Anderson Valley Brewing
(short notes)

Booneville, California

All beers sampled at the brewpub in Booneville in August 1995, with repeated samplings when possible.  Which has not been often enough.  This is an outstanding brewery.

 

High Rollers Wheat

American Wheat Ale

American wheat. No nose. Moderate wheaty flavor. Pretty good American Wheat. 12.4P.

Poleeko Gold

American Pale Ale

Very good hoppy flavor profile. Called a "light ale" by the brewery, but the overall profile of this beer is far better than the name would have one surmise. If an independent style were to exist for "American Training Wheel Ale", this would be one of the best. 12.8P

Boont Amber Ale

American Amber Ale

Dryish in finish, a characteristic I found in most California Ambers, detracts from the overall experience. However, the beer makes up for this with a nice hoppy profile and a good crystal note. 13.5P.

Deep Enders Porter

Porter

Roasty nose. Moderate bitterness. A bit strong for a brown porter, but a bit weak for a robust porter -- right in the middle. 12.8P

Barney Flats

Oatmeal Stout

Good roasty nose. Nice smooth body topped with a bitter finish. Requisite oilyness caused by use of oats present in middle. 15.5P

ESB

English ESB

Malty, imported hoppy, good linering bitterness. Not enough malt, however, to balance the bitterness; perhaps a bit too bitter for style? 15.3P

Scotch

Scotch Ale

Deep, deep maltiness. Splendid. Deep malty aroma. Nice combination of malty flavor with alcohol warmth. A truely wonderful Scottish; perhaps the best American rendition of the style that I have sampled. This beer will knock you over, too, at 19P.

Hop Ottin

American IPA

A unique floral/citrusy aroma that I have never experienced before is strongly present. This is due to the exclusive use of Columbus hops in this beer, which are a relatively new variety. An amazingly assertive bitterness is supported by a firm malt foundation. This is easily one of the best IPA's in the country, if not _the_ best. 15.5P This is the first time that I have had an IPA which uses Columbus; that may take some getting used to. It is certainly on-par with Leavenworth's great IPA, and when it is "on": Pike Place's. I would even speculate that it is as good as the Big Time's IPA, which is my personal favorite commercial IPA. It is even in the same league as Liberty Ale; in fact, better, I believe. Reviewed again 8/30/96 at Toronado in San Francisco. Solid malt base, excellent alpha attack, splendid Wall of Hops, nice Columbus aroma. The beer was on, and is one of the best examples of American IPA.