Brewery Release: NW: Get It Now ... Anchor Liberty Ale
Press Release
San Francisco, CA ... Today, Anchor Brewing Company announces the release of Liberty Ale® in cans; a commemorative offering celebrating the 40th anniversary of the historic beer that started a revolution.
³I remember brewing the first batch of Liberty Ale with Fritz Maytag 40 years ago. We were both young and eager beer lovers and knew we wanted to create a beer unlike anything else at that time,² said Anchor Brewing Brewmaster Mark Carpenter. ³We had come across a new hop variety called Cascade that had a distinct piney bitterness that we used in the brew. Through Fritz¹s interest in history and travel he¹d learned of a process European brewers used called dry-hopping; adding dry hops to beer fermenting in the cellar to boost its hoppy aroma. So we dry-hopped the ale with whole-cone Cascade hops, as well. During an era when light lagers were prevalent, Liberty Ale was a very hoppy ale for most people. Their palates were shocked and delighted by such a unique beer.²
When Liberty Ale was first brewed, it truly broke the mold starting a trend towards hoppy beers that still continues today with IPAs dominating the beer shelves and taps.
Liberty Ale (5.9% ABV) was released in 1975 to celebrate the bicentennial of Paul Revere¹s historic ride. Brewed and bottled 40 years ago, Liberty Ale was the first American IPA brewed after prohibition. Furthermore, it was the first modern dry-hopped ale in the US and was the beer that popularized the now-iconic Cascade hop. Today, Anchor fans cracking open a can of Liberty Ale will taste the same great beer that started a brewing revolution in 1975.
Liberty Ale pushed the envelope during a time when mass-produced lagers saturated the marketplace. Former Anchor Owner Fritz Maytag shook up the industry when he purchased the struggling Anchor brewery in 1965, reviving Anchor Steam® Beer, and soon after began brewing other classic beers like Liberty Ale. Beers like these revolutionized American brewing, leading the way to the American Craft Beer Revolution. With quality and originality in mind, Fritz was brewing craft beer before the terms ³craft² or ³microbrewing² were even coined.
Brewed with only natural ingredients pale malted barley, whole-cone Cascade hops and Anchor¹s own top fermenting ale yeast Liberty Ale boasts a hoppy, balanced flavor with champagne-like bubbles and a distinct hop bouquet. 40 years later, Liberty Ale offers the same quality and flavor now in commemorative cans.
Liberty Ale is available starting May 2015 nationwide in 6-pack cans and bottles and on draught at select bars and restaurants as well as at the Anchor Brewing Taproom in San Francisco. Find a brew near you using the Anchor Beer Finder.
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About Anchor Brewing Company
Anchor Brewing Company¹s roots date back to the California Gold Rush making it one of America¹s oldest breweries. Its Anchor Steam® Beer is San Francisco¹s original since 1896. In 1965, Fritz Maytag acquired and revived the struggling brewery at a time when mass production of beer dominated and seemed unstoppable. Maytag started a revolution in beer that originated today¹s craft beer movement. An undisputed icon, Anchor is America¹s first craft brewery where beers are handmade in our traditional copper brewhouse from an all-malt mash. At Anchor, we practice the time-honored art of classical brewing, employing state-of-the-art methods to ensure that our beers are always pure and fresh. We know of no brewery in the world that matches our efforts to combine traditional, natural brewing with such carefully applied, modern methods of sanitation, finishing, packaging and transporting. See what we are brewing today at www.anchorbrewing.com.
N.W. Beer Guide