Anchor Small Beer
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.
2.7
572 reviews
San Francisco, United States
Community reviews
In tap inthe Wildeman. Poured light amber with a small off white head. Aroma of lightly sweet and moderately bitter hops, soft malt. Medium body, flavour is medium bitter and not much else.
Amber gold pour. Aroma of skunk and honey. Tastes like watery wood and tobacco. not enough flavor. I’ve had better bitter.
Reviewed from notes.
I poured this into a pint glass.
The appearance was a hazy brown color with a quick dissipating less than a finger’s worth of foamy head. It did leave some nice adequate foamy lacing.
The smell was exactly the true aspects of an English Bitter - that English earthy and soapiness invading my nose in a malty sort of way.
The taste was malty but not necessarily sweet. There was a quick malty aftertaste and just a dry finish.
On the palate, it sat fairly light and sessionable. The carbonation was there and decent for the style.
Overall, well, this is an English Bitter by style and it fits the bill. Not bad to me, but still nothing over the top. It would probably be fitting as a great beer with fish n’ chips.
Bottle:
Slightly hazed amber with a large, pillowy, off-white head.
Caramel, bread aroma.
Grain, cardboard....watery taste.
Incredibly watery...metallic bitter.
Not good.
Pale amber colour, tiny white head, thin mouth feel with mild fruity hops flavours. It’s OK but by no means great.
Bottle: Clear, gold to copper, we ah head. Very neutral malt and hops. Reminds me of my fathers beer from the 70’s in Australia. I see very little aroma but rather an ugly childhood memory when beer tasted like crap. Dry, slightly sour and bitter like your mothernlaw. Short, low to no flavor. This is not craft brewing. It’s worse than averge. For those who work in the fields without access to fresh or clean water it would be gold. For a modern California craft brewing it’s a joke.
Bottle code: 2LI
Pours a nice light amber with a solid sheet of loose whites. Smells of peanuts, light grain, sweet toffee (faintly), some hints of grass. Flavor is bitter up front, some of the peanut flavor comes through, a good dose of cardboard (candy box style) some bits of metals. Medium bodied with much too much carbonation and a wettish finish. Not very impressive, but I can see how on a sunny summer day, with sweat dripping down my face this would satisfy. Maybe if this wasn’t listed as a bitter.
Serving type: bottle
09-25-2012
Earthy caramel and peat aroma like the olde bitter should have. Clear orange color, head will collapse within a minute. Weird sweet saltine cracker taste, almost bitter, dry and flaky. Insincere cask-age finish. Light body, feels like near beer, which it almost is. Any beer this weak should be very bitter or sour. I like Anchor quite a lot, but this feels like trying to milk something for more than it’s worth.
Poured from 22 oz bottle. Pours an orange gold. White frothy head, dissipates quickly. Aroma is minimal - somewhat bready, but watery. Tastes very much like a watered-down barley wine. There is a strange bitterness mid-taste. While this is an interesting idea as a historical exercise, it is not something I would purchase again.
Presentation: It was poured from a brown 1pt. 6oz bottle into an imperial pint glass. The neck label has a short description of the beer but there is no freshness date or abv%.
Appearance: The body has a light amber to orange amber color with good clarity and some visible carbonation. From the pour I got an average size head (about two fingers) with a just off white color. This head fades slowly and makes some nice lacing on the glass as I drink.
Smell: It light overall and has a light pale biscuit like maltiness with some mild grassy/herbal hops. (This was not what I was expecting at all.)
Taste/Palate: The flavor closely matches the smell. It starts with a thin pale malt with light bready and biscuity notes. This is then quickly over run by a slightly citrusy, almost astringent, grassy hop character. It finishes with this acidic bitterness hanging on to the tongue. The body has a light and fairly thin feel with plenty of scrubbing carbonation.
Notes: For a beer based off the second running of there Barleywine this was not what I was expecting and not a beer that I would seek out again.
Modest and not very outspoken bitter beer. I drank it as a light beer to get some fresh air between some very heavy tastings.
