Anchor California Lager
Anchor Brewing California Lager is the company’s nearly faithful recreation of a beer first brewed by Boca (a small brewery) during the California gold rush in 1876. I’m not sure if there was an uncovered recipe or if Anchor is ad-libbing with its own process for this 4.9% ABV brew. And honestly, with something that goes down as smoothly and refreshes as nicely as this does, who cares.
Brewed with California-grown 2-row barley, Cluster hops and the brewery’s own lager yeast, California Lager is a satisfying beer that is nicely balanced. The aroma on the brew is outstanding as the flavors do their best to follow suit. This isn’t the best beer from the company, but if I happen to find more of this in the warmer months of next year, you can bet I’ll be enjoying a cold one after some yard work.
Appearance
The beer pours golden in color with a pillowy stack of frothy white foam.
Aroma
A wonderful lager aroma wafts from the surface with plenty of grain, cereal, lightly toasted bread and a touch of earthy honey.
Taste
The flavors are a bit muted in comparison to the aromatic nose, but everything from the grain/cereal to the earthy honey is still in play. A light level of hop bitterness tingles gently as it all fades smoothly to the lasting and lightly drying finish. The beer has an appropriate crispness and body for the style.
Overall
California Lager is a satisfying, if tame, brew. With the nose that it presented, I supposed I was expecting something a bit more dynamic on the tongue. As it stands, Anchor still has themselves one heck of a tasty brew.
Rating: 3.75/5
