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Author Topic: Anchor Liberty Ale  (Read 3628 times)

Offline Phil_M

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Re: Anchor Liberty Ale
« Reply #15 on: April 18, 2018, 07:33:26 am »

"Style" again, hmm.  As I remember it, it was amber, malty, chewy and lightly fruity... it was probably supposed to be a mild,  but it was too hoppy (of course it was too hoppy, Bert Grant made it.)

*cough*
http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/2017/06/lets-brew-1862-barclay-perkins-xx.html
*cough*
True, but as I've pointed out before, "mild" has meant different things in different times and places.  For a late 20th century English Mild, if that's what Celtic Ale was, it was very Bert Grantishly over hopped.  He started out as a hop R&D guy, not a brewer, after all.

Quite true. My point is the amount of variance in milds makes it the most "It's X only because it's named X" styles around. It's amazing to me just how many "substyles", if you will, are in mild.
Corn is a fine adjunct in beer.

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Offline ethinson

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Re: Anchor Liberty Ale
« Reply #16 on: April 19, 2018, 04:47:55 am »
I am not a fan.  Maybe I'm not getting it fresh, but to me it's harsh.

I don't know if it's the same kind of harshness you're referring to, but as much as I love Cascade hops, if it's the only hop used, such as in this or Sierra Nevada Pale, its just "too much".  The piney/turpentine and grapefruit pith bitterness is just too overpowering.  When I brew with cascade I blend it with a fruity hop and it works amazingly. But 100% Cascade is just too over the top for me. 

That's just my personal preference though.
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Offline Adam

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Re: Anchor Liberty Ale
« Reply #17 on: April 20, 2018, 01:52:28 pm »
I am having trouble "enjoying" this beer.  I bought a sixer of cans thinking it would be easy drinking and I find it harsh and astringent with a too full body.  I am going to have to give it a try again, i have 3 cans left, and look at it is less of a pale ale and more as the first IPA.  I will also check the best buy date. 
Fermentation at Elevation

Offline Joe Sr.

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Re: Anchor Liberty Ale
« Reply #18 on: April 20, 2018, 01:55:01 pm »
I am having trouble "enjoying" this beer.  I bought a sixer of cans thinking it would be easy drinking and I find it harsh and astringent with a too full body.  I am going to have to give it a try again, i have 3 cans left, and look at it is less of a pale ale and more as the first IPA.  I will also check the best buy date.

I feel like maybe this beer is showing its age.  It was world changing so many years ago, but not something I want to have these days.

Or maybe I'm showing my age...
It's all in the reflexes. - Jack Burton

Offline hopfenundmalz

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Re: Anchor Liberty Ale
« Reply #19 on: April 20, 2018, 02:31:46 pm »
I haven't seen it around here for years.  As the very first American IPA, it was a real shocker when it first appeared, nobody had tried anything like it.  It almost single-handedly  saved Cascade hops from abandonment.   Quite a legacy.  But it seems not to warrent shelf space as an unfashionable, 40-odd-year-old relic.  I would really like to try it again.  As extreme as it once seemed, it might actually be almost  restrained enough for my tastes (relative to everything else out there) today.
Maybe the first modern Craft IPA. Ballantine IPA was around 40 years before that.
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Offline Robert

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Re: Anchor Liberty Ale
« Reply #20 on: April 20, 2018, 03:17:43 pm »
I haven't seen it around here for years.  As the very first American IPA, it was a real shocker when it first appeared, nobody had tried anything like it.  It almost single-handedly  saved Cascade hops from abandonment.   Quite a legacy.  But it seems not to warrent shelf space as an unfashionable, 40-odd-year-old relic.  I would really like to try it again.  As extreme as it once seemed, it might actually be almost  restrained enough for my tastes (relative to everything else out there) today.
Maybe the first modern Craft IPA. Ballantine IPA was around 40 years before that.
I meant no disrespect to Ballantine, I did mean "AIPA" in the modern sense.  To extend Jim's analogy, if Liberty is Luke, Han and Chewy,  then Ballantine was Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers!
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Offline narcout

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Re: Anchor Liberty Ale
« Reply #21 on: April 20, 2018, 05:25:48 pm »
I didn't realize it was considered (or marketed as) an IPA.

It has a particular house character that I also pick up in Anchor Steam - something I can't quite put my finger on.  I could see it coming off as harsh, but I think it's alright and drink it once in a while.
Sometimes you just can't get enough - JAMC