Old Foghorn - Anchor Steam Brewery

APPEARANCE: (4) Dark reddish with a nice foam that almost seems to be a little bit colored red by the beer

AROMA: (4) Sweet nuances resembling figs. Maybe a little tiny bit of banana hints in the background.

TASTE: (5) Sweet with a deceptive bitterness that is hidden in the sweetness. No trace of the high alcohol level in the taste. The maltyness is dominating even if hops has it's important share in making this beer balanced.

EXTRA: (4) Barleywine style beers are always interesting to try. They belong on the colder part of the year when you want to warm yourself with something with high alcohol and rich flavors.

It is fun and interesting to notice how close in taste this beer is to the first Barleywine ale that I ever had. It was from Ram Rod Brewery in London where I tried it on site many, many years ago. This beer might very well be older than the version I tried in London. Fritz Maytag created this beer already 1976 at his Anchor Steam Brewery, long before anyone used the term 'craft brewery'.

Drinking Barleywine style ale on a hot summer day seems just as crazy as drinking a cold wheatbeer a cold winterday. Unfortunately restaurants here in US do not understand this concept and serve the old wheat beers year around.



Anchor steam brewery website

Beer style: Barleywine style ale
Serving temperature: 10-14 C
Alcohol: 8.2%

Food Pairings: Chocolate, some cheese, deserts.

APPEARANCE: 4 x 5 = 20
AROMA: 4 x 10 = 40
TASTE: 5 x 10 = 50
EXTRA: 4 x 1 = 4

Total: 114/130