Bottle at home. Pours clear orange with a medium, frothy white head, medium retention with good lacing. Aroma is Northern Brewer hops and light cracker malt. Flavor is heavy bitterness, moderate hops, light malt and a dry finish. Light body and medium carbonation.
12oz bottle, overall a good brew, maybe one of Anchor’s weakest. Bitter finish, taste of grass, earthy, light body, but balanced.
Weak. Not a good beer. Not worth spending money on. Meh. Had with micro boss guys.
Rated in 2010 (Backlog) - Gold in color with a large off-white head. Aroma is of grain. Taste is the same with a hint of grassy hops.
Not bad for what it is. Slight caramel. Light flavor but not light beer light. I’d have this again.
Draught due brouwerij lane. Yellow orange pour. Light malts bread and grass. Not as bad as some say.
Clear, deep gold, frothy head doesnt last. Malty, toasty, slightly sour nose. Flavour is predominately water, with some background malt and an odd, sharp bitterness. Very thin bodied, fizzy, with quite an unpleasant, unbalanced finish. Interesting, but not something I would drink again.
Dobre choc malo wyraziste aromat chmielny niewatpliwie jest. Piana spora ale do polowy opada a reszta jej sie jakos trzyma. Posmak drewniano zywiczny i wytrawny i gozki slad pozostawia w ustach i na podniebieniu. Kolor ciemno pomaranczowy. Delikatne piwo nisko alkocholowe ale w sporej i smuklej butelce.
22 ounce bottle. Pours a golden amber with a small off-white head. Aroma of malt, caramel, and grain. Taste is malt, grain, bread, caramel, and grass. Not too wild about this.
22oz bottle poured into a shaker. Pours a ckear rust orange with a half finger of white head. Aroma is light and slightly fruity. Citrus and pine with a little bready biscuits. Taste is light bitter. Piney and herbal with some bready . Decent brew, but by far my favorite from anchor.
Pours a light orange yellow with thick bubbly head. Smells of honey and some fruityness. Tastes is really light. honey and sweet malt, finishes slightly tart. Thin watery palate ( to be expected from second runnings) overall for a low alcohol session beer its OK.
Not very good. Not horrible, but not enough malt to balance the bitterness. Nice try Anchor. They romanced the hell out of the beer to try and get you to buy a "second pressing" liquid, but there is no getting around the fact that I had to force this down.
Serving: 22 oz. bottle from State Line Liquors. It pours a nice amber color with a frothy white head. The nose has some honey, light florals, and a slight fruitiness to it. The flavor has a touch of sweetness and a weak bitterness, but it lacks flavor overall. Very light (almost watery) body with higher carbonation. This brew could use a touch more flavor.
Had this sitting in my fridge since forever, in case anybody came over and wanted a beer. Made sense to open a San Francisco beer on Super Sunday!! Light orange/amber in color. Crystal clear body. Bubbly white head that has went fairly fast. Light hoppy aroma, perhaps Liberty?? Thin body, as expected. Bit of a hoppy bitterness to it. Not something I’d be drinking on a regular basis. If anything, at least it’s got a clean palate.
Medium orange gold color. Head is smallish. Aroma is malty and slightly skunky. A light bodied beer. Very light and watery tasting. There is something not quite right with this beer, not sure quite what it is, but it ain’t right. Malts are way to mild. Hops are way to astringent. And it only 2.3 % alcohol as well. Not a very good effort from Anchor
Pours chestnut brown with a light off white head. Aroma is malty, caramel and grass. Taste is sweet with light bitters. Light bodied and slick texture. Enjoyable as it is so light, would make a great table beer.
Bottle. Pours pale straw yellow with a big white head. The aroma is grassy with a little cereal grains. The flavor is that of a good bitter. Clean finishing and refreshing.
Bottle: Muddy amber pour with a huge beige head. Sort of a blend of sour bread and soapy florals. Interesting, but not for me.
Bottle @ home, picked up at Wilbur’s in Fort Collins. Pours a clear toasty orange appearance with a creamy, tan head. Grainy, rich straw, a bit herbal, green hoppy, cracker aroma. Bitter herbal, chewy saltine cracker, toasty malty, hay flavor. Probably my least favorite beer from Anchor.