I was
excited to find out that this month's selection of the beer club I belong to
was Anchor Liberty Ale. I am a huge Anchor Brewing fan. It is my opinion that
it is the best domestic brewery. My favorite beer is Anchor Porter, I also
enjoy their Steam Beer. It had been a while since I'd drank a Liberty Ale.
You may
recall the following post that I submitted shortly after visiting the brewery.
"Don't
let the humble advertising mislead you, Anchor is the best domestic brewery.
They do not use unitanks for their brewing. Instead they use open fermentation.
But first let me back up a little with my story. I spoke with Mark Carpenter
who arranged for Phil Rogers to give us a tour. Mr. Rogers is in charge of
training and overseeing the regular tour guides during tour season. Due to my
poor navigating skills Jeremy and I arrived about an hour late. Mr. Rogers
needed to head out to another appointment in ten minutes. He however was
extremely kind to us and gave us over an hour of his valuable time.
He gave
us a brew or two while we waited. I was able to experience Anchor Porter on tap
at the Anchor Tap Room! What an awesome experience. Then he took us out onto
the brewfloor while they were brewing. One of their top brewers opened the
brewpot for us, allowed to stick our heads into the Mash Tun and the Lauter
Tun. Then after leaving the copper kettle brewroom we proceeded into the
cleanroom. In the cleanroom there were thousands of gallons of beer in open fermentation
right before our eyes. Stainless tanks not more than a few inches deep held
fermenting Anchor Steambeer. Then we proceeded to the hop storage area. There
Mr. Phil Rodgers allowed us to see, feel and smell the differences between
various hop varieties. From there we went to other fermentation areas, the
basement with the conditioning tanks, and then the bottling line.
Afterward
we were able to visit and share a pint with a half dozen brewery employees most
of whom were brewers. I was able to ask technical questions about the beer and
they graciously provided satisfying answers.
I am
leaving out so much of the story. I could probably write a book about the
experience and still not be giving the full picture of why of Anchor Brewing is
the best brewery in the
Much of
their process reminded me of how I brew my own beer. They use natural
conditioning to carbonate their beer. They then keep it under pressure while
they process and bottle the beer. Their method of homogenization is superior in
that is it very quick and not done in the bottle therefore preserving the true
character of the brew.
If you
ever find yourself in
Liberty
Ale was first introduced on
According
to Anchor's site "Before it became a permanent year-round product, variations
of our Liberty Ale formula enjoyed brief tenures as Our Special Ale."
Liberty
Ale's appearance is golden honey, with a lacy fine head that quickly
dissipates. Its hop bouquet like its taste was amazing. It's very clear that
this brew is dry hopped with very fresh whole hops. Extremely crisp and
refreshing the Cascade hops pretty much jump out at you. This is just one of
Anchor's amazing brews. I highly recommend it. A nice one to try at home if you
homebrew.
