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Anchor Brewing

(Microbrewery)

Last updated: November 26, 2000

1705 Mariposa Street
San Francisco CA 94107

Phone: +1 415-863-8350
Fax: +1 415-552-7094

Opened 1896.
Brewer: Mike Lee.
103,000 bbl annual capacity.

Opened a century ago...purchased in 1968 by Fritz Maytag. Beautiful place...walking around the brewhouse is like visiting a cathedral. The almost-tangible pungence of the hop room, the immaculate copper vessels, the understated magnificence of the open fermenters...oh yeah, their beers are pretty good, too. Call at least two weeks in advance for tours.

Here's the key to the three-letter bottling date code on the back label:

First character: last digit of the year. (e.g. 7=1997, 8=1998)

Second letter: month code

Third character: day of month code:

• Letters A-Z = days 1-26
• Numbers 7-1 = days 27, 28, 29, 30, 31

So that bottle of Old Foghorn, stamped 6JV, was bottled January 22, 1996.

My Opinion Of The Beers That I've Tried:
16.0 points overall

• 1992 Our Special Ale
  Style 22 - Herb / Spice Beer
  • 14 points - Beer #31-2503, 1992 Pacific Coast Tasting of Christmas Beers IV, Oakland CA, December 12, 1992
    Not even close to the spice intensity of the last three (Marin, Anderson Valley, and Seabright). Anise in the aroma and flavor. This beer is better than the score would suggest!

• 1993 Our Special Ale
  Style 22 - Herb / Spice Beer
  • 19 points - Beer #7-422, HopFest '94, Pleasanton CA, August 13, 1994
    Deeeep red. Hazy. Ginger aroma, with some cinnamon. Incredible spice flavor. Ginger mostly, but it's amazing. An Unexpected Treat!

• 1994 Our Special Ale
  Style 22 - Herb / Spice Beer
  • 16 points - Beer #35-3360, Green Bay Rackers, Green Bay WI, December 4, 1999
    Deep amber, low carbonation, no head. Ginger and nutmeg aromas. Woody nutmeg taste. Light body, clean finish. Amazing what five years in the bottle can do. Thanks to Bert Zelten for the taste!

  • 14.5 points - Beer #9-617, The HopYard, Pleasanton CA, November 26, 1994
    Dark amber. OK head. Spicy...right up your nose! WHOOO! Spices shrivel your tongue right up. Too much.

• 1996 Our Special Ale (bottled)
  Style 22 - Herb / Spice Beer
  • 17.5 points - Beer #27-2241, Willow Glen Liquors, San Jose CA, September 11, 1997
    Very very dark red, big tan head. Nutmeg aroma! Spiced coffee, nutmeg, maybe some coriander, juniper, maybe some spruce? Bottled "6DB" - December 2, 1996.

• 1997 Our Special Ale (bottled)
  Style 22 - Herb / Spice Beer
  • 19 points - Beer #29-2376, Willow Glen Liquors, San Jose CA, December 28, 1997
    Dark deep red, nice brown head. Lots of nutmeg...smells like egg nog! Big beer, spicy with ginger, nutmeg, and allspice. Roasty and drying at the end. Thanks to for the bottle!

• Liberty Ale (bottled)
  Style 5 - English-style Pale Ale
  • 16 points - Beer #17-1348, Kamuela Liquor Store, Kamuela HI, April 7, 1996
    Orangey-opaque, good head. Isn't the draft version transparent? Fruity-peppery aroma. Great body, reasonable caramel flavor, and a boatload of fine hop flavor! Great beer.

• Liberty Ale (beer engine)
  Style 5 - English-style Pale Ale
  • 18 points - Beer #7-497, The HopYard, Pleasanton CA, November 5, 1994
    Pale, great head. Smells fruity and nice. Smooooooth. Just bitter enough. Served from a beer engine.

• Liberty Ale
  Style 5 - English-style Pale Ale
  • 17 points - Beer #10-728, The HopYard, Pleasanton CA, January 27, 1995
    Bright, pale, great white head. Dry-hops...could be bigger. Very clean. Great body and flavor balance...not real assertive, though.

  • 18 points - Beer #2-129, Lyon's Brewery, Dublin CA, July 5, 1993
    Pale-amber, thick head. Fresh hoppy aroma. Good body. Spreads bitterness across your mouth, down your throat, and gone. As good as it was at the temple...er, brewery. "Quaffere ad infinitum."

• Old Foghorn Barleywine (bottled)
  Style 1 - Barley Wine
  • 16 points - Beer #33-2781, Siebel Institute, Chicago IL, May 12, 1998
    Reddish, moderate carbonation and head. Alcohol, caramel aromas. Huge, sweet, alcoholic. Some autolysis evident. 65 BU of Cascades, 25°P original extract, bottled July 18, 1996.

  • 15 points - Beer #30-2439, Willman's, Grand Island NE, March 10, 1998
    Red, moderate carbonation, good head. Thick, sweet, caramel, alcohol, raisin aroma. Bitter, thick, smoky, sweet. Very warming and drying at the end. A little cardboardy very late.

