Anchor Bock

Anchor Bock Beer (Season Limited), 5.50 % ABV, 12 oz

Color: The beer pours an extremely frothy, silky and textile head; it must have been awhile since I’ve had a LAGER (make no mistake, this is a lager). It is milk-chocolate colored, and the beer resembles a brown ale but just a tad darker.

Tasting Notes: On the nose, Anchor brewery’s distinct fresh yeast flavors come barging through, coupled with generous, citrusy-hops, thick malt and raisin-bread like sweetness, as well as some decadent plum. Overall the nose reminds me of a less assertive Ommegang abbey ale (and I didn’t particularly like it back then, perhaps I’m not knowledgeable enough in Belgian style ales). Despite the multifaceted and almost flamboyant aromas, on the palate, this bock develops the aforementioned flavors in a very integrated, well-knit manner. The thick, slightly roasted yet refreshing malt is there, but not as prominent as a brown ale; sweetness and slight bitterness balance each other out nimbly, though hop bitterness is minimal. The body is exceptionally smooth, being a lager. The fruity flavors are less prominent when drank, but a grape/raisin sweetness gives the overall impression of this bock as wine-like, and the combination of flavors give rise to a dairy-like pungency. The finish is mid-long, with malt, wine and cheese reverberating. Very interesting, very idiosyncratic.

Comment: The more one explores a brewery/distillery’s products, the more one gets closer to shaping an idea (however subjective) of a brewery/distillery profile, or in blunter terms, “style”. For whiskies it was easy, since I’ve gotten a-plenty of training and burnt bundles of cash on them already: say, Laphroaig’s iodine, Ardbeg’s earthy peat, the honey tones of The Balvenie, George Dickel’s vitamin-c tablets, Talisker’s pepper and Highland Park’s heather etc. Beer for me is much more difficult. Personally I notice that flavors stay shorter on one’s palate, they dissipate rapidly, and poses a much larger challenge. However, after eight months of cutting teeth, I can begin to claim a few characteristics concerning my favorite breweries. For example, after getting familiar with three of their beers, I can point out that a conspicuous, fresh yeast flavor is one of Anchor’s definitive traits, without a doubt. To me at least, the brews by Anchor generally emit a bready, tempting-one-to-bite in deliciousness. This seasonal bock, first brewed only in 2005, is highly interesting, with its malt-wine-and-cheese impression. Perhaps it’s the goat on their label playing psychological tricks on me (reminds me of Taiwan’s goat-milk powder whose brand name I cannot recall), but one can never know. One thing I know is that I’m becoming a bigger and bigger fan of Anchor.

3/23/09