Hello everyone. For today’s craft beer review I’m going to be trying the Anchor Brekle’s Brown produced by the Anchor Brewing Company located in San Fransisco, California.
I tried this beer once last Fall and it’s been awhile since I last had a brew from these guys, so I thought I would try to give it a proper review for you guys this time around.
From the website, anchorbrewing.com, we find this description of the Brekle’s Brown.
Inspired by the all-malt brown ales in Anchor’s brewing archives, Brekle’s™ Brown has a coppery brown color and unusual depth of flavor with hints of citrus which makes for richness and complexity without heaviness. The classic, all-malt, single-hop brown ale.
Brewmaster Mark Carpenter’s unique recipe—a tip of the hat to our first brewmaster—looks to both the past and the future. It starts with a special blend of roasted malts.
For brewing and dry hopping, a single and distinctive new American hop variety called Citra creates nuanced flavors and aromas complementing Brekle’s™ Brown’s unique maltiness.
Anchor Brewing’s roots date back to the early 1850s and the California gold rush, when pioneer brewer Gottlieb Brekle arrived in San Francisco from Germany. In 1871, he purchased an old beer-and-billiards saloon near Russian Hill and transformed it into the little brewery that—twenty-five years later—would be renamed Anchor. Brekle’s™ Brown is a celebration of Anchor’s 140-year brewing legacy.
Sounds good enough to me. Let’s pour.
This brew comes in a 12 oz. bottle and it has an ABV of 6.0%.
It poured a mostly clear brown to deep ruby red color with some dark burnt orange highlights around the bottom of the nonic glass. The crown was light tan, smooth and slightly creamy in texture. It was sized fairly well and the retention time was ok, however the lacing was just average.
The nose started with a nice wheat bread type of aroma interlaced with some subtle hints of chocolate and caramel malt. Very earthy and “leafy”. Some toasted grain as well as some slightly toasted hickory nut caressed the nostrils. I think that I also detected just a smidgen of coffee in there too. Everything seemed to be balanced very well and the overall fragrance was not over-the-top, but rather of medium strength. Not a bad bouquet at all.
The taste released some burnt grain tinges right off the bat. More of that toasted nuttiness came through as well as some easily identifiable caramel/toffee sweetness. A negligible relish of chocolate malt discharged a minute amount of bitterness. Slightly toasted breads and earthy hops added some more complexity. I didn’t find any citrus as the description stated though. Oh well.
The mouthfeel was medium bodied. Dry and smooth with just a tad bit of chalkiness. The carbonation was spot on and an “ok” amount of flavor was left behind on the palate after each sip.
In general, I thought this was a pretty good Brown. It really commingled well with the cooler Fall weather we’ve been having around these parts lately. It’s definitely worth a try if you have yet to do so. It’s a super easy drink and solidly made. I, personally, don’t think that the Anchor Brekle’s Brown is a “world-class” beer, but it’s not necessarily one to be taken lightly either. It has plenty to offer in the way of aroma and taste. It could be contemplated and discussed or it could just be poured and enjoyed without much ado. Have you guys tried this brew yet? What did you think? Be sure to leave a comment and tell me your opinion.
Thanks for checking back in on another craft beer review guys. I really appreciate it.
Until next time. Cheers.
Score: 3.7 out of 5
Grade: B
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