Anchor Brewing Company BigLeaf Maple Autumn Red Ale

Hello beer lovers and welcome to another edition of the NorCal Beer Blog's brew review.

Tonight’s featured beer is Anchor Brewing Company BigLeaf Maple Autumn Red Ale.

From the Anchor Brewing Company website: “Our fall seasonal, BigLeaf Maple Autumn Red™, was inspired by a native California tree, its incredible leaves, its delicious syrup, and the colors of fall. Bigleaf maple thrives along the banks of California’s mountain streams. Native Californians once made rope and baskets from its bark. Today, artisans handcraft its wood and burl into custom guitars. In autumn its huge leaves, up to a foot across, can display a full range of color as they slowly turn from green to gold to red. Bigleaf maple sugaring in California dates to the 1800s; yet this tree’s unusually flavorful syrup remains the product of a small group of hobbyists. A hint of maple—including bigleaf maple—syrup in every brew perfectly complements the malty complexity, balanced hoppiness, and rich fall hue of BigLeaf Maple Autumn Red™, a red ale like no other.

BigLeaf Maple Autumn Red™ is a quaffable, well-balanced red ale with character. Its malty complexity and coppery color come from a combination of two caramel malts, pale malt, and a hint of maple syrup. To complement these flavors, we used three additions of Nelson Sauvin hops in the brewkettle and a unique blend of Nelson Sauvin, Citra, and Cascade for dry hopping. The result is a distinctive fall seasonal with extraordinary depth and intriguing aroma.”

Let’s get started!

Appearance: Pours dark orange with a fluffy off-white head and foamy lacing.

Aroma: Citrus, pine and tropical hop scents, sweet caramel, brown sugar, toasted malts and maple syrup.

Taste: Bitter citrus and pine hops upfront followed by biscuit and caramel malts, sweet maple and a spicy hop finish.

Overall: Well balanced, smooth and crisp, Anchor Brewing Company BigLeaf Maple Autumn Red Ale is a delicious Fall beer.  At 6% ABV I would highly recommend this beer to those who enjoy hoppy Red ales.

Cheers!

Mark Harvey

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