Anchor Brewery

Liberty Ale

ABV 5.9% • Vol 355 ml • bottle • USA • Mid-price • Flavour 7.5
Other beers from Anchor Brewery
Other beers from USA

From the Anchor Brewery in San Francisco, this is a golden-coloured strong pale ale, quaintly described as 'virtually handmade' on the bottle, with 'entirely natural carbonation'. It is lively on opening, with immediately apparent hop aromas and some dry, light fruit notes (pineapple). In the mouth it is sharp, bitter and delightfully hoppy, again with pineapple making itself known, as well as some lemon and grapefruit. Following the bitter attack, the beer smoothes into surprisingly well-balanced complexity. The hops are still a dominant characteristic, both in flavour and bitterness, but this is pleasingly complemented by a subdued maltiness and faint vanilla sweetness. The finish and aftertaste are clean and dry, while maintaining the feeling of fruit and hops. Another stunning beer from this well-loved Californian brewery.

OBBD reviewer: Sparks

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Review updated 26 May 1999

Comments

Liberty Ale is one of the top ten beers in the USA.
Wayne Kamletz

I thought the flavour was dominated by orange peel, which doesn't get a mention above. A good enough beer to be worth disagreeing about!
David Williams

This is a GREAT beer only topped by Anchor's Porter, my personal favorite.
Kevin Duffy

Anchor is THE premier brewing/bottling company in the US, whose only competition is Sierra Nevada. Liberty Ale is America's greatest brewing achievement.
Thomas Roy

Liberty Ale, perhaps Anchor Brewing has pioneered a new style. I would consider it in a class all by itself. Hopheads need apply. This beer has, well let's see, hops, hops, hops, and then, overtones of hops. Britian, you have created a monster, taking the term I.P.A. to a new level. DYNAMITE!
Darren Dieterich

Truly a world classic IPA! The West Coast is a showcase for American brewing prowess and is a source of pride for American beer lovers, due to the unlamented international reputation of American beer. This beer will always quench my frequent thirst for hops. Some other Liberty Ale clones are one-dimensional and rather poor, but Anchor has created a world class beer that is complex, and well-balanced. One of my top five favorites.
Dustin Alcorn

This is THE beer for true hopheads. Crack the bottle and the piney evergreen hoppy notes assault your sensory system. After a while you might notice some citrus notes too. For the first few sips just about all you taste are hops, eventually though you will get increasing biscuity maltiness. Oddly this beer seems at once astringent and creamy, a description I would usually consider a clear oxymoron, but not in this case. I finished a bottle about 30 minutes ago and I can still taste the hops, plus a touch of a straw like note that is discernible at warmer temperatures in the last few sips. The bottle now states that it's 6%abv. I don't taste any changes to the recipe of this wonderful brew, perhaps the alcohol just varies from batch to batch. A true American classic, a beer that any expert would clearly recognize as something from the West Coast of the USA. It goes exceedingly well with cajun and Thai food.
Alan Moum

The master. The beer all other beers (should) look up to.
Jeff Pickthall

I've just had my first Liberty Ale beer tonight,and I honestly declare that it is the very best blond beer in the world! The "bouquet" is uncanny, intimate, rich...the Queen of beer today!
Daniel Hanequand

Availible on draft (only outlet outside California) at MICROBAR, 14 Lavender Hill, London SW11 + many other fine beers.
Jeff Pickthall

Love it!
Jose

I came across this crackin' Beer on one of my first visits to America. Safeways were selling it at £1.39 I think a few may be purchased for this coming Saturday. Jeff, for us up in the frozen north where exactly is Microbar? (South West) London, but where?
Richy Coleman

MICROBAR is at the junction of Queenstown Road and Lavender Hill. Email me for more info jeff@microbar.org.uk or call 020 7228 5300 about 6pm any day.
Jeff Pickthall

I'm not fond of alcopops or strange modern beers like Bluebird Bitter - but this has impressed me. A bit like some of the fruit beers from Belgium - but more subtle and more creamy. Surprisingly good - but the fruit (orange/pineapple/coconut) can become a bit overbearing so that the overall beer taste is lost.
Silk Tork

Never lets me down...great stuff, from first whiff of the snifter, 'til the last drop!
Ted

to Jeff Pickthall,
Anchor Steam and Liberty Ale are available on draught at many outlets in the UK. As you will know it is imported by James Clay They supply nearly the whole range of Anchor beers. For more information contact info@jamesclay.co.uk
Matthew Taylor

