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Post by Ken on Jul 14, 2023 9:06:51 GMT -6
... I have my ingredients ready to make an homage to Anchor Steam. Pilsner malt, C60, Northern Brewer hops and 2112. I had to order the 2112 and plan to do the Steam Beer, maybe some kind of blonde beer and then maybe use it for a version of Celis' Pale Bock which was always a favorite of mine. 127 years of Anchor Brewing. I feel like Fritz Maytag turned the brewing world on its head in 1965 when he took over and made innovative beers (or beers that were resurrected) at a time when most breweries were making yellow, fizzy lager for the masses.
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Post by jimdkc on Jul 14, 2023 14:06:42 GMT -6
BYO has moved their Anchor Brewing article and clone recipes out from behind their paywall: byo.com/article/anchor-clones/?fbclid=IwAR2-Ed7SaT7HXuSxtirHsyVMotwRe2srKx7PutNpbGcpWwlZuRSDli8dWtAI compared these recipes to the ones in "The Anchor Brewing Story" book, and they are pretty much the same. Minor differences in OG and IBU, but the ingredient lists are identical. The book also includes an extra step of lowering the fermentation temperature to 40°F for 7 days before packaging (for all lagers and ales) BYO includes 2 more recipes than the book: Old Foghorn Barley Wine and Anchor Small Beer (made from second runnings of Old Foghorn) |
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Post by Ken on Jul 15, 2023 7:37:20 GMT -6
Thanks for that. I drew up a recipe using C60 instead of C40 .. their recipe calls for a pound in 5 gallons and I went with 12 ounces so it should be pretty close. They call for hops at 60, 20 and zero and I went with 30, 15 and 1. I'm going to be in the zip code for sure. I love Northern Brewer hops and I love the character that is created by the 2112. It's too bad that Anchor had to close its doors to make everyone realize how good this particular beer of theirs has been since 1896. I'll get a picture of it when I make it. Cheers.
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Post by Ken on Jul 15, 2023 11:35:06 GMT -6
I was at the grocery store today and when I went past Beer World I saw one lone sixer of Anchor Steam. One. My mind told me it was the last sixer of it available anywhere and that I needed to buy it. Of course I bought it.  |
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Post by Megary on Jul 15, 2023 16:45:36 GMT -6
I was at the grocery store today and when I went past Beer World I saw one lone sixer of Anchor Steam. One. My mind told me it was the last sixer of it available anywhere and that I needed to buy it. Of course I bought it. Remind me if it’s any good. Give an honest review. It has been a looong time since I had an Anchor Steam, probably back in the mid 90’s. Is that still part of its heyday?? I was aware of its reputation though I’m sure at the time I wasn’t drinking it to critique it. I don’t remember the beer standing out all that much. A decent beer, but not as great as the fantastic label and the cool bottle it came in. If the recipes are accurate, I don’t think my current tastes favor a beer with that much crystal.  |
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Post by jimdkc on Jul 16, 2023 0:10:20 GMT -6
I always thought of Anchor Steam as an "OK" beer. But, Anchor Porter defined the style of "American Porter".
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Post by Ken on Jul 16, 2023 11:38:41 GMT -6
I've definitely had "bad" Anchor Steam .. as in, not fresh. As homebrewers we're probably pretty critical of "beer freshness" since we always know the age of the beer we've made. It's one reason I don't buy much commercial beer. The concept of a beer sitting on a store shelf for way longer than it should really frosts my flakes. These Anchor Steam bottles are in my pub fridge and I'll try one soon and report back.
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Post by brewbama on Jul 17, 2023 8:08:04 GMT -6
I input all the Anchor recipes from the BYO mag into BeerSmith. I am not sure I’ll ever get to them but I have them standing by.
I actually think the Small Beer sounds interesting.
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Post by Ken on Jul 17, 2023 9:37:03 GMT -6
My son is in town from Boulder and he came over to hang with me yesterday. I opened one of these bottles of Anchor Steam and we split it. It wasn't great. It tasted stale, old and much maltier than I remember it being. I bet if I were sitting in a tavern in SF where they had it on draft it would be much better. My son said it was pretty good but he had never heard of Anchor Steam so he didn't really know what to expect.
