Anchor Old Foghorn Ale

Anchor Old Foghorn Ale

San Francisco’s celebrated Old Foghorn Ale has been virually handmade by the brewers of Anchor Steam Beer, in one of the world’s smallest and most traditional breweries, since 1975. Our barleywine-style ale, the first of its kind in modern times in the United States, has a luscious depth of flavour that makes it ideal for sipping after dinner. It is made with top-fermenting yeast, fresh whole hops, and "first wort", the richest runnings of a thick all-malt mash. Old Foghorn is "dry hopped" in the classic ale tradition and aged in our cellars until it attains the perfect balance of malty sweetness, estery fruitiness, and exquisite hop character, for which it is known throughout the world.
A ruby red ale with little carbonation and a warm finish.
3.8
2331 reviews
San Francisco, United States

Community reviews

3.5 Masser af tyngde, aroma af harpiks, træ og en anelse caramel. Nærmest frisk i smagen. Full body, low carbonation, intet hoved og helt mørkebrunt dense væske. Greasy feel.
4.4 11-03-2020; bottle; at home (bought at Saveur Bière, as part of their March 2020 discovery box). The looks of the beer are all right. The colour of the beer is a nice coppery reddish-brown. The beer is pretty clear, but it has a slight haziness. On top of the beer a nice layer of soft, almond colored foam is formed. The foam layer looks nice and creamy. Foam retention is average. Some nice lacing is left on the glass. The aroma aroma of the beer is very nice. It is quite special and interesting. The malts give some nice strong aromas. There are nice loads of caramel and some toffee. Also a touch of toast. Besides this there are nice aromas of tobacco and plum, and dried fruits. Also the aroma of alcohol and some oak. It has the typical aromatic warmth of a Barley Wine. Besides these warming more heavy aromas, there are the hop aromas of citrus, orange marmelade, some pine. It is a nice contrast with the malts. Fruity and a bit piney, both light and robust. The result is a bouquet filled with a lot of different aromas, that are very harmonious together. Very nice. The taste of the beer also is very nice. Sweet malts go together with bitter hops and sour fruity notes. The heavy sweetness of the malts and the fruity notes is balanced by nice strong hop bitters and fruit sours, making it well balanced. It sure doesn't taste too sweet. The palate of the beer also is nice. It has a full body and very smooth texture, with a creamy touch. The sugary sweetness gives it quite some body. The carbonation is low, but some of the sour fruit notes give it that tingle. The finish is very nice and long. It is filled with rich alcohol and malt sweetness, but mainly these lovely hop aromas. Filled with citrus and some pine; it makes for a very special beer. Different than most Barley Wines I've ever had. Good one.
4.2 Voroses barna szin, minimal hab, ami gyorsan el is illan. Az illata mennyei! Edes gyumolcsos. Izben is utos. Edes gyumolcsos, mazsolas, enyhen szilvas, konyakos beutes. Nem stilusom, de remek sor.
3.9 0,35l bottle. Pours cloudy brown with off-white head. Aroma of malt, caramel, resin and pine, dark fruits, brown sugar. Taste is strong, malty sweetness, bitter hops, caramel, resin, brown sugar. Hoppy finish. American barleywine for sure.
3.6 Media pinta @ Líquidos almacén de cervezas. Color ámbar oscuro, turbia. Espuma color crema abundante, buena retención. Corona fina. Aromas a lúpulos americanos, notas afrutados. Sabor intenso, caramelo, licorosa, amargor al final.
3.8 Cerveza de color marrón claro con algunos reflejos rojizos con una cabeza gruesa de color beige que se retuvo bien y dejo un bonito patrón de encaje. Aroma a caramelo, malta tostada con un ligero toque a fruta seca y lúpulo. Sabor moderadamente dulce, el caramelo y la malta afrutada te golpean de inmediato, el lúpulo presta una presencia muy apreciada, el acabado es seco y frutales. En general, una cerveza muy gratificante, la recomiendo.
4.0 Red brown body with a creamy and dense beige froth. Scents of molasses, dried fruit and grass. The taste follows the aroma. Molasses, malt, grass and licorice. Typical sweetness of the barley wines, including in the aftertaste. Amazing beer.
