A big bottle of small beer in big glass

I tried Anchor's Old Foghorn on a blustery evening in Dublin a few months ago and declared it my kind of barley wine. I stand over this judgement, so it was with great anticipation that I tried Anchor's Small beer, made from the weak sparge from Old Foghorn's meaty mash. Further to this was a long held desire to try this beer stemming from the glossy picture filled beer books of Jackson and Protz fame that I pored over many years ago. I can't explain why these beers stuck in my mind but I was dead keen to try them and in some sad way never thought I would because things were decidedly grim in the Irish beer scene back then.

At a mere 3.2% abv it must surely be one of the weakest beers on the American market today, save for any of the diluted excuses for beer that are presented to drinkers in some of the dry states. The most striking thing about this beer is its excellent clarity and liveliness - a persistent stream of bubble surge from the bottom of the glass, peppering the wonderful copper hue with activity. The foam is dense and long lived, offering plenty of hops and malt. This beer would make the perfect aperitif - it is bitter as hell, far more bitter than any English brewer would make the standard bitter that is alluded to on the label. The ghost of Old Foghorn is definitely in there, betrayed by the same, though understated sweet malt favour that makes the barely wine so enjoyable. It seems that Americans can do low alcohol beer every bit as well as the big hitters that are so popular at the moment.

Winter warmer still required

Winter returned to Ireland this week. After a brief period of Spring warmth a cold front has come crashing into this small island nation and generally we don't cope terribly well with this sort of thing. I could complain about this I suppose - the walk to work is that bit more challenging, but instead I decided to counter the near sub zero temperatures with a toasty 'Barley Wine Style Ale'. This politically correct nomenclature is no doubt due to a pedant's confusion over exactly what is in the bottle. On this side of the Atlantic this beer is merely a barley wine. If my memory serves me well I recall reading that Old Foghorn was one of the first strong ales to be produced in America when Anchor Steam started producing craft beer. Perhaps this explains why it is more like an English barley wine that the super IBU versions that are best typified by Sierra Nevada's Big Foot. I much prefer Old Foghorn because it has a wonderful soft dry hop aroma and flavour without any of the intense bitterness in other American barley wines. It is lush and chewy with wonderful sweet sugary malt character, little of the 8.8% is betrayed in the body which is pleasant and not overly viscous. This beer was one that jumped out at me from the pages of the glossy beers of the world books I loved to read a few years ago realising at the time that there was almost zero chance of finding the beers in Ireland. I think it was talked up quite a bit and also was quoted as coming in a nip bottle which I thought rather quaint, but this bottle is a full 355ml American bottle measure which is all the better because it is wonderful stuff.