Anchor Brewing BigLeaf Maple (Autumn Red)

[Kealia]

I don't have a bottle of this (yet) but I did see it on the shelf yesterday. Why oh why do I keep tempting myself by going down the beer aisle? I've started this thread because it's highly probable that I will be trying this soon. Has anybody seen this or tried it yet?

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.

My apologies to those that just drooled on their keyboards.

[philm00x]

Hmm... drink it with a pancake breakfast? Seems like complementary flavors

[Kealia]

I would drink it in a plane, I would drink it on a train, I would drink it in the rain.....

[philm00x]

Would you drink it in Maine or Spain? hehehe

[Kealia]

Or just plain! I'd drink it with grain, when I'm in pain or if I were insane!

[SomeGuyBrewing]

I had this a week ago and loved it! So much so that after having one I went looking for it again and it was sold out. Keep in mind I've only had one (so far) and it was a week ago, so my memory might be cloudy.

The maple is noticeable but subtle, which to me is a good thing. It kind of reminded me of Sam Adams Octoberfest (which I really like) only as I said with the hints of maple and with a bit of hoppy-ness to it, not bitter by any means but you can definetly taste the presence of hops, whereas the SA Octoberfest is malt dominate practically zero noticeable hops. I really enjoyed this beer.

Now I'll have to have one tonight to see if my memory served my correctly. If I need to, I will make corrections to my brief discombobulated review after drinking.

[Kealia]

Yeah, I went back two days after posting this and my Safeway was out of them. I'm checking back in a few days to see if they get more.

[Kealia]

Tried one last night - it's a good beer.

I used to drink malty beers and over time I've morphed a bit to the hoppier side. For this, I was hoping for a malty beer that I'd want to drink on a fall day. It's close to that. It's a bit hoppier than I would have expected, or wanted from this but still very good. Mind you, I'm not saying it's too hoppy in general - just for what I thought it would be.

On the nose it's malty, with a hint of hop and sweetness from the maple (or so I imagined). The taste isn't heavy at all, in fact it's quite crisp. You definitely pick up a bit of maple in both the taste on the tongue as well as the finish - which ends up being a bit dry.

I have to re-adjust my expectations before I have another one. I had it in my mind that this was a BROWN beer with maple - clearly I can't read labels

Other than trying things out of my preferred styles, I can't say that I've ever had a beer from Anchor that I didn't like.

[BlackDuck]

It sounds like a nice beer. Almost a dessert beer maybe?

[Kealia]

Not quite. Too much hop presence for that IMO. If it were a brown ale with maple, I would probably say yes. It's a red ale (read: caramel-y to me) with some hop crispness and a hint of maple.

I don't know if I am describing it well. Next time I have one (I have two left after giving a few to friends to try) I will review it while drinking it which seems to help me be more descriptive.

[BeerRust]

Not quite. Too much hop presence for that IMO. If it were a brown ale with maple, I would probably say yes. It's a red ale (read: caramel-y to me) with some hop crispness and a hint of maple.

I don't know if I am describing it well. Next time I have one (I have two left after giving a few to friends to try) I will review it while drinking it which seems to help me be more descriptive.

I had this a few weeks back. It's more of the red ale that comes through than anything else. I couldn't really get the maple flavor. Not bad sounds a lot better, but not my favorite.