RateBeer
Score
2313
OVERALLStyle
Serve in English pint

bottled
common

on tap
available

Broad Distribution

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RATINGS: 505   WEIGHTED AVG: 2.67   EST. CALORIES: 99   ABV: 3.3%
COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION
The tradition of brewing two distinct beers from one mash has existed for thousands of years, and for centuries the term "small beer" was used in English to describe the lighter and weaker second beer. We make our Old Foghorn Barleywine Style Ale from the rich first runnings of an all-malt mash, and Anchor Small Beer is our attempt to duplicate the "small beers" of old by sparging that same mash: sprinkling warm water over the Old Foghorn mash after the first wort has run off, thereby creating a second, lighter brew from the resulting thinner wort. We believe you will find Anchor Small Beer delicious—similar to what modern brewers call a "bitter"—and we hope you will also enjoy the idea of reviving an ancient brewing tradition, which is something of great importance.


4.5
   AROMA 9/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 9/10   PALATE 5/5   OVERALL 18/20
drawde (115) - San Francisco, California, USA - AUG 20, 2007
UPDATED: SEP 10, 2007 I actually dig this, maybe I could get into small beers. It’s a legitimate, traditional small beer, and the other "small beers" I’ve seen aren’t. Aroma is bread and light malt. Golden, clear, and visible carbonation. Light, refreshing taste. Could drink it all day for nice easy rise to a buzz. Maybe a great football beer when all your buddies are drinking low-alcohol lagers, you can still drink an ale.

3.3
   AROMA 6/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 13/20
rocbyter (1474) - Waterbury, Connecticut, USA - AUG 20, 2007
Medium grainy malt aroma. Clear oramge golden color with a small white head. Clear malt taste with a carbonated palate

3.4
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 6/10   PALATE 2/5   OVERALL 15/20
NickVega (154) - Eugene, Oregon, USA - AUG 19, 2007
Nice session bear. Faint taste of Foghorn, but much much much lighter. They should put this in cans.

2.1
   AROMA 4/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 4/10   PALATE 2/5   OVERALL 8/20
BDR (2535) - Roseville, Minnesota, USA - AUG 15, 2007
Gold body with faint white head. Light grainy nose and similar body with a harsh mettallic hints. Taste improved slightly as the beer warmed.

1.9
   AROMA 5/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 4/10   PALATE 1/5   OVERALL 6/20
Gregis (1250) - Shawnee, Kansas, USA - AUG 12, 2007
22 oz bottle. Pours a clear gold with a rocky, off-white head that diminishes rapidly. A bit musty on the nose, I detected notes of: stale sourdough and rye breads, weak iced tea, and earthy hops. Light to medium-bodied and with a bizarre carbonation that felt and tasted like rinsing my mouth with hydrogen peroxide, leaving a very dry and almost neutral aftertaste. Not something I look for in a beer. The flavor makes me think of a blend of a weak iced tea, soda water and earthy hops. I can appreciate Anchor’s wanting to revive a tradition of creating a second run beer, but I can’t say that they’ve come up with a beer worthy of their label. I was wholly underwhelmed. Then again, perhaps I’m just not a fan of this "style".

1.3
   AROMA 2/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 2/10   PALATE 2/5   OVERALL 3/20
davelouw (13) - San Luis Obispo, California, USA - JUL 31, 2007
The aroma comes across as a thin maltiness with an acrid darkness. The beer formed a nice head of bright white foam. Color was a beautiful medium amber. The body was terribly thin with an almost urine-like acidity. I tried two different bottles thinking the first one had skunked or otherwise been mistreated but both were equally bad. I’m really shocked that Anchor released this beer as it’s undoubtedly the worst beer I’ve had in the last year (including one infected micro brew.)

3
   AROMA 8/10   APPEARANCE 5/5   TASTE 6/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 8/20
believeUme (17) - California, USA - JUL 27, 2007
Clear amber with frothy head. Aroma is citrus & floral. Flavor is astringent and acrid as if someone ran too mcuh water through old coffee grounds. Tastes like when i have tried to make beers with second runnings, thin and tannic.

3.4
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 14/20
lb4lb (2021) - Austin, Texas, USA - JUL 23, 2007
On tap at the brewery in S.F. Not their best beer, but for the style and a mere 110 calories per serving, this is basically a light beer, and the best one I’ve had as far as that goes. Smell of some sweetness and whole grain. Taste is definitely slightly light, but similar to the smell. Light, but still fairly flavorful for what it is. A great lighter drinkable beer.


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Rating Notecard:
Beer: Anchor Small Beer Rating Avg: 2.67 No. of Ratings: 505
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