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canyonwalkerI've fallen a bit behind on blogging about my Beer Tasting project. Yes, I'm still trying new beers to continue exploring the range of styles and variety within them. It's just that it's (a) not fast; I only drink beer a few times a week and a lot of the time it's one of my known go-tos. And (b) I've fallen a few weeks behind in writing about news beers I've tried.
This blog isn't about strictly new beers but rather a second opinion on two I've already tried. Well, one of them is mostly new. I'm still on my first six-pack of Four Sixes. Recently I put it head-to-head with Anchor Steam in a comparison that proved surprisingly on-point.
Anchor Steam is a beer I tasted early in this beer tasting project after not having had it for probably umpteen years. It occupies an odd spot in beer varieties as being neither fish nor fowl, as it combines lager yeast with ale-style brewing. When I tried it over a year ago I dismissed it as fair but not good, let alone great. I tried it again recently because with news that Anchor Brewing is going out of business and being liquidated by its owner, I snapped up a few six-packs when I saw them at a local store. I figured it was time for a second opinion.
This head-to-head was also an opportunity for a second opinion on Four Sixes, a newcomer (to this area) I saw for the first time at a store a few weeks ago. I tried a can on its own and praised it as an amber lager, especially for reminding me of Killian's Irish Red, a college favorite I can't find in San Francisco or Los Angeles.
So I put these two together for second opinion, and something surprising happened. The Anchor Steam I'd previously damned with faint praise? It beat the Four Sixes I'd previously praised so effusively!
What happened in this second opinion? Well, Four Sixes still had all the rich taste I noted in my first opinion, but compared to Anchor Steam it tasted like it was just trying too hard. It's like the Four Sixes pumped it full of taste additives and went too far, making it taste artificially rich. Anchor Steam, meanwhile, was like, "Yo, here I am. I'm straight-up beer, same for over 100 years. No pretenses, no apologies."
Now I wish I'd snapped up more of Anchor Steam when I saw the last brewery run hit the store!
This blog isn't about strictly new beers but rather a second opinion on two I've already tried. Well, one of them is mostly new. I'm still on my first six-pack of Four Sixes. Recently I put it head-to-head with Anchor Steam in a comparison that proved surprisingly on-point.
Anchor Steam is a beer I tasted early in this beer tasting project after not having had it for probably umpteen years. It occupies an odd spot in beer varieties as being neither fish nor fowl, as it combines lager yeast with ale-style brewing. When I tried it over a year ago I dismissed it as fair but not good, let alone great. I tried it again recently because with news that Anchor Brewing is going out of business and being liquidated by its owner, I snapped up a few six-packs when I saw them at a local store. I figured it was time for a second opinion.
This head-to-head was also an opportunity for a second opinion on Four Sixes, a newcomer (to this area) I saw for the first time at a store a few weeks ago. I tried a can on its own and praised it as an amber lager, especially for reminding me of Killian's Irish Red, a college favorite I can't find in San Francisco or Los Angeles.
So I put these two together for second opinion, and something surprising happened. The Anchor Steam I'd previously damned with faint praise? It beat the Four Sixes I'd previously praised so effusively!
What happened in this second opinion? Well, Four Sixes still had all the rich taste I noted in my first opinion, but compared to Anchor Steam it tasted like it was just trying too hard. It's like the Four Sixes pumped it full of taste additives and went too far, making it taste artificially rich. Anchor Steam, meanwhile, was like, "Yo, here I am. I'm straight-up beer, same for over 100 years. No pretenses, no apologies."
Now I wish I'd snapped up more of Anchor Steam when I saw the last brewery run hit the store!
