Anchor California Lager
Anchor Steam’s® roots go back to the Gold Rush, long before icehouses and modern refrigeration made traditional lagers a viable California option. In 1876, thanks to an ice pond in the mountains and a belief that anything is possible in the Golden State, a little brewery named Boca created California’s first genuine lager. Anchor California Lager® is our re-creation of this historic American beer.
Made in San Francisco with two-row California barley, Cluster hops (the premier hop in 19th-century California), and our own lager yeast, this all-malt brew is kräusened and lagered in our cellars. Its golden color, distinctive aroma, creamy head, balanced depth of flavor, and smooth finish make Anchor California Lager® a delicious celebration of California’s unique craft brewing heritage.
The California grizzly bear on our Anchor California Lager® label is from a woodcut by Durbin Van Vleck (1833–1898), courtesy of The Bancroft Library, UC Berkeley. First published in 1856 in San Francisco, it is a superbly crafted rendering of an original illustration by Charles Christian Nahl (1818–1878), who had painted both eastbound and westbound versions of this bear. Nearly a century later, Nahl’s bear served as inspiration for the design of the bear on California’s modern state flag. Although that bear is heading west, our bear—like the bear on Boca Brewing’s historic lager label—is heading east.
Made in San Francisco with two-row California barley, Cluster hops (the premier hop in 19th-century California), and our own lager yeast, this all-malt brew is kräusened and lagered in our cellars. Its golden color, distinctive aroma, creamy head, balanced depth of flavor, and smooth finish make Anchor California Lager® a delicious celebration of California’s unique craft brewing heritage.
The California grizzly bear on our Anchor California Lager® label is from a woodcut by Durbin Van Vleck (1833–1898), courtesy of The Bancroft Library, UC Berkeley. First published in 1856 in San Francisco, it is a superbly crafted rendering of an original illustration by Charles Christian Nahl (1818–1878), who had painted both eastbound and westbound versions of this bear. Nearly a century later, Nahl’s bear served as inspiration for the design of the bear on California’s modern state flag. Although that bear is heading west, our bear—like the bear on Boca Brewing’s historic lager label—is heading east.
3.2
847 reviews
San Francisco, United States
Community reviews
Crisp and somewhat dry with some pale malt sweetness, decent carbonation and medium body.
Pours a amber colour with a small white head. Aromas & tastes mildly of fruit & flora. Dry, hoppy with a good bitter finish. Decent lager
Clear golden pour with thin head. Floral nose. Slightly fruity, refreshing and light, proper lager
Une lager bonne ; c'est pas si souvent, ou alors mes gouts évoluent. Gout noisette sympa, lager typique, simple et efficace, bue très facilement.
Bottle: 355 ml, at home Price: 0,74 eur
Lageris kaip lageris.. už akcine kaina galima gerti
Cerveza de color dorado y fina espuma blanca al servirse. Con un sútil olor a lúpulo y sabor a malta tostada, naranja y frutas. Tiene un final seco y amargo muy agradable al paladar.
Golden clear with a very thin head.
Grassy smell with a hint of molasses. Rich lager taste, satisfyingly malty with an agreeable, but pronounced, bitterness. The body's richness is accentuated by a fine but mouthfilling carbonation.
This is a very well made lager beer. I won't say anymore Americans can't brew a good lager.
Color naranja claro, sin turbiedad, transparente. Espuma blanca, cremosa, de más de un dedo de espesor y buena retención. Aroma a cereal, ligero pan, notas de limón y levadura. Sabor a cereal, con un punto picante, final medio, ligeramente seco, maltoso, alcohol imperceptible. Textura acuosa. Carbonatación media.
Pours a clear pale yellow on tap with fluffy white foam that dissipates top leave moderate lace. Aroma of clean pale malts and a touch of floral whole cone hops. Taste follows, but lighter than the nose with a clean lager finish. Light and easy, a solid lager.
Közepes, tartós hab, sötétarany szín. Fűszeres, leheletnyit szőlős, fehérboros, gabonás illat. Fűszeres, lágeres, egy cseppet olajos ízek. Száraz, szinte ropogós, könnyű, közepesen szénsavas, valahol az enyhén és közepesen keserű között. Nagyon barátságos láger.
N°6 du calendrier de l'avent V&B. Canette de 33 cL. Robe dorée limpide avec une mousse blanche éphémère. Arômes maltés, vanille. Texture aqueuse, carbonatation faible, légère. Notes maltées, citron. Finale courte et maltée.
