Beer of the Weekend #585: Anchor IPA
Will history happen tomorrow? Will a horse finally win the Triple Crown in my lifetime? We shall see. We shall see. I am attending a wedding tomorrow and hope it won’t conflict with the race. If it happens, I definitely want to witness it live.
The beer of the weekend is Anchor IPA, brewed by the Anchor Brewing Company of San Francisco, California.
I have a love–hate relationship with Anchor now, which is why I am drinking out of my Stone Smoked Porter glass tonight. I used to be a big fan, but after the brewmaster snubbed my follow-up questions for an LV article on freshness dates, my opinion of Anchor soured. I don’t like buying their beer anymore; I don’t want to support people who ignore me. Yet I still do it. (I still use the titanium bottle opener I bought at the brewery, too. I plan to keep using that puppy for life.) It is usually just once a year for their Christmas Ale, but I recently saw a couple new Anchor brews on the shelf and put aside my indignation for the sake of the beer. (California Lager was one of the new beers, which I have already sampled, and Anchor IPA was the other.)
Serving type: 12-ounce bottle. The unintuitive bottling code is 4MU, which is deciphered to March 21, 2014.
Appearance: Poured into a pint glass. The color is medium amber that is leaning deep. Two fingers of dense, buttery, tan head settles slowly and unevenly.
Smell: It reminds me of a bar I went to last year in San Francisco. Perhaps Anchor IPA was spilled all over the floor. A solid caramel base tinged with tropical fruit and citrus. Mango, pineapple, tangerine, and a little grapefruit, raspberry or peach, and pine.
Taste: A tasty balance that mostly mirrors the aroma. Caramel base complemented with floral hops, tropical fruit, and citrus. Mango, pineapple, a little grapefruit, and pine. Another reviewer mentions pear. I am not that familiar with pears, but I will take his/her word for it.
Drinkability: This is good stuff. Despite having an unnatural, user-unfriendly bottling date, Anchor brews good beer.
Fun facts about AIPA:
-Style: American IPA.
-Price: $9.99/sixer at the New Pioneer Food Co-op in Iowa City. I think it was on sale for $8.99 but did not realize I got overcharged until now. That is the second time in the last couple weeks I have been overcharged for beer at the Co-op. A couple weeks ago I was charged $15.99 for a bottle of Hop After Dark, but it actually costs $5.99. I took care of that discrepancy today.
-Alcohol content: 6.5 percent ABV.
-Check out other fun facts on the beer’s webpage. I am not doing Anchor’s work for them. Screw dat.
The Quiet Man’s grade: B+.
The beer of the weekend is Anchor IPA, brewed by the Anchor Brewing Company of San Francisco, California.
I have a love–hate relationship with Anchor now, which is why I am drinking out of my Stone Smoked Porter glass tonight. I used to be a big fan, but after the brewmaster snubbed my follow-up questions for an LV article on freshness dates, my opinion of Anchor soured. I don’t like buying their beer anymore; I don’t want to support people who ignore me. Yet I still do it. (I still use the titanium bottle opener I bought at the brewery, too. I plan to keep using that puppy for life.) It is usually just once a year for their Christmas Ale, but I recently saw a couple new Anchor brews on the shelf and put aside my indignation for the sake of the beer. (California Lager was one of the new beers, which I have already sampled, and Anchor IPA was the other.)
Serving type: 12-ounce bottle. The unintuitive bottling code is 4MU, which is deciphered to March 21, 2014.
Appearance: Poured into a pint glass. The color is medium amber that is leaning deep. Two fingers of dense, buttery, tan head settles slowly and unevenly.
Smell: It reminds me of a bar I went to last year in San Francisco. Perhaps Anchor IPA was spilled all over the floor. A solid caramel base tinged with tropical fruit and citrus. Mango, pineapple, tangerine, and a little grapefruit, raspberry or peach, and pine.
Taste: A tasty balance that mostly mirrors the aroma. Caramel base complemented with floral hops, tropical fruit, and citrus. Mango, pineapple, a little grapefruit, and pine. Another reviewer mentions pear. I am not that familiar with pears, but I will take his/her word for it.
Drinkability: This is good stuff. Despite having an unnatural, user-unfriendly bottling date, Anchor brews good beer.
Fun facts about AIPA:
-Style: American IPA.
-Price: $9.99/sixer at the New Pioneer Food Co-op in Iowa City. I think it was on sale for $8.99 but did not realize I got overcharged until now. That is the second time in the last couple weeks I have been overcharged for beer at the Co-op. A couple weeks ago I was charged $15.99 for a bottle of Hop After Dark, but it actually costs $5.99. I took care of that discrepancy today.
-Alcohol content: 6.5 percent ABV.
-Check out other fun facts on the beer’s webpage. I am not doing Anchor’s work for them. Screw dat.
The Quiet Man’s grade: B+.
