Anchor Liberty Ale - 40 years old this year!

Nice to see this. I had one last night, actually, and it reminded me how this beer's DNA is in every IPA, the style which is the legend of modern American brewing.

The actual history of Liberty Ale is very interesting. It didn't quite start in '75 - well, it did and it didn't. I'll let the history nerds expound.

 

My Cascade Hop mistress...I haven't visited her in a while...time to celebrate a 40th birthday...thanks for the info

 

Had it for the first time a year or so ago and it is an impressive ale. 40 years ago though, wow.

 

Love the Anchor Steam Liberty Ale. I think I'll pick up a case. Thanks for the reminder.

 

Nostalgia is like a nice old shirt. You know it's there and you put it on and then you know why. My wife wears a beautiful old McGregor shirt that was my Dad's back in the 50s and it is beautiful on her and I literally go back in time when she does. Anchor Liberty comes close.

 

Great way to put it!

It may not be as revered as it was in the late 80s/early 90s, but it's still a damn tasty brew. If only I knew how to read their date code back then...

 

Still one of my favorite beers....Happy Anniversary

 

Big fan of both Anchor Liberty Ale and Anchor Seam Ale. They are two of the beers that make up part of my regular rotation of beers in my fridge. Those two beers make Anchor Brewing an American institution worth preserving.

 

In another thread it was asked which was the best beer for beer. Below was my resonse:

Permit me to suggest 1965: the year that Fritz Maytag purchased Anchor Brewing and saving that brewery from closing. IMO, 1965 was the seminal moment of the US craft beer movement.

Cheers to Fritz!

 

It's probably been 3 years since I've had it. Something will be done about that the next time I go to the bottle shop.

 

Well, I'll be damned, we share a birthday. Perhaps I'll make a date to finally try this one from Anchor, just always seemed to look past it to stuff like Old Foghorn. My bad Lib, no hard feelings...

 

About 2 years since I first (and last) tried Liberty. It's very good. My favorite Anchor brews are Porter and Steam, though. And I applaud the recognition of what Fritz and Anchor have done over the years .... pretty sure I saw a Michael Jackson vid where he visited Anchor some years ago, which really hammered home to me how "serious" brewing can and should be done in this country. To think that Fritz decided that great beer should be given the attention that great wine gets, way back when, shows how revolutionary this brewery was/is. Cheers on 40 years of Liberty, and many more!

 

Never had a bad beer by Anchor but haven't tried this one. I will pick up some tomorrow.

 

wow, another sign I'm old. Back in 80 or 81, I remember going to Anchor with a friend and buying a case of Liberty Ale to bring back to Davis. I can't be sure, but I've always thought it was the first really hoppy beer in town. I don't recall ever seeing it on tap, but that was back when there basically wasn't any craft beer. At the time, it was amazingly hoppy, nothing else was like it. If you're planning a trip to SF, call the brewery and get in for a tour.

now off to my Bike Dog growler of Simbus (Simcoe, Columbus hops) IPA.

cheers,

 

Does anybody know if the recipe has changed over the years?

It's still hard to believe a brew this hoppy has been around so long. What took so long for the style to get so popular?

I drink at least a couple three 6-packs of Steam and Liberty Ale a year. They're always great.

 

Well, first the Cascade hop, which was different than previous domestic hops used in the industry, had to get invented and released by USDA for use by growers and brewers (1972).

Then, someone had to pick up on its unique qualities. The big brewers mostly stayed away because although they played a key role in underwriting the research that led to Cascade, by the 70's, they were starting to de-emphasize aroma in their beer.

It fell to homebrewers (one of whom was Ken Grossman, also probably Jack McAuliffe) and Anchor Brewing to pick up on it. From there it's all history.

Liberty Ale was first released by Anchor in '75, however this beer was a limited edition commemorative (Paul Revere's ride) which was not repeated after for some years. It differed in some respects from current Liberty Ale, e.g., it was dark-colored. Anchor released Our Special Ale each year thereafter and this also frequently featured Cascade. In 1983, Liberty Ale, which was based on the most successful Our Special Ale, became an annual release and took the the form it has today, pale-colored and 100% hopped with Cascade.

Credit must also be given to Blitz-Weinhard's (of Portland, OR) Henry Weinhard's Private Reserve, a lager that featured a notable Cascade character. It came out about the same time as that first Liberty Ale in '75, maybe before. Michael Jackson wrote about it in his early books. It played a role too in getting that "taste" into the specialty beer annals of America albeit it was brewed by a large old-established regional.

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale picked up on Cascade in the wake of its use by home brewers, Anchor, and New Albion Ale from Jack McAuliffe. From all this Cascade, and the taste of somewhat similar hops developed in its wake (Centennial, Chinook, Citra and many others), became the signature of American pale ale and IPA.

 

Love this beer. I've got one in the basement I'm dying to open now.

 

Ditto. It's been awhile.