In 1876, thanks to an ice pond in the mountains and a belief that anything is possible in the Golden State, a little brewery named Boca created California’s first genuine lager. Anchor California Lager is our re-creation of this historic beer. Made in San Francisco with two-row California barley, Cluster hops (the premier hop in 19th-century California), and our own lager yeast, this all-malt brew is kräusened and lagered in our cellars. Its golden color, distinctive aroma, creamy head, balanced depth of flavor, and smooth finish make Anchor California Lager a delicious celebration of California’s unique brewing heritage.
This beer pours clear, golden and light headed with a straw amber color. The smell has a bit of malt and lots of sweet cereal grain, however there isn’t a lot of aroma but the beer tastes smooth and goes down really easy . The taste has a lemon citrus bite with a slight pepper background as well. In the between those flavors there is a subtle cracker that adds to the pepper notes as well.
This is a decent session lager and despite the normal weather characteristics for lagers this seems a year round beer that can be enjoyed in the mid 80’s or the mid 50’s. Overall, this is a good example of an American Pale Lager worthy of coming back to, I’ll look to have this one definitely again in the summer months.
Terry Bunch
Raymond