In this second installment of Summer Seasonal reviews for 2007 I have my first (to my knowledge) sample of Anchor’s Summer Beer. According to the Anchor website, this seasonal beer was first brewed in 1984, but has only been bottled for the past five years (since 2002). It is available April through November in six packs and 22oz bottles, with this particular sample picked up at Beverages and More in Citrus Heights.
Apparently this is an American Wheat beer, and judging by the first year brewed, it must be one of the first to be made – no surprise knowing that Anchor has paved the way for several styles we love today.
When poured into a pint glass, this beer displays a dry, somewhat earthy and dried flower aroma. Very clean aroma too, slightly crisp and certainly inviting for hot summer nights. Its color is light golden with great clarity and a frothy white head that retains itself well for about 30 seconds after pouring.
The taste hits you in three distinct waves. Up front, the beer is biscuity sweet, with light caramelization. Next, the mild peppery and floral hop flavor and bitterness – for some reason I am thinking of dried flowers when tasted. Finally, this beer shows off a crisp, moderately dry finish and a wonderful tart character that is from the 50% wheat used in the recipe.
Anchor Summer Beer has a medium body with a chewy texture to it. Their site suggest a consistency of ‘whipped eggs’, but I am not getting that necessarily. The beer is also highly carbonated, lending to a more refreshing bite your cheeks will appreciate. Their is a low alcohol presence, which you’d expect in a beer boasting 4.6% ABV.
Overall, I gotta give some love for the quality of this beer, it is a great representation of the style. If you like Hefeweizens, beware. This is an American wheat through and through and you could be quite disappointed with every aspect of this beer if you’re expecting the clove/banana character that defines Hefes. Additionally, the body and appearance would throw you off if you go into this expecting a cloudy beer. I personally find this to be very close to an American Pale Ale – but with a clear tart character.
The Score: 3.9/5
About my scores…
I am scoring these beers based on their style, not a personal preference. I am not a fan of the American Wheat Beer, it should be noted. However, many people are, and this beer is clearly made to style and is pretty much without flaw. So, it gets a high score – and 3.9 is a very high score.
My Scale (adapted from bjcp standards)
4.5 – 5 = Outstanding
3.8 – 4.4 = Excellent
3 – 3.7 = Very Good
2.1 – 2.9 = Good
1.4 – 2 = Drinkable
< 1.3 = Problems
Filed under: Summer beer
With 107 reached in my town yesterday and 125 degrees reached south of here, it is clear that much of the country is in the furnace of summer right now. So, with that in mind, I have put together a quick list of beers you can find to help cope with the heat.
- Berliner Weisse (style): while hard to find, this beer is shockingly refreshing when served cold and there is no need to add syrups to this sour beer.
- Lambic: forget the fruited lambic (unless you happen to find Hansen’s Oude Kriek, which is a god-send), this heat requires the wonderfully refreshing tart character that comes from the Lambic tradition. Gueze’s are generally less offensive to your palate, by the way, so if you find this blended lambic, you’ll be set.
- Flanders Red: While harder to find in any sort of quantity, you can usually find the Duchesse de Burgone. It is a bit sweet up front, but quenches your thirst quickly.
- Hefeweizen: And finally, the old stand by for summer heat. With this moderately tart style and chewy texture (all coming from the Bavarian yeast strain), you will find it goes down easy and doesn’t leave your mouth coated in sweetness. Leave the lemon for your lemonaide, these beers are great on their own.
- The others… yes, if you must have your pilsner it will work, same with some light bodied American Pale Ales. Also the Deschutes Buzzsaw Brown is a great option if you want more malted goodness in your flavor.
With Summer just a couple of weeks away now, it is time to start exploring the new seasonals hitting the shelves. Over the next few weeks I’ll be reviewing a few of the more widely distributed Summer beers on the West Coast, starting tonight with Deschutes’ Twilight.
While hard to find within their literature or website, it seems as though the beer is submitted to competitions as a Bitter, a rather misleading name for today’s uber-hopped beer enthusiasts. The beer pours a nice light golden color, similar to an orange-blossom honey color, with a big frothy head that lasts for several minutes – a beautiful pour. The aroma is mild, overall, with a definite balance that falls toward the American Hop varieties. Apparently the Twilight is dry-hopped with Amarillo hops – and I can see that. Not an agressive aroma from the dry-hopping as you find in many west-coast IPAs, but certainly pleasant. In addition to the hops, there is a distinct bready quality to the malty sweetness.
The taste is where this beer gets interesting. I didn’t quite know what I expected, but this wasn’t it – and that isn’t a bad thing. Initially sweet, but that doesn’t last too long as it is quickly overwhelmed by a peppery & somewhat resinous hop bittering that is moderate in strength and lasting well into the aftertaste. There also appears to be a mild astringency that hits the cheeks, but this actually serves to add a bit of character to a beer with only 35 IBUs.
Twilight finishes pretty dry and has a chewy texture for the medium body – quite interesting. I believe it drinks best in large gulps, rather than small sips, to really enjoy the refreshing qualities. The beautiful thing about summer beers like this is that they’re still great when they’re a bit warmer than optimal temperature. If there was a fault in the beer it’d be that lingering resinous bittering mentioned earlier – but all things considered this is a great option for days in the yard or by the lake. Score: 3/5