4.9 Reddish-brown color, foam shades, tan-white, nice but moderately durable. Wonderful aroma. Dried fruits, raisins, hoppy, but also malty. Sweet, cognac, yet round. It has an extraordinarily full-bodied taste, raisins, honey, malt, but with hops and roasted-malt, it has an outstanding sweet-fruity-cognac, bitter taste. For me, this is the perfect dessert beer. It resembles lighter double-bock. Lots of aftertaste, lots of dried fruit at every point of the tongue. Alcohol feels a little bit, but it does come at a disadvantage. 0,355 bottle. Vörösesbarna szín, hab árnyalatos, barnásfehér, szép, de közepesen tartós. Csodás illat. Aszalt gyümölcsös, mazsolás, komlós is, de malátás is. Édes, konyakos, mégis kerek. Íze kiemelkedően testes, mazsolás, mézes, malátás, de a komlókkal és a pörkölt -sok - malátával kialakult egy kiemelkedő édes-gyümölcsös-konyakos, mégis "sörös", keserű íz. Számomra ilyen a tökéletes desszert sör. Világosabb dupla-bakokra hasonlít, csak felső erjesztésűként teltebb, összetettebb. Rengeteg utóíz, rengeteg aszalt gyümölcs a nyelv minden pontján. Az alkohol picit érződik, de nem válik hátrányára.Extrán ajánlom, persze csak a stílus kedvelőinek.
4.1 Amber color, the foam quickly leaves. Nose. a kind of mixture of hop and malt Fruit notes. some wine. Taste. The body is dense with soft carbonation. The taste is sweetish, a little fruit, a little port, a light bitterness. Great Barley Wine.
4.7 AROMA: Aroma muy maltoso: Notas muy altas de alcohol con un dulzor evidente y sin acidez. Notas maltosa a pan y lúpulo con tonos cítricos del variedades del Nuevo Mundo. APARIENCIA: Cerveza de color marrón transparente. Espuma cremosa de persistencia media-alta. Cantidad de espuma media y color crema. Deja "piernas". SABOR: Cerveza maltos acon notas de pan y caramelo que la dotan de una gran suavidad. Alcohol muy notable sin llegar a ser desagradable. Equilibrio maltoso pese al amargor del lúpulo. Sin acidez ni aspereza. Lúpulo herbáceo. SENSACIONES EN BOCA: Cremosa, suave con elevadas notas de alcohol. Poco o nada eferevescente. Final intenso que permanece en boca dejando un sabor agradable a alcohol. Cuerpo alto y sin astringencia. IMPRESIÓN GENERAL: Excelente cerveza, muy agradable y con una gran exactitud estilística.
4.0 # 548; 12/2016. Výrazný, plný pivo. Karamelové tóny, hrušky se skořicí, v dochuti čokoláda, karamel, černý rybíz. Povedené.
3.7 On tap at Craft Room, Opatovina, Zagreb. Cloudy amber to copper, small lasting off-white head. Aroma is malty, caramely, spicy, zest, cinnamon, lots of dried fruit, such as apricot or raisin, some alcohol. Very smooth, quite thick and sticky. Fine malt quality. Slightly resembling a brandy. Toasty notes. Ripe fruit, dried fruit, prunes, fruit liqueur - pear or prunes. Alcohol present, somewhat boozy, somewhat harsh alcoholic finish with a spicy touch. Strong and warming. Full body.
4.0 It pours deep amber with slight clouding. It has an off white head with low head retention. It has a strong malt and fruit character to start with in the aroma. There are notes of dried cherries and toffee. There are marmalade elements to it with alcohol that is noticeable. It is sweet initially with plenty of malt from toffee to some bread. The dried cherry flavors are also strong with some marmalade and low sherry like qualities. It is full bodied with a fairly high level of bitterness to it. The alcohol is noticeable but not hot. Overall, it has strong malt flavors with fruit and is sweet, but not getting into the cloying arena.
4.1 Bottle from Beers Of Europe. Clear amber body with a beige head. Steady carbonation. Faint lacing. Aroma of honey, lemon and banana bread. Flavour of marmalade, menthol and mashed strawberry. A sweet, hop-heavy Barley Wine. You can tell with just a sip that this is a big beer, absolutely packed full of malt and hops.
4.1 0.335l bottle from Csakajósör. Red-brown opaque body, beige head, not very persistent. Aromas of dried fruits, caramell and nuts. Taste is dominantly sweet. Well, very sweet. But at the same time full of complexity, coming from various dried red fruits and nuts. Mild carbonation, alcohol warmth is strong. Mild bitterish aftertaste. Great beer, harmonic, complex.
4.0 Vierte en color ambar-melaza, con turbidez por frío que desaparece al atemperarse. Espuma de café muy persistente. Con el carácter típico de una Barley Wine, destacan las notas de amontillado en nariz y de vermouth en boca, con buena intensidad y complejidad en ambos sentidos. Gran cuerpo y carácter cálido. Buena también como copa. Muy recomendable, aunque hay que saber lo que se va a beber.
