Beer of the Weekend #525: BigLeaf Maple Autumn Red
My task for Saturday night, which I chose to accept, is to provide beer for an acquaintance’s belated birthday party. I plan to bring a couple stouts and seasonals. At John’s today, I noticed BigLeaf Maple Autumn Red, brewed by Anchor Brewing of San Francisco, California, and decided to give it a shot.
I have a pesky cold. My nose is stuffed up and my taste buds are not 100 percent. These are obviously not the best circumstances to be tasting beer, but I realized that after opening the bottle. I need to finish what I have begun, though. Besides, Anchor does not deserve my best. Following an initial response, Anchor’s brewmaster and PR firm snubbed follow-up questions for a story I wrote in June.
Serving type: 12-ounce bottle. The bottling code on the back, “3L9,” is deciphered to mean July 29, 2013.
Appearance: Poured into a pint glass. The color is clear, medium amber. Two fingers of frothy, light tan, slightly buttery head settled very slowly and unevenly, leaving lacing along the sides.
Smell: Bready and lightly toasted malts, herbal hops, maple syrup, caramel, a little toffee, cherry syrup, citrus zest, and pine. The maple syrup reminds me of Saturday morning pancakes when I was a kid.
Taste: Lots of bitterness, zest, and arboreal spice upfront. Their intensity slowly fades as the beer warms, but they remain prominent. Bready and toasted malts, caramel, and toffee emerge alongside cherry and maple syrup.
Drinkability: Mighty zesty for an autumn seasonal, but it is tasty and drinkable.
Fun facts about BLMAR:
-Style: It is classified on BA as “American Amber/Red Ale.”
-Price: $1.99/bottle at John’s Grocery in Iowa City.
-Alcohol content: 6 percent ABV.
-Info from the beer’s webpage:
-The beer was first released this year and was available August–October. (There are still a number of sixers hanging around, though.)
The Quiet Man’s grade: B.
I have a pesky cold. My nose is stuffed up and my taste buds are not 100 percent. These are obviously not the best circumstances to be tasting beer, but I realized that after opening the bottle. I need to finish what I have begun, though. Besides, Anchor does not deserve my best. Following an initial response, Anchor’s brewmaster and PR firm snubbed follow-up questions for a story I wrote in June.
Serving type: 12-ounce bottle. The bottling code on the back, “3L9,” is deciphered to mean July 29, 2013.
Appearance: Poured into a pint glass. The color is clear, medium amber. Two fingers of frothy, light tan, slightly buttery head settled very slowly and unevenly, leaving lacing along the sides.
Smell: Bready and lightly toasted malts, herbal hops, maple syrup, caramel, a little toffee, cherry syrup, citrus zest, and pine. The maple syrup reminds me of Saturday morning pancakes when I was a kid.
Taste: Lots of bitterness, zest, and arboreal spice upfront. Their intensity slowly fades as the beer warms, but they remain prominent. Bready and toasted malts, caramel, and toffee emerge alongside cherry and maple syrup.
Drinkability: Mighty zesty for an autumn seasonal, but it is tasty and drinkable.
Fun facts about BLMAR:
-Style: It is classified on BA as “American Amber/Red Ale.”
-Price: $1.99/bottle at John’s Grocery in Iowa City.
-Alcohol content: 6 percent ABV.
-Info from the beer’s webpage:
Our fall seasonal, BigLeaf Maple Autumn Red™, was inspired by a native California tree, its incredible leaves, its delicious syrup, and the colors of fall. Bigleaf maple thrives along the banks of California’s mountain streams. Native Californians once made rope and baskets from its bark. Today, artisans handcraft its wood and burl into custom guitars. In autumn its huge leaves, up to a foot across, can display a full range of color as they slowly turn from green to gold to red. Bigleaf maple sugaring in California dates to the 1800s; yet this tree’s unusually flavorful syrup remains the product of a small group of hobbyists. A hint of maple—including bigleaf maple—syrup in every brew perfectly complements the malty complexity, balanced hoppiness, and rich fall hue of BigLeaf Maple Autumn Red™, a red ale like no other.
-The beer was first released this year and was available August–October. (There are still a number of sixers hanging around, though.)
The Quiet Man’s grade: B.
