Anchor Humming Ale

Brewed by Anchor Brewing Company
Style: American Pale Ale
San Francisco, California USA

on tap 11/18/2009 at papago. hazy pour is the brown color of maple stained wood. it is capped by a fluffy sticky white head which leaves behind a ton of lacing. unusual nose... dirty yet delicious... citrus, grass, pale malty sweetness, earth and a light tingly spiciness. the palate is malty up front but in no way sweet. the flavor components are the same as the aroma.... there is something in there that i am not familiar with (prolly the nelson sauvin since this is the first i have tried showcasing it) along with the malt base and a dry hoppy finish which lingers as waxy and prickly. the body is medium with a crisp texture and easy to drink dryness. 7/4/7/3/15/3.6

On tap @ Hop Leaf. Pours a crystal clear medium gold with a small white ring. Nose holds some faint citrus hops, grain and a touch of pale malt. Flavor starts with malt, grain, then finishes with a fain hop bitterness.

On tap at PP Carlsbad. Pours a clear gold/light amber with white head. Hops, pine, slightly earthy, biscuit, and a touch of fruit. Overall a pretty boring beer. Easy drinking.

Pours a hazy gold color with a tight white head. Nose is grassy and floral. Taste had a nice strong hop bitterness, tons of bitterness compared to the actual hop flavor, but it worked quite well with this beer. Not a great representative of the style, but a good beer nonetheless.

Draft. Amber beer with a whitish head. Fruity and light earth aroma. Earthy, fruity, and light grainy flavor. Medium body. Some bitterness. Grain and fruit lingers.

Rather unique: bottle samples sent by the brewery. Likely the only bottles in Europe... The aroma is not huge but I’d say hay, and some citrus hops. Definately citrussy and herbal hops in the nose. A nice thick head that nicely laces the glass... No info whatsoever on the label except saying it was brewed 13th August 2009. I guess it is around 6,5% ABV. Poors slightly hazy. Palate is very dry, suggesting more hops than I smelled. No sediment in bottle and lightly gassed. Delicate! Drinks robust and is far more complex than any Pale Ale I came across in my life. Nicely bitter and now I begin to see where they are going... Not that Anchor would ever IMITATE a beer, but rather be true to style, I believe they have tried to come as close as they could come to an English IPA but have, in fact, come on Home Turf of Orval.

On tap at SDBC. Poured a clear, dull gold color. Aroma was on the light side; sweet malt, bread and citrus in the finish. Flavor was the same; a bit sweet for the style. Citrus in the finish. Solid overall.

16 ounce sample on tap at the Davis Graduate. Aroma has some spicy hop notes present with what also appears to be a bit of banana esters. Transparent golden body with a fine, fizzy white head. Fizzy start with some honey-like flavoring and some doughy malt notes in the middle. Perhaps the honey flavor is a figment of my imagination. Finishes a bit dry with quite a bit of spicy bitter hop flavors that linger. Relatively straight forward, but flavorful.