While Villanova was burying Duke I decided to break away from my usual high hopped beers and take in something more on the session side. At the beginning of the year I stated that I would broaden my horizons and give more styles that fall under session beers a real chance. I know that some have been preaching low abv for awhile but I've had a hard time putting down my big flavorful sometimes extreme beers.
Earlier in the evening while at Bishop's Collar watching Pitt survive Xavier I had a Russian River Consecration and a Bells Hop Slam. Knowing I had to still drive back to the burbs for the second half of Nova/Duke that was it for the high octane. Once out of the city and comfortably on a bar stool at Brother Paul's I scanned the draft lineup for something less potent. Anchor Small seemed to be the perfect choice.
The Anchor Small is described as a second run on Anchor's Old Foghorn mash.
We make our Old Foghorn Barleywine Style Ale from the rich first runnings of an all-malt mash, and Anchor Small Beer is our attempt to duplicate the "small beers" of old by sparging that same mash: sprinkling warm water over the Old Foghorn mash after the first wort has run off, thereby creating a second, lighter brew from the resulting thinner wort. Technically, both beers are "ales" because they are made with top-fermenting yeast
The first thing I noticed about this 3.3% beer was the color. I don't know if I was expecting a macro pale yellow but I was pleasantly surprised to see a deep golden beer with a decent head. There wasn't much of an aroma but some sweet malt did come through. For me tha
t was the good side. When
it came to taste this beer took an odd path. I couldn't place it at first then after a few more sips I realized what it was, tea. It was actually a combination of light breakfast tea and a biscuit malt taste. Not at all what I was expecting. From there the flavor headed to a sharp bitter somewhat astringent end. Overall the beer had a watered down quality, however the big hop bitterness did provide some character. This was my first small beer so I'm not sure how Anchor's stacks up against others. I just hope other versions of the style offer a better taste profile. I've had several of Anchor's beers, most recently while in San Francisco on their brewery tour, and enjoyed most of what they offered. The Small Beer wasn't available then. Now that I've had a chance to experience a pint I know it's not what I am looking for when it comes to a low abv beer.
t was the good side. When
it came to taste this beer took an odd path. I couldn't place it at first then after a few more sips I realized what it was, tea. It was actually a combination of light breakfast tea and a biscuit malt taste. Not at all what I was expecting. From there the flavor headed to a sharp bitter somewhat astringent end. Overall the beer had a watered down quality, however the big hop bitterness did provide some character. This was my first small beer so I'm not sure how Anchor's stacks up against others. I just hope other versions of the style offer a better taste profile. I've had several of Anchor's beers, most recently while in San Francisco on their brewery tour, and enjoyed most of what they offered. The Small Beer wasn't available then. Now that I've had a chance to experience a pint I know it's not what I am looking for when it comes to a low abv beer.So far in my quest to find a craft session beer I really enjoy: Nodding Head's Ich bin ein Berliner Weisse (3.5%), PBC's Kenzinger (4.5%), General Lafayette's Lafayette's Escape (1.9%) and Three Floyd's Gumballhead (4.8%) are all favorites. I do love my big beers but will continue to make it a point to sample session drafts. After all who could go through life only drinking DIPA, Imperial Stouts and Barrel Aged beers? Hmmmm, probably me.
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