Liberty for all!

Brewer-Anchor Brewing Company

Beer- Anchor Liberty Ale

Style- American IPA

ABV- 6.00%

Description- Anchor’s Liberty Ale pours a hazy honey color with fluffy white head that quickly disappears to a thin lace that still manages to leave a fine lacing on the glass.  The aroma is dominated by the citrus smell from the cascade hops that dominates this beer, but underneath the hoppy goodness are aromas of sweet honey, orange, and slight malt as well.  The taste is just wonderful.  A perfect balance of bready malts and grapefruit hits the palate up front followed by a bit of spice and pine before the beer wraps up for a long and dry finish.  The mouthfeel falls into the medium body range with a moderate amount of carbonation that gives enough punch to the body and cleanses the palate, but still manages to leave that sticky hop resin on the taste buds for that wonderful drying finish.  A truly wonderful beer that brings past and present together in one glass, but be sure to get more than one bottle of this one or you will surely regret not having enough on hand!

Food pairing – Fritz Maytag openly admitted that Liberty Ale was inspired by a wonderful bitter from the English brewery Timothy Taylor, the beer in question was Timothy Taylor’s Landlord.  Landlord is perfect with a wide variety of English dishes and Liberty Ale is follows suite.  Try pairing Liberty Ale with a dish of fish and chips with a bit of malt vinegar, the sweetness in the beer along with the citrus from the hops, brings out the oils within the fish and the perfect carbonation cleanses the palate in between bites.  This beer also loves spicy American dishes whether it is spicy Buffalo wings or a jalapeno topped burger Liberty Ale should be your go to beer.  Also, try Liberty Ale with all of your favorite Thai dishes!

Is it worth trying? – Abso-friggin-lutely!  This was one of the first truly hoppy beers that has led to the wonderful IPA’s that we enjoy today.  When compared to today’s hop-bombs it may not stand up for hopheads, but it is a taste of history and still holds up as a wonderful beer.  The other wonderful quality that this beer possesses is that it is widely available throughout the country, something not to be overlooked as many sought after beers are tough to track down.  So grab yourself a bottle and enjoy history in a glass and toast to Anchor Brewing for clearing the path for the fantastic IPA’s that we enjoy today.

Rating-

Where can I get it? -  Any place that sells fine craft beer should have this in stock.