In the interests of science, (yeah, right) I have always wanted to try Anchor Small. Why? First, it the only beer where the brewery admits it make the wort from second runnings of another beer. Second, it it made from the second runnings of one of my all time favorite beers, Old Foghorn. Third, it's really rare to try a good low alcohol craft beer in this country. So let's get to drinking!
This one pours very pale copper with a frothy ivory head. Smells surprisingly malty for a beer so light. Sweet caramel malt with underpinnings of floral hops.
Initially, lots of carbonic bite in the mouth. Very, very carbonated without a lot of body to offset it. You can taste some caramel malt in here but it is, as expected, quite thin. Very fizzy, very crisp and very light.
If the carbonation was backed off a little bit, this would be a pretty tasty and refreshing ale. The ample carbonation, however, serves to overpower the rest of the flavors instead of enhancing them. I'll have to give it another try sometime but this one is pretty disappointing.
