Anchor Porter
Anchor Brewing Company

 

RB Transfer

I found this one in the back of basement beer fridge. Hopefully it won’t be the last one I ever drink. I see the news that Chobani bought them in 2024 and plan to reopen the brewery.

Poured into a beer glass, a deep dark brown, almost black appearance with a creamy tan head.
Surprisingly, only a little lacing.
Aroma and flavor is of toasted, caramelized barley malt, caramel candy and bittersweet chocolate, notes of coffee, molasses. Nicely hopped, well balanced with the sweetness.
The finish is soft a little tangy and bittersweet, very enjoyable.

Bottle 0.355L. (2015)
Dark brown body with a large, frothy, tan head, mostly lasting with fair lacing.
Moderate-to-heavy malty (roasted, light caramel) aroma with smoked character and notes of coffee and licorice.
Moderate bitter and light sweet flavour; some dark chocolate notes in the finish.
Medium-to-full body with oily texture; soft carbonation.

 

Dark brown color. One-finger, tan head. Caramel and weird metallic notes in the aroma. Rich taste with notes of chocolate, roasted malt, and a hint of fruits. Hoppy and roasted bitterness intertwined at the finish

Copenhagen 20/11 2022. 35,5 cl bottle from Meny, Østerfælled Torv, Kbh. Ø. Simple brown label with a light blue anchor.

Pours opaque dark brown with a small, light beige head. Stable. Settles as thin, flimsy patch of foam unable of covering the surface of the beer.

Aroma is medium intense with a sweet, malty odor mingling with earthy notes. Caramel, toffee and brown sugar. Peat, soil and leather. Light carbonation. Slightly thick, oily, greasy, soft and lightly tingling texture.

Flavor is medium intense with a medium strong sweetness followed and balanced by a medium strong bitterness. Aftertaste is bitter and lingers for a while. Finish is dry.

Immensely solid Porter.

 

Enjoyed my first, and like last, of this porter from Anchor on Thanksgiving Day 2024. An interesting take on the style and I get a lot of coffee notes which are slightly bitter. Mostly enjoyable, but I was hoping for more.

 

 

I am pretty certain that Anchor Porter was the first porter I ever drank, around 1986, probably the second opaque beer after Guinness. I have only had it occasionally in the intervening years, calibrating the wide variety of other porters, stouts and other high gravity beers I've enjoyed since then. I hunted around and bought this 6-pack the week the bankruptcy was announced and have been savoring it since then. Not sure I can really provide a proper review for the beer that was my introduction to the style, but here goes.

Pours a deep brown, only allowing transmission of a little ruddy light around the edges. Foam is cream colored, but not long lasting. Smell is roasted grain, very clean. Taste starts with malt and a hint of cocoa or chocolate, roasted grain comes on strong soon thereafter. Feel is smooth and very dry for the style, the result of more hops than a typical (english) porter and the roasted grain. Overall, this is a very flavorful but light bodied, for the style and color, beer. This beer (and later Schwarzbiers) has always been my answer to those who say dark beer is too heavy.

Decent porter...

I found this to be a roasted flavored porter - medium-bodied, with a similar experience to the nose. It was boozier than the 5.6 ABV advertised which added a dimension to the overall experience.

Solid Anchor quality. Leaning into stout bitterness territory but not too much.

 

Opened on Nov 10th. Poured to a shaker.
Dark brown, thick semi creamy coffee foam slowly reduced to thin, spot lacing.
Shy nose to start then classic candied raisin chocolate with touch of herbal, spicy, and coffee nose. I can smell it all day.
Same dried fruits and sweet spicy malty notes, following to moderately long, mouth coating, layered finish.
Medium body and weight, clean, full richness, signature Anchor carbonation and mouthfeel.
It is an excellent porter, packed with flavor, complexity, and balance, so crushable. Again, it is sad to see this go.

Pours a dark brown with ruby edges when held to the light. Two and a half fingers of tan/brown head form readily and linger.

Aromas of dark chocolate, cocoa, dark roast coffee, with some molasses-like sweetness and dark fruit as well.

The taste is superb, with not-quite-dark chocolate, cocoa, and brownie at the fore of the sip. Bitter characteristics quickly come through, though, keeping things from getting too sweet. Roast grain, roast coffee, and char turn those initial flavors into dark chocolate and fudge brownie. Then as it warms things change up again with a lighter sweetness becoming present bringing along caramel, toffee, milk chocolate, and dark fruit. It finishes dry with dark chocolate lingering on the palate through the aftertaste.

The carb comes out easily on the pour to form a robust head, leaving a low carb beer in its wake. It works well here, contributing to a smooth and medium-light body.

Overall, this is a great porter that checks all of the boxes for me. Porter is my favorite style and this has been a memorable one, potentially the best mass-market Porter I've had.