Matthew - that's where I get it from. I know Clays V. well. Recently importing Goose Island beers from Chicago.
Jeff Pickthall

My first impression, a la Silk Tork, was also of a vaguely Flemish beer. A less expensive Orval!
Hopalong

My own favourite from the Anchor range, greater complexity than Steam Beer.If only British bottled beers of this strength had the same hoppiness instead of cloying sweetness. Not in my local Safeway, this week (july 17 2003) Summer Ale was on the shelf. I hope that's not the end of it.
P.S. Goose Island IPA and my own favourite, Brooklyn East India Pale Ale are now in Safeway's
Heeksy

Liberty Ale is what I consider the zenith of the American Ale Style. Strong and complex, this brew comes out of the bottle fighting, consistantly balancing the clean hop bitterness with a malty sweetness and a citrus flavor from the Cascades. I took a few bottles of this beer to friends of mine in Bavaria this summer. As we gathered in the back kitchen of the Fechter Gasthaus, I was more than a little proud to watch the faces of those old German farmers. In a place where men live and die by the milk of Bavarian, Liberty Ale made a marked impression. As an dedicated all-grain homebrewer of 15 plus years, I consider this beer as one of the few American classics.
Britt Taylor Collins

This one is hard to beat. Happily available on a regular basis in the Toronto area.
Frank Young

I didn't realise until I started pouring that this hadn't quite settled out after transportation, so I had to proceed ultra-carefully. Result - no head and a slight suspension of very fine particles. That did not interfere with my enjoyment one iota. Pale copper/orange colour. Cascade aroma - zingy grapefruit and spicy lychee. Low carbonation - a slight prickle on the tongue. Floral hoppy palate with a fruit cocktail of flavours - maily citrus - and just a tinge of underlying sweetness. Clean, crisp finish. Some find this type of beer a bit in-yer-face, but I like it.
Chris O

Probably my favourite beer ever.
andy smith

Just a classic APA, this puppy doesn't go out of style!
Evan

Recently tried Anchor "Steamer" beer on draft in a pub on Powell Street S.F. during my world tour. Being from Scotland we like our beers strong clean and with lots of character "A wee bit like Bonnie Scotland". Anchor Steamer was first rate. Lots of hoppy aftertaste with citrus and banana. Filled my grip with bottles of the stuff to take back home but chickened out at the last minute in case it blew up with reduced pressure on the flight and left it to the cleaners. Presently searching for an importer in the U.K. great to realise THAT "REAL ALES" are appreciated out there as an alternative to the lager mass market. Brewers do care what their more decerning customers prefer after all. Great Stuff Go USA.
Sid Gardner

I have a sentimental fondness for this brew as it was the first 'real' beer I had some 25 odd years ago. Growing up in the rural American midwest, I was weaned on the usual pablum from AB, Miller and local boys - Hamms and Old Style. Nothing prepared me for what I experienced in those first sips of Liberty. A wonderfully balanced blend of Cascade hops and malt. Interestingly, Fritz Maytag, owner of Anchor Brewing was inspired to create Liberty after touring the UK and drinking many local brews. Americans are the lucky inheritors of far more than a language and a legal system from you Brits. We owe a debt for brew talent as well.
Nealz

#1. Sierra Nevada Pale is #2 Doggy style #3 in the USA!, but .... in the UK
David A Jones

loved it....not ur hard core ipa but a good smooth hoppy taste.....puts a smile in ur face....
g dog

A hoppy bit of heaven in a bottle.
Barney

Anchor Liberty #1 Sierra Nevada Barleywine #2 New Belgium 2 below #3 All european beers...who cares.
Americatown Brewing Co.

355 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. Imported to Europe by www.bierenco.nl . ABV is 5.9%. Golden colour, slightly hazy, large head. Lovely Cascade aroma, citrus fruits and tropical fruits abound. Pleasant hoppy flavour - more in terms of "depth of flavour" than actual bitterness. Soft mouthfeel. Some hops in the aftertaste too. A nice beer! Score: 8
Sigmund

This is where American hops are at their best - a fresh & floral hoppiness. Not harsh or earthily bitter at all. A great clean tasting hoppy pale ale.
Dave Morton

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