Anchor Brewing- Humming Ale

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

 Where to buy in the 402:

-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