Anchor Brewing Co. San Francisco,CA

-Perhaps one of the most interesting styles being brewed today, Steam beer lies somewhere between an ale and a lager. Brewed with a lager yeast at ale temperatures, the beer has a unique combination of tastes. While the beer is well hopped (hopped three times with Northern Brewer) it also retains a pleasantly malty character. Brewed in vessels only two feet deep, this beer is truly an original in today's mass produced and watered down market.

-Originally brewed in 1975 to commemorate Paul Revere's ride, this is one of my personal favorites. Liberty is a heavily hopped ale (Cascade hops) with a copper color and a hoppy nose. Also blessed with creamy, persistent head, Liberty Ale is some of Anchor's finest work to date. On tap (and fresh), this beer is hard to beat.

-If Anchor needs further evidence that they are among the premier brewers in the USA, this is it. One of the greatest extant examples of the style, Old Foghorn is a classic. Available up until recently only on draught (now also available in 9oz bottles), this beer is a treasure to be sought. Heavily hopped and having a deep carmaly color, Old Foghorn exudes excellence. Retaining a bead of head, the beer has a rich, hoppy nose and a pleasantly malty taste with hints of fruit, especialy plum flavors; all of which is offset by the rousing hop character.

-A deeply flavorful brew with not as much coffee overtone as many in this style seem to have. Somewhat superior to Sierra Nevada's version.

-Made from Foghorn second runnings (since Foghorn is made from entirely first runnings, this beer is more acurately the sparge of the Foghorn grist), the beer is bronze in color with a fluffy head and a malty but nutty nose. Spritzy and dry on the palatte with some mild, earthy hop notes and a lingering, but mellow bitterness. A little low on body (as you would expect) but still quite nice, and worth trying if it is available in your area.

-Bright straw in color with a big, fluffy head. A sweetish nose laced with hints of berries. Crisp and refreshing taste dominated by wheat flavors. Very little hop bitterness, but a light hop flavor is in the background. A gentle sweetness permeates the overall flavor.

-Brewed annually and available after Thanksgiving, this beer is different each year. It has been a heavily gingered ale, a juniper beer, and a nutmeg dominated spiced beer among other things. Each year's label has a different tree depicted as a tip of the hat to the symbolic rebirth of life after the new year (when spring arrives).