Anchor Old Foghorn - Anchor Brewing Company

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BA SCORE
88
good
-
1,323 Ratings

rAvg: 3.92
pDev: 11.22%
Reviews: 958
Hads: 365

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Brewed by:
Anchor Brewing Company

California, United States

Style | ABV
English Barleywine | 8.20% ABV

Availability: Year-round. bottle (883), on-tap (74), nitro-tap (1).

Notes:
ABV varies slightly over the years.

View: Beers (15) | Events (0)

Reviews

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Reviews by Jon:

Jon

Illinois

4.15/5 rDev +5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Seven-ounce nip bottle. Gotta love the nip bottle... but I digress.

Copper-amber pour with a fizzy taupe head that is quick to disappear.

Sweet, fruity nose shows notes of pineapple, caramel, toffee, and hints at apricot. Somewhat of a molasses scent, too. The dry hopping draws but minor attention.

More sweet, fruity notes reign in the flavor department. Pineapple, caramel, toffee, bubblegum and sappy hops. Nicely integrated flavors keep the alcohol content from becoming overly prevalent.

Mouthfeel seems a touch thin, though this is quite the smooth barleywine.

Drinks very well for a barleywine, but I think part of this is attributed to the seemingly lighter mouthfeel Old Foghorn possesses. Not overly heavy, but packs enough of a punch to demand respect. A well done barleywine that put American examples of the style on the map not too long ago.

Serving type: bottle

03-02-2004 02:36:40 | More by Jon

More User Reviews:

buckyp

South Carolina

4/5 rDev +2%

05-20-2013 01:45:09 | More by buckyp

Slatetank

Pennsylvania

4.25/5 rDev +8.4%

05-16-2013 21:58:04 | More by Slatetank

flyingpig

United Kingdom (Scotland)

3.94/5 rDev +0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Deep amber to light brown colour with a clear body and a light brown, bubbly lacing on top for a head that ends up as more of a touch of foam around the edges.

Very hoppy initially with a lot more coming through than I expected despite the fact I knew before hand that the beer is dry hopped after fermentation. Strong and fruity aroma that is full of caramel malts, sugar, toffee and darker fruits. There is a touch of alcohol but not as much as I would have expected from the abv. on the bottle and there was some butterscotch and a touch of spice to round things off with.

Strong alcohol and sweet malt taste kicks things off along with some background caramel and some brown sugar. There is a lot of hops plus some prunes, figs berries and dates as well as some lighter fruit such as apricot and apple.

Sweet and with quite a bit of sugar, there is a lot of alcohol in the the beer that the smell only hinted at and the carbonation levels are low. The beer is full bodied and quite smooth with a spicy, warming finish.

Massive alcohol content, the beer was very complex in both smell and taste with plenty of sweet malts and fruits featuring. A lot more hoppy than I'd expected which was a big surprise and a most welcome one. One I'll look to pick up again I think.

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2013 15:28:57 | More by flyingpig

bconsidine

Maryland

3.75/5 rDev -4.3%

05-10-2013 18:34:14 | More by bconsidine

AnnArborJoe

Michigan

3/5 rDev -23.5%

05-10-2013 17:07:10 | More by AnnArborJoe

dalepryor

Kentucky

4/5 rDev +2%

05-07-2013 22:05:36 | More by dalepryor

JoshBrews

Missouri

4.75/5 rDev +21.2%

05-07-2013 15:47:22 | More by JoshBrews

smithj4

New York

3.75/5 rDev -4.3%

05-03-2013 00:04:58 | More by smithj4

Lazy_Genius

Florida

4.5/5 rDev +14.8%

05-02-2013 18:12:50 | More by Lazy_Genius

buzzy

Pennsylvania

4.25/5 rDev +8.4%

04-29-2013 01:29:44 | More by buzzy

liquorpig

Massachusetts

4.5/5 rDev +14.8%

04-27-2013 02:16:01 | More by liquorpig

blackdavid

Brazil

4.5/5 rDev +14.8%

04-23-2013 19:29:50 | More by blackdavid

BB1313

Ohio

3.61/5 rDev -7.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle poured into a snifter. Pours amber with an off-white head that fades quick; some floaties/sediment; not too much lacing but nice looking barleywine. The aromas are very solid. Lots of raisins, fig, chocolate, hops. There are hints of orange peel as well. Although this is true to what everyone expect from an English barleywine, it has a nice little hop kick to it. Bittersweet. There's a touch of alcohol flavor, but it's not boozy at all. Mouthfeel has active carbonation and is almost thin, but it has enough body to make it a smooth experience. This really does make a great sipper.

I'm glad I revisited this one, it's been awhile. Old Foghorn brought the style back in the 70s, and it still holds up with the many options on shelves today. This will age amazingly.

Serving type: bottle

04-21-2013 00:23:45 | More by BB1313