12 Beers of Christmas #5

Anchor Brewing — Steam Beer

Without question Anchor Steam Beer is one of thee quintessentially American beers and the beer that encapsulates the Bay Area for me. It’s construction is All American: Take a British Malt Base, use a specific hop, add in a bit of magic and mystery and you end up with Anchor Steam.

I’ve drunk this all over — at home, it would crop up in pubs and bars seemingly at random (I remember it being on in the Bath Hotel pre-Thornbridge take over in particular). Here the bottles are everywhere, but you rarely see it on tap at craft places but you always see it in that hinterland between doe-mes-tic and craft.

I grew up in the West Country, in a village called Wrington which lies equidistant from Bristol and Weston-Super-Mare. Butcombe Brewery was our local brewery, initially starting out in Butcombe (naturally) but recently it’s moved down to the industrial estate near the BMX track in Wrington. And it’s local like local should be: the local pub will serve it (Wrington is blessed by two pubs — both will sell it), pubs nearby will sell it. My Dad will go down to the brewery to buy a mini-keg every Christmas. You go to a wedding round our way, they’ll be a cask of this and it will get emptied pretty quick. Fresh Butcombe Beer is like crack cocaine — a perfectly balanced example of a British Bitter. It’s entrenched in the culture.

The feeling I get from Anchor here is the same as I got from Butcombe. I’ve drank it at a wedding, I’ve drank it at a museum opening, It’s a go to when you want something dependable. 3L magnums of Christmas ale form a christmas tree in the local supermarket.

I love Liberty Ale — a beautiful expression of Cascade hops and American Malts. Old Foghorn is one of my favourite barleywines. California Lager is a smart NorCal take on a Lager. But Steam is the ever present dependable beer. Something about it, from the chunky bottle, to the familar tang of malt and hops feels just right here. It is the blood of California and it is wonderful.