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Post by jimdkc on Jul 18, 2023 16:30:44 GMT -6
Found a lone sixer of Anchor Porter at the grocrery store today. It's in my fridge now!
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Post by Leftympfrmde on Jul 18, 2023 20:56:44 GMT -6
I always thought of Anchor Steam as an "OK" beer. But, Anchor Porter defined the style of "American Porter". Anchor Porter is the beerresponsible for turning me into a brewer. Found a six pack of Steam at the store, and found a six of porter. Shared a couple last Saturday at a group brew. The Steam was..fresh-ish. Can confirm, it's an awesome beer when fresh. Did the brewery tour in '16. I'm not one for brewery tours, but it was engaging and interesting to visit. We walked past the fermentation room, and there was a batch of old foghorn at high Krusien, in open tanks, looking Gnarly and you could smell it thru the positive pressure room where the tanks were. It's a nostalgia thing for me about the brand- Anchor arguably kicked off the American craft beer movement. |
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Post by Ken on Jul 25, 2023 9:01:53 GMT -6
On this topic, 2112 is in the house and the pack has been smacked. It's fresh. BEST BY date is December 2023. I'm going to make a pale beer with it first just because the lighter styles have been disappearing here. Pilsner malt, Vienna, Flaked corn, Mt. Hood hops to bitter and then at the end, 2112. 4.8%, SRM of about 4.5, IBUs around 25. Then Anchor Steam (sort of) will be brewed afterwards. Since the 2112 has an attenuation number of just 69%, I'm going to add a smidge of Alpha Amalyse to the mash just so the beer gets a bit of crispness. I also drew up a recipe to get into the zip code of Celis Pale Bock .. a "Texas Pale Bock" if you will. Then the 2112 will be retired.
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Post by Ken on Jul 26, 2023 8:02:33 GMT -6
Pack swelled up nicely and I pitched directly from the pack. I set the fermentation fridge temp to 58° but I've noticed it seems to be a little "off" and it runs a couple degrees warmer than that. 2112 says 58° to 65° and NOT to attempt to "ferment cold". I pitched around 6:15pm last night and I had some bubbling in the sanitizer this morning so everything is off and running. I took a whiff of the remaining yeast residue in the pack after pitching .. it's been awhile since I used it.
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Post by Ken on Aug 1, 2023 9:05:54 GMT -6
This is strange: I brewed a week ago. A 1.050 beer with 2112 pitched and 2112 likes 58-65° as a range. The controller is set around 58 but I feel like it's off a little bit so it's probably running around 60°. This beer is basically just a "gold lager" .. pilsner, vienna, flaked corn. 2112 has an attenuation number of 69% and I didn't want the beer to finish too sweet or malty so I added a pinch of Alpha Amylase just to boost the fermentability. What I added would be much lower than what the directions suggest. Here a week later the beer is still fermenting and I'm surprised. Like very surprised. Activity started quickly and robustly which is good but I assumed it would be done in 4 days or so.
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Post by denny on Aug 1, 2023 12:37:55 GMT -6
This is strange: I brewed a week ago. A 1.050 beer with 2112 pitched and 2112 likes 58-65° as a range. The controller is set around 58 but I feel like it's off a little bit so it's probably running around 60°. This beer is basically just a "gold lager" .. pilsner, vienna, flaked corn. 2112 has an attenuation number of 69% and I didn't want the beer to finish too sweet or malty so I added a pinch of Alpha Amylase just to boost the fermentability. What I added would be much lower than what the directions suggest. Here a week later the beer is still fermenting and I'm surprised. Like very surprised. Activity started quickly and robustly which is good but I assumed it would be done in 4 days or so. I assume you're certain it's fermenting and not just offgassing? Also, man, I gotta say...you take attenuation ratings too seriously. Their purpose is to compare on strain to another and don't necessarily reflect the attenuation you'll get. That's as much, if not more, dependent on the wort. |
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