As I sat in the Mellow Mushroom in Lincoln's Rail Yard district,
I stared into their mini beer book trying to choose a new brew. It brought me
back to a Thursday night two weeks ago when I was sitting in my Lazy-Boy,
searching the channels, trying to find something to watch. I ran across a
documentary on Anchor Brewing, out of San Francisco, CA. I had heard of this
Brewery before but had never had one of their beers. What intrigued me the most
is they way that they brew their beer. It is the only brewery in the United
States that uses steam to brew beer. I won't go into depth about how this is
done, but, in short, they use the open fermentation method, which employs
shallow and wide-open fermentation pans. Most brewers use vertical tanks that
are not directly open to air. The other big difference between Anchor Brewery
and any other brewery in the US is the use of steam. Instead of injecting
artificial gasses into the beer, they inject it with steam, making their beer
have more champagne-like bubbles; bubbles you do not see in any other beer.
As "Purple Haze" by Jimi Hendrix flowed into my ears, I
realized I was not in my Lazy-Boy but still sitting at the Mellow Mushroom. I
was now on a mission to find any beer by Anchor Brewery. On the menu I saw it:
Anchor Brewery Rotator. At the time, the rotating beer was the Anchor Humming
Ale. After the first sip, I knew it would not be my last. With hints of citrus
and the great hop taste, this is a great tasting beer. The hops in this beer
are like nothing I have ever tasted before. The special hops, brought in from
New Zealand, give this beer a strong taste with a lot of character. Some beer drinkers are not a fan of the hoppy
aftertaste, those of you who fall in this category are in luck because the special
hops and steam brewing has this beer leaving your mouth with a sweet and clean
taste rather than a hop-filled taste.
Being at one of the best pizza joints around, I knew I would have
to pair this with a pizza, picking from the twenty plus pizzas was the hard
part. My friends and I decided on a meat lovers pizza, covered in pepperoni,
sausage, Canadian bacon, bacon, and ham. The mixture of the meats, cheese, and
the sweet red sauce made this a great pairing with the Humming Ale. If you’re
looking for a good end of the summer brew, or if you're not a fan of the dark
fall beers, this is a winner.
Overall, I really loved this beer, and it clearly deserves a five
out of five. You will have to act fast,
as this beer is usually on tap and on the shelves from early August until the
end of November. I really suggest going out and giving this beer a try. Why not
head over to the Mellow Mushroom, grab a slice and Humming Ale, and your night
will be set! Until next week, happy drinking!
Pair with these foods:
-Pizza
-Hoagie
Beer info:
Style of Beer: Late Summer/Fall Ale
ABV (Alcohol by Volume): 5.9%
Color: Light Gold
-N Street Liquor,
Lincoln, NE
-Mellow Mushroom, Rail Yard, Lincoln, NE
This image was taken from the Anchor Brewing website, http://www.anchorbrewing.com/beer/humming_ale