3.7 Ciemnobursztynowa piana, ładna piana, delikatne zmętnienie. Przyjemny aromat, nuty tostowe, opiekane, trochę toffi. W smaku słodkie, ale nie za słodkie, toffi, karmel, kontrująca goryczka, delikatny alkohol.
3.9 Butelka 0,355. Wygląd: herbaciane, lekko opalizujące, piana drobna, trwała. Aromat: lukrecja, przypieczona skórka chleba, miód wrzosowy. Smak: jest słodko, goryczka w szybkiej kontrze. Ciekawy posmak cukierków ziołowych, trochę Lukrecji. Unikalny barleywine, alkohol niby niski jak na styl. Piwo z charakterem, romansuje z belgijskimi triplami.
4.1 Bouteilles 35,5cl Mousse : Fine voile blanc cassé Couleur : Robe intense orangé sombre à ambré. Nez : Bouquet chaleureux houblonné et intensément fruité de cerise et épices de fin d’année Bouche : Attaque superbe houblon amer, dès la 1ere bouche enrichi par un fruité tant intense que délicat cerise confite, fruits noirs, prune. Corps malté poursuivant sur le fruité et superbe houblon biter. Chaleur alcoolisée en fin de bouche bien dosée et parfumée aux fruits de fin d’année (Cerise, épices, …). Longueur houblonnée, sucrée, épicée…. Avis : Superbe strong ale puissante maltée, fruité et épicée, très gourmand, sans défauts, la cerise donnant un air de Barley/Brandy délicieux.
3.6 Bottle shared at Monyo. Pours copper with white head. It’s somewhere between a traditional, English style BW and a more modern, American iteration of the style: it’s as malty and herbaly hoppy as the first, but shows the bitterness and resinous hoppy character (mainly in the finish) of the latter. Medium bodied with low to normal carbonation.
0.0 Not yet. Go with blue cheese
3.6 Keg at the Euston Tap in 2013. Clear deep amber with an offwhite head. Aroma is malt bomb, with dark fruit, brown bread and slight Oxo notes. Flavour is malty again, but the sweetness is offset with light roasty bitterness and a hint of hop bite.
3.9 Bottle from Alko. Clear dark brown with tan head. Oak, booze, dark berries, barley. Smooth with plum, dark molasses, a hint of oak and sirup. Smooth and sticky with a long, sweet finish.
4.5 29.05.2015 AR: Sirup, Cream Sherry, Hopfen, Portwein, karamelisierter Zucker, kräuterig, medizinisch, überreife Früchte, Zitrus AP: klares bernstein TA: süss, fruchtig (rote Marmelade), Portwein, Hopfen, Zitrus, medizinisch, süss, Zitrus, überreife Früchte
3.7 Bursztyn, piania niska z obwolutą. Aromat miodu, toffi, palonego karmelu. W smaku słodyczka, toffi, miód, chlebowość, delikatna paloność z tyłu. Dosyć gładkie. Mocno ok.
3.5 Draft at beertemple. Aroma of sweet toffee, dates, malt, caramel and raisin. Taste has sweet caramelised malt, raisin, dates, caramel and bitter pine. Nice.
4.7 Bottles from Terre De Boissons, Centre Commercial Cite Europe, Calais, France; York Beer & Wine, 28 Sandringham St, York; De Bierkoning, Paleisstraat 125,1012 RK Amsterdam, Netherlands; Binns, Darlington. 2019 Vintage: Drank in 2019. Hazy copper coloured with a thin white head. It has a plum, dried fruit and spicy fruity flavour with a wine-whisky, vanilla and oak finish. Excellent!
3.5 Fin överjäsf smak men aningen för stark för mig
4.1 Barwa bursztynowo-brązowa, lekko zamglone. Piana średnia, trwała, z lacingiem. W aromacie dużo suszonych owoców, miód, karmel, brązowy cukier, zioła. W smaku podobne nuty, intensywne, słodkie, z wysoką goryczką, trochę podobne do Komesa. Gładkie, z lekkim, przyjemnym alkoholem. Świetne piwo.
4.1 I have been trying to describe this very distinctive flavor. Yes, this beer has a fruity, sweet aroma, but the flavor is separate and distinct from the aroma. What comes to mind is burning oak in the fireplace, or perhaps piles of leaves in late autumn. It’s that kind of beer.