Brekle's Brown - Anchor Brewing Company

Brekle's Brown
American Brown Ale
Anchor Brewing Company
San Francisco, CA

I like the feeling of walking into a beer store with no shopping list, and finding something new and unusual... and it's extra nice when its from a brewery I like. That's what prompted me to snatch up Brekle's Brown when I saw it on the shelf.

Anchor in a big bottle!? I did a double take when I first saw it. I haven't noticed too many 22oz bombers from Anchor - either I'm not looking hard enough, they don't make enough or they do and it doesn't make its way to Jersey. It was like the first time you played World 4 on Super Mario Brothers 3 on NES - where the turtle shells are huge, the pipes are huge, and the blocks are so gigantic, they break into 4 normal sized blocks when you smash them!

...also, I know this bottle will look sharp in my ever growing collection of empty bottles.

Apparently Gottlieb Brekle, the first brew master of what would become Anchor in the late 1800's, was pretty into malts. For this recipe Anchor's put an emphasis on malt as a tribute to Gottlieb, a man who most likely was a prospector and found his gold in beer instead of in dirt. With one foot in the past, Anchor also plants a foot firmly in the future of American Brewing. This beer spotlights Citra, a new hybrid of hops that started popping up in beer in the last few years.

Citra isn't just a clever name. This stuff is potent.

When I poured it, the burnt color sort of sets off a Pavlovian response, and I thought I knew what I was in for. I really enjoy brown ales, and I have had enough to think I know what brown ale should taste like. Anchor proved me wrong.

The beer has an intense and super complex flavor. The malt character is strong - and with a lot of cinnamon and brown sugar in the front end. But the flavor of the citra hop defies what I'd expect to follow, making the beer bitter but tasting really citrus-y. It reminds me of orange flavored chocolate - something we had in my house as a kid around the holidays. I know that "orange flavored chocolate" might be one of those nuggets that end up being thrown out with the heart-shaped box they came in, but in this beer, it works really well.

If you like Brown Ales, this is worth checking out. It takes a couple sips to let the beer break you in, but when it gets you there, it's a great place to be. Gottlieb's legacy has left us with a beer thats worth thinking about, and a beer company worth drinking to.

--Joe

Research:

anchorbrewing.com
http://www.brew-dudes.com/citra-hops/557

Anchor Summer Beer - Anchor Brewing Company

Anchor Summer Beer
American Wheat Beer
Anchor Brewing Company
San Francisco, CA

As I type this, I'm in my boxers trying to keep cool. An obnoxiously premature July-spell popped up in May, and it's be around 85-90 for a day or two. Here inside my sauna, I've been presented a great opportunity to enjoy a new summer beer in the appropriate context.

Wheat beers are a strange breed of brew. Almost every wheat beer I've ever experienced has been a version of a German Wheat beer, which typically are flowery tasting, like Hoegaarden. According to the Hoegaarden site, actual dried orange peels and coriander are used in the brewing process to give it the flavor explosion that has typically turned me off. Substituting hops in favor of malts, in my opinion, leaves a lot of room to experiment with the flavor of the beer - but why fix that which is not broken?

Ah San Francisco, home of the 49ers, Golden Gate Bridge, and the incredible car chase from "Bullit." I've never made it to the West Coast, but Anchor Brewing would be on my list of stops if I ever do. Anchor Steam didn't wow me at first sip, but after reading about the company, I'm intrigued. They have been around since forever ago and have a real appreciation for the tradition and craft of beer making. All eight brews in their line start with a malt-mash.

This particular drink claims to be the FIRST American Wheat Beer in Modern times. Having been first brewed and Bottled in the summer of 1984, it is a recipe that is just about as young as I am.

Leaving the flowers out, Anchor Brewing has created a summer drink that speaks to ME! It's light, clean tasting, and crisp. The initial taste is full, with just a hint of citrus and honey. A little tart on the way down, the aftertaste is earthy and almost ... biscuit-y? It it lacks in strength it makes up for in freshness.

I could kill a 6'er of these happily and easily. First off, its really hot here, and the beer is cold. But more importantly it doesn't really upset my tastes. The flavor is so agreeable and understated that you could kick back a few with out noticing how many are going down. Probably in my top five wheat beers I've had, which isn't really saying much. But still!

--Joe

(As per request)
Work Cited:
anchorbrewing.com
hoegaarden.com