The ratings say it's good but I found it a mediocre lager beer, I expected more. Bad mouthfeel and below average taste and aroma.
0,5lt bottle Livadi - yellow gold with a small white head - aromas of hopfs wood barrel - taste strict lager with sharp sweet bitter taste fast changing
0,355 l bottle from K-Citymarket Ruoholahti, Helsinki. Tasty golden lager from the wild west.
12oz bottle in 2017. Clear mid golden with a white head. Aroma of lager malt, apple, light citrus and lemongrass. Malty flavour, with some grassiness in the linger. Decent lager.
Thuis uit een mooi flesje van 355 ml. Goudgeel, koolzuur en roomwit schuim. Prima bitterheid,een mooi bier voor dit percentage.
355ml glass bottle, dated as best before 04/2020, from Waitrose Westfield London for £1.80 on promotion. Served fridge cold into a pint glass.
Mid golden in colour with a small slightly off white head. Medium level of micro bubble carbonation. The head dissipates very quickly.
A strong aroma for the lager style. Apple, grass, hay, biscuit and spice. Sweeter than I expected, which also goes for the taste.
Apple, grass, floral flavours. A nice level of spice somewhat reminiscent of Czech style pilsners. A light caramel taste and decent but not overwhelming bite from the hops. Very tasty stuff.
Watery in the mouth with a bite of hop and slight sweetness in the mouth. Floral. Lingering taste for the style.
Very good lager. I’d much rather drink this than a lot of of mass produced rubbish pubs and bars tend to push.
04.11.2016
AR: Karamell, brotig
AP: leicht trübes goldgelb
TA: Karamell, Keks
Hoppy lager with hints of bread, malt and dried fruit. An interesting drink, but not as complex as other beers from this brewery.
Goud gele lager met een stevige witte schuimkraag. Het bier smaakt precies zoals van een stevige lager te verwachten valt: bitter, granig, ietwat bloemig, een heel.. heel klein zuurtje en een mooie bittere nasmaak.
(dorée, nez lager, bouche paisible, ~cripsy, ~pêche, mais c’est vraiment un style qui ne me charme jamais, arf)
Backlog, Bottle, pours a yellow golden with small to medium off white head. Nose and flavor of grains, cracker, apple, malt, grass, and flowers. Light to medium bodied with similar carbonation. Clean enough
Can pours deep gold with a white foam and light aromas of malt and green apple.Malty-sweet with a dry hoppiness, a touch metallic on the finish. A bit odd.
Bottle from a liquor store in SF - so this is Californias first lager - clear golden, white head. nice malty notes, grainy, full body, rather dry. very good for this usually bland lager style.
I'm not sure what makes a lager "Californian", but this pretty much seems like a standard lager to me. I thought it would involve some more hops, which I would have preferred. Noticing the craft brewers throwing the lager into the mix, but I think it is more to convert the macro-swill drinkers. This is more of a spring/summer beer to me...and even then it would be tough to pay $10-$11 for a 6-pack. Watery and refreshing though.
Couleur dorée, très légère mousse. Nez malté doux et grains, puis houblon. Gout malté doux avec du fruité sucré (un peu raisin), puis houblonné avec bonne petite amertume. Plus que correcte pour une lager
Aroma: bready malt, flower, some spice
Appearance: clear golden-amber color with a 2-finger beige head.
Taste: bready malt, flower, some spice, medium-low sweetness, medium bitterness
Palate: medium-light body, medium-high carbonation, dry in finish, low alcohol sensation, crispiness, very thirst-quenching
Overall: This pale lager features Cluster hop which is not quite common nowadays and imparts a gentle flowery and slightly spicy characteristic to this beer and moderate, comfortable bitterness as well, balancing very well with the malty flavour. It is highly drinkable yet not flavourless at all and is definitely excellent for this style.
Bottle at Peter and Mariskas, 9th March 19. Pours clear and clean straw. Aroma is limited, hay, yeast. Taste is clean, grass, easy to drink. OK for the style.
335ml bottle at home. Pours a deep gold, light effervescent white head, nice malty aromas of bread, grass, slight bit of lemon. Flavour is malt goodness, hay and white bread. Nice quick finish
el dollo colifo gernus ellas zetzas kon telibas fantis jedrös hui kunzi van desto