gold, however, not everyone did. For those who did not find any gold at all, there was Anchor Steam Beer.

Not only does it have history because it was around during the time of the gold rush, but it has history because of the way it was brewed during this time. It is thought to be that this beer got its name from the way it us brewed.
This beer is brewed in shallow open fermentation tubs or tanks. When it got it’s start this process took place on the rooftops of San Francisco. The beer would ferment on the rooftops and during the cool nights, the steam could be seen rising from those tanks, which is where the steam portion if the name is thought to come from.

When it comes to this beer it is brewed with a couple different types of malts and hops. The malts that are is this beer are two row and caramel malts. The malts in this beer give this beer its dark amber color. They also give this beer the sweetness that it has. The malts are very noticeable in taste and in smell.When combined with the hops you will get a bit of bitterness but nothing that is unbearable. The hops will also give the beer a bit of a floral aroma and floral taste that goes really well with the sweetness of the malts. This is a one of a kind beer that pairs well with BBQ and cheeses. I hope that you all try this beer.

Napa Smith: Amber Ale

Its that time once again where I dive into another beer review after not having post anything in a while. The beer that I have recently tried is one that will please a lot of people. This one is the Amber Ale by Napa Smith Brewing.

I happen to find this beer to be one of the best Amber Ales that I have ever tried. This is a very complex beer that have a variety of taste and aromas. The complexity comes the variety of hops and malts that this beer is brewed with. This beer is brewed with six different malts which is pretty unique in itself, I have tried beers that are brewed with multiple malts however not many that have this many. Anyway, the malts within this beer are 2 Row, Munich, Honey, Red, Amber, ESB . The malts in this beer are noticeable right from the beginning. As soon as you pour the beer into the glass of your choice you can smell the sweetness of malts. The malts will give this beer a variety of notes through out the beer which include toffee, caramel.

With each sip also also comes a low level of bitterness. The bitterness comes from the variety of hops that are in the beer. Those hops are of Centennial, Sterling and Mt Hood varieties. These hops will also give the beer a little bit if a floral aroma. However, the bitterness of this beer is very mild, the sweetness of the malts will hide most if the bitterness of this beer.

This beer would make a great beer for the summer months. I say that because the summer months are for barbecuing and this beer goes really well with any BBQ. This beer also goes really well with dry aged cheese. You can find this beer in a lot of different places. I happened to stumble upon it at the local Bevmo.

The Lost Abbey: Red Barn Ale

It has been a while since I have reviewed a beer from the Lost Abbey brewery but the one that I am about to review is definitely a must have. The beer in the review is the “Red Barn Ale.” It is a fantastic beer that I couldn’t recommend more.  However, to me the ail throws this beer off a little bit. To me I found this beer to be in between an ale and a wheat beer. Its really a combinations of the two.

With that out of the way, I have to say that this beer is a very complex beer that has a lot of different ingrediants, aromas, and tastes.  To start off with this beer is brewed with a variety of malts and hops. The hops that this beer is brewed with are the Phoenix and German Tettnang Hops. Those hops are combined with Two Row, Flaked Wheat and Flaked Oat malts. This beer also includes a combination of yeast orange peel, black pepper, ginger and grains of paradise.

I happened to stumble upon this beer at my local Bevmo and it comes in a 750ml bottle. I chose this beer because I have had a few of the other Lost Abbey beers and have loved them and figured this one wouldn’t dissappoint. So when you pop the cork on this bottle and pour it into your glass you will notice that this beer pours to a dark golden color and is hazy like a wheat beer. When you pour it, it will have a mild head but nothing spectacular.  As I do with all of my beers, I smelt this beer before I had even took took a sip. What I noticed was that it has a sweet aroma to it. In my opinion the ginger really stuck out in my mind, it was a different aroma and maybe thats why. Its one that you don’t find in a lot of beers. I also sensed a floral aroma to this beer which is more than likely coming from the hops that are in this beer. Than of course you get the fruity\citrus aroma from the orange peel.

So once I had time to distinguish the aroma’s I  took my first sip. Like I was saying, I found this beer to be a mixture of an Ale and a wheat beer and you can get this when you take your first sip. To me the beginning of the beer is really where the wheat beer aspect of this beer is. You will get the smooth refreshing portion of the beer where you can taste the orange and the ginger. Then when you get to the back end of the sip you will get hit with the bitterness of the hops. However, don’t be alarmed  , the bitterness is not overwhelming. Its actually right on point, it gives you the ale aspect of this beer.

So if you are looking to try a very unique beer that you will be sure to love, You have to try this one.