• Old Foghorn Barleywine
  Style 1 - Barley Wine
  • 17 points - Beer #10-694, The HopYard, Pleasanton CA, January 4, 1995
    Red. Enormous white head. Big hops. (Kents?) Sweet aroma, with some alcohol but not much. Bitter. Some sweet, but lots of bitter. Very slightly warming. Long bitter finish lingers. It's great, but it ain't Bigfoot. Bronze Medal, 1995 GABF.

  • 18 points - Beer #2-144, Pacific Coast Brewing, Oakland CA, July 13, 1993
    Beautiful amber! Beautiful head! Smoky sweet aroma. Bitter all around. Very sweet. Once the bitterness dies off, all the caramel/roasty flavors come through...very nice. VNI!

• Porter (bottled)
  Style 9 - Porter
  • 18.5 points - Beer #32-2602, Siebel Institute, Chicago IL, April 1, 1998
    Black, thick head. Licorice aroma, herbal, anise, some coffee. Thick, black, sweet, sharp from the black malt. Creamy. Coffee and hop bitterness late.

  • 12.5 points - Beer #18-1398, Kamuela Liquor Store, Kamuela HI, April 26, 1996
    Pretty black, OK brown head. Sweet black aroma, with a very small hint of roasted barley. Sweet-ish. Not nearly the Big Black Beer it used to be. All of the Porters I've tasted lately have reminded me of Imperial Stouts...

• Porter
  Style 9 - Porter
  • 15 points - Beer #9-622, Pacific Coast Brewing, Oakland CA, November 27, 1994
    Huge creamy brown head. Extremely dark brown. Black malt aroma...much softer than I remember. Smooth. Black malt bitterness works well with high hopping rate...but burnt character is gone!

  • 17 points - Beer #1-85, St.Mary's College Beer Festival, Moraga CA, June 13, 1993
    Deep deep red. VNI burnt aroma. Sweet, black flavor. There's NO WAY this is the same old porter. He says they haven't changed the recipe!?!

  • 17 points - Beer #1-5, Pacific Coast Brewing, Oakland CA, March 22, 1993
    Black. Black black black. Roasted barley nose and not much else. Heavy and burnt. This is really a stout and they should say so. One of the best...rates better than 17.

• Small Beer (bottled)
  Style 7 - English Bitter
  • 15.5 points - Beer #36-3531, Belmont Station, Portland OR, September 20, 2000
    Golden-amber, very high carbonation, thick head. Malty-sweet aroma. Very light body, fairly bitter start to finish. Lingering hoppy bitterness. Made from the second runnings of Old Foghorn.

• Steam (bottled)
  Style 24 - California Common Beer
  • 17.5 points - Beer #32-2691, Siebel Institute, Chicago IL, April 7, 1998
    Amber, high carbonation, thick head. Pretty clean aroma. Medium body, big grapefruit flavor.

  • 16 points - Beer #18-1468, Kamuela Liquor Store, Kamuela HI, May 12, 1996
    Red-amber, low carbonation, good head. Not much aroma...maybe a little oxidized? Good body, fruity hops. Finishes pretty clean.

• Steam
  Style 24 - California Common Beer
  • 15.5 points - Beer #15-1119, The HopYard, Pleasanton CA, August 1, 1995
    Golden-amber, good carbonation. Malty nose. Big, bitter. Malty finish. Not as fruity as bottled version.

  • 16 points - Beer #11-756, Pacific Coast Brewing, Oakland CA, February 5, 1995
    Huge head! Amber. Spicy, lots of esters. Fresh! Sweet. Great body and bite.

  • 15 points - Beer #1-84, St.Mary's College Beer Festival, Moraga CA, June 13, 1993
    I definitely need to get my eyes checked. Even this looks yellow. (Note: this was an outdoor festival.) Good hops and crystal malt nose. Nice and smooth...a little off-bite. This is usually a much better beer. Is this keg out-of-condition?

• Wheat (bottled)
  Style 6 - American-style Pale Ale
  • 14 points - Beer #27-2223, Willow Glen Liquors, San Jose CA, September 6, 1997
    Very pale, moderate carbonation, huge head. Lots of wheat aroma. Fairly thick, fairly sweet. Lots of wheat flavor, but not much else. Serious training-wheel beer. Bottled "7UX"...June 24, 1997. "[W]e have chosen not to use any additional fermentation organisms because we prefer the clean flavors developed by this yeast." Additional fermentation organisms? Look, Fritz, you've already said it's an American wheat beer...this jab at the Hefeweizen style is both unwarranted and inaccurate.

• Wheat
  Style 6 - American-style Pale Ale
  • 16 points - Beer #9-669, The HopYard, Pleasanton CA, December 28, 1994
    Yellow, some haze. Lots of carbonation. Very clean aroma. Just a hint of malt. Carbonation bite. Wheat sweetness. Finishes quick and clean.

  • 13 points - Beer #1-83, St.Mary's College Beer Festival, Moraga CA, June 13, 1993
    Very pale yellow. Clear. Smells a little plasticky. Tangy. Did this recipe change too? Moving toward Bavarian style? This is generally a great beer...I think their kegs might have been off for some reason.

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