Anchor Old Foghorn Ale

Brewed by Anchor Brewing Company
Style: Barley Wine
San Francisco, California USA

Serve in Snifter

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Bottle. Rich dark ruby color with a small tan head. Rich malt aroma with a nice dried fruit and hoppy aroma. Nice balance in the flavor with good bitterness and earthy, slight citrus hops and rich caramel malt. Hops in aftertaste.

UPDATED: JAN 25, 2004 An unclear orange beer with very little head. It has a fresh aroma of cowberries, black curran, orange, and spices. It tastes sweet of orange, cowberries, black currant, and spices and finishes of with a slightly bitter taste. A fantastic beer - definatly one of the best beers I've ever had.

(Bottle 20,1 cl) Copper coloured, slightly hazy from impurities, almost no head. Extremely fullbodied with an avundance of flavours that almost "explodes" in the mouth. Malty sweetish almost fatty beer with a strong warming alcohol. Comes in a neat 7 ounce bottle "perfect for sipping".

Århus2008. 12 fl oz bottle. Pours clear and amber with a fully diminished white head. Malt dense and overripe fruity aroma. Sweet fruity with an intense hoppy and mild spiced flavour. Sweet and slight spiced finish.

Reddish brown. The first barley wine I came across. Citrusy aroma, very malty, chewy and fruity. Bitter finish. I liked it then and I love it still.

Bottled. Amberish red colour (hazy), no head. Redwineous plummy aroma. Flavour is typical for barley wine, plum, alcohol and some caramellish malts. Lovely smooth barley wine though.

Brown colour with a low beige head. Sweet aroma of malt and alcohol. Nice sweet taste of malt and hops. Good Barley Wine !

UPDATED: JUL 23, 2006 Bottle. Malty/sweet aroma. Quite dark brown colour, sparse head. Flavour is malty/sweet, slightly roasted, peppery, very tasty. Nice mouthfeel.

UPDATED: MAR 18, 2008 Date: 06/30/1996
Mode: Bottle
Source: BrickSkeller, DC

dark amber, no head, sweet fruity aroma, strong and sweet, just a bit of hop bite, long lasting fruity aftertaste tap: thin head, esters present in the aroma, extreamly smooth character
-------- /> Date: 01/10/2004
Source: blind tasting

muddy dark amber, thin tan head, fruity malt aroma, rich fruity malt flavor, low bitterness, fruity character just keeps growing as it gets warm
-------- /> Date: 12/04/2005
Vintage: vintage 1984
Words: LAX Sheraton

clear dark brown, headless, quiet opening, rich ripe fruit aroma, plums, dates, only a hint of carbonation in the mouth feel, thin body, lots of ripe fruit flavor but not as strong as the aroma would indicate, plenty of plum and raison, dry with only a hint of bitterness in the finish
-------- /> Date: 10/21/2006
Source: tasting
Vintage: vintage 1984

picking up brief alcohol in the aroma,
-------- /> Date: 10/21/2006
Source: tasting
Vintage: vintage 2004

more body and sweetness than the 1984, the sweetness helps bring out the fruit character
-------- /> Date: 03/01/2006
Vintage: 1996

muddy brown, whispy beige head, sweet ripe fruit aroma with lots of plum and raisons, body is thinning, huge sweet ripe fruit flavor, low bitterness,
-------- /> Date: 03/07/2008
Mode: bottle
Source: blind tasting
Vintage: 2004
Score: 3.1

Appearance: clear dark ruby red, fine beige head, bits of lace,
Aroma: sweet caramel malt aroma with a light fruity character,
Flavor: sweet fruity flavor, touch of caramel to enhance the fruityness, light balancing earthyness,

Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 3.8/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **4
-------- /> Date: 02/01/2007
Mode: bottle
Source: aa
Vintage: 2005

sweet and fruity, only a hint of alcohol, very good for a young bottle
-------- /> Date: 12/31/2006
Mode: bottle
Source: Bullochs
Vintage: 2006

sweet winey aroma with wisps of dark ripe fruits, good fruity flavor, low alcohol, low bitterness, same as always

UPDATED: MAR 30, 2012
2012-01-24, bottle from Brewberry, Paris, bb June 2013, 7-5-7-4-15=38
It pours a clear dark red-mahogany color, with a majestic beige head, creamy, reducing rapidly to a thin layer. The aroma reveals the malt and pungent hop of American Barley Wines. The mouthfeel is very smooth, but the body is too lean for the style; good malt and caramel flavor, some fudge and toffee, with respectable bitterness; moderate sweetness. Fresh, which is unexpected in a Barley Wine, but pleasant.
Good, but very immature.

2011-09-30, bottle, bb May 2002, purchased Jan 2002, possibly 10 years old, 8-4-8-4-17=41
The bottle seems to hold little carbonation, it pours a brown color and some deposit; the head is very small, almost absent. The malt and caramel aroma is aged, deep, permeates the room, with notes of nuts and oxidization, fruits and feet; interesting. Good malt flavor, some caramel, correct sweetness; the bitterness is really faded after these years, just the bare minimum; mellow and nutty, with some more roasted nuttiness later; there are traces of oxidization. Good, but it won’t get better with more aging.

2011-09-30, draught at Mikkeller Bar, Copenhagen, 7-5-7-3-14=36
Cloudy dark amber color with red hue; creamy head. Aroma of caramel and malt, light oxidization, some alcohol. The carbonation is too high, compromising the mouthfeel; malt flavor, with medium sweetness, and a candy-like fruity touch; ordinary bitterness. Quite boring if compared to expectations.

2003-05-15, bottle, 9-5-8-5-17=44
Ruby amber color. Deep aroma, malt; a light fruitiness. Very complex, wonderful. Taste more on the caramel and malty side, with just the necessary bitterness.

2002-06-03, bottle, 9-5-8-4-18=44
Beautiful deep amber color. Wonderful malt aroma, very rich, sweet. Classic style Barley Wine. Rich flavor, malty, caramel, winy, a bit alcoholic, balanced by a correct bitterness. Very good palate, sweet and bitter, enough aromatic.