The smell is not overpowering or delicate, just a strong balance of whiskey noted malt, and gentle fresh hopping. The colour is the very definition of beer, a light golden brown.
The initial malt is very distinct, its like a familiar face that you know but can’t place, it reminds me more of fine whiskeys I’ve drunk than of beers, with its unique tangy sweetness. The middle demonstrates glimpses of biscuit and fruit, and leads you like a kind maître’d to the finale. In keeping with what’s preceded it the finish is, well, polite. Its not an overstated crescendo of hops, nor a brash American IPA, its a perfectly measured hop bittering to compliment the malt that came before it. Slight floral undertones dance with the initial malt.
Its like the spinning top of beer, an example of equilibrium away from the battles of malt vs hops IPAs.
7/10 An example in balance, the dictionary definition of beer. If the Russians had won the cold war, this would have been the beer of the Communist States of America.
Marvellous, whats the abv?
ReplyDeleteI'm always surprised with how carbonated this beer is. If I remember right, it was brewed specifically to be bottled in areas without refrigeration in the American West.
ReplyDeleteThats a very interesting comment BrewNoob (great name), i looked it up on the Anchor website, they state this :
ReplyDelete"Anchor Steam derives its unusual name from the 19th century when "steam" seems to have been a nickname for beer brewed on the West Coast of America under primitive conditions and without ice. The brewing methods of those days are a mystery and, although there are many theories, no one can say with certainty why the word "steam" came to be associated with beer. For many decades Anchor alone has used this quaint name for its unique beer. "
So maybe not a bottle preservation method, but certainly a part of the brewing proces.
Great shout! I think thats a Beer fact.