Anchor Wheat Beer

I've been really getting into the sampler packs lately. A 12 -pack of Anchor Brewing yields me two new bottles for this blog, the classic Steam Beer, and the never-tried wheat beer, plus two I always enjoy, Liberty Ale and Porter. Win, win!

So, here are my very fresh notes on Anchor Wheat Beer:


Anchor Wheat Beer. Made In San Francisco.

Clear, bright amber coloring, snow-white head, starts large, drifts down.

Aroma: lightly floral and citric, wheaty aromatics.

Taste: Snappy hop bite at the fore, followed by nothing but smooth. Much more of a spicy, hop-forward affront than I'd expect from a Wheat Beer. Very light bodied, short finish. The hop kick stays on every subsequent sip. This doesn't taste any typical wheat beer, not even slightly in a heft wizen or a Belgian wit vein.

I feel like reading the label: "We began brewing our first wheat beer at 7:30 a.m. on July 17, 1984. It was a long day--wheat is far less cooperative in the brewhouse than barley--but a momentous one. When we pitched our ale yeast into the cooled wort 10 1/2 hours later , we had created the first craft-brewed wheat beer in America. Within a very short time, our distinctly American, filtered wheat beer, with it's high ration of wheat malt to barley malt, it's subtle hoppiness and it's uniquely San Franciscan label, garnered a small but avid following. It included an up & coming young beer writer named Michael Jackson who praised Anchor's "clean, dry wheat beer, very delicate, but with light honey and apple notes." Today, inspired by Anchor's original wheat and James Stitt's original label, this new release of Anchor Wheat Beer celebrates the rebirth of wheat beer in America."

You know what? Now that you think of it, yeah, I'm getting some of that apple and honey note, sure, why not, Michael Jackson.
I like this. I'll use the remaining bottle to celebrate the arrival of spring, whenever that finally happens.