Anchor Liberty Ale

How about a strong pale ale called an IPA instead?

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/694/71969

 

From this 2000 article:
http://www.lewbryson.com/talkmaytag.htm

The "FM" here being Fritz Maytag

 

Well, this is the quote from that Malt Advocate article that you sited earlier:

Maybe he is right when if you used "and" instead of "or" to link those 3 things together...

 

Yeah, that's it - he was probably right on all 3 (all-malt, dry-hopped, natural carb.) in one product in the world (he'd know UK ales better than I would), and definitely right as far as the US ales at the time. I don't think I've claimed otherwise - just that there were dry-hopped ales and (probably) single hopped ales and many beers labeled "India Pale Ale" in the US after Repeal, and also open fermentation, carbonation via kraeusening and all-malt products as well from the pre-craft brewers- just not all those things found in one beer.

 

To beat this horse a little further, if you re-visit the original post, it was a question about the IPA style designation. Although Fritz M. stated in the article that he wasn't thinking about an IPA when he first brewed the beer, he did say "That certainly would be a pretty close description in terms of hoppiness and all malt....". So the question is, do we categorize a beer based on the brewers thoughts when he first brewed it, or do we base it on which category it most closely fits? After all, there are many beers that were brewed before their style even existed as a recognized category so original intent is an iffy proposition. Based on the current Anchor website description and the quote above, I think the IPA category is valid, although it doesn't taste like an IPA to me. Did I just contradict myself?

 

Please all refer to the extert from BJCP guidelines below. Liberty Ale is definitely the longest lived of the American IPA style. Please look closely at the list you may see your answer in there somewhere.....

Quote from American IPA BJCP Style guidelines.

Vital Statistics: OG: 1.056 – 1.075

IBUs: 40 – 70 FG: 1.010 – 1.018

SRM: 6 – 15 ABV: 5.5 – 7.5%

Commercial Examples: Bell’s Two-Hearted Ale, AleSmith IPA, Russian River Blind Pig IPA, Stone IPA, Three Floyds Alpha King, Great Divide Titan IPA, Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA, Victory Hop Devil, Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale, Anderson Valley Hop Ottin’, Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA, Founder’s Centennial IPA, Anchor Liberty Ale, Harpoon IPA, Avery IPA

 

I met a guy who used to work for Anchor, he told me it was really an IPA but Mr. Maytag for some reason did not want it labeled as such. That's all I know but I do know that the beer itself is a gem.

 

Maybe we shouldn't have a strong opinion because "Bob Brewer" of Anchor refuses to take a stand:

http://www.anchorbrewing.com/blog/ask-bob-brewer-is-liberty-ale-an-apa-or-an-ipa/

 

Its an IPA.

 

Back in the late 80's I lived in Cali had 3 favorite beers. SNPA, Anchor Liberty, and NC Red Seal. I figured they were just different examples of the same style. I do remember finding out at one point that Liberty was considered an IPA, and that Red Seal was considered an Amber. NC actually considers Red Seal a red PA despite what BA classifies it as. I was just a kid and drinking what I considered the best beers available and didn't even consider style much. It's hard to imagine that there was a time when you couldn't just log onto BA or BJCP and figure out what the hell was up back then. No microscopes on the topic, just drinking beer.

Still love all three by the way.