Anchor Old Foghorn

Anchor Old Foghorn…

Draught or Bottled???

Yesterday afternoon I just wasn’t in the mood to work, I know it happens to us all at one time or another, and most people are unable to do anything about it. I however am in the fortunate position that I can… so I did.

I sent my beer orders out for the day and retired to my favourite watering hole with surely the best beer range outside of 'the big smoke'.
I haven’t made it to the pub as often as I should in the last couple of months and had missed it. My lack of attendance had also meant that I had neglected most of the barrel of Anchor Old Foghorn, I needed to right my wrongs! For some time I have wanted to compare the relative merits of the bottled and draught versions and I reasoned this was as good a time as any.

Now then, if you are expecting definitive answers as to which is the better version I’m afraid that I am going to disappoint… firstly because the differences between the two are virtually non-existent in my humble opinion, and secondly because there was a good couple of degrees difference in temperature that made it extremely difficult to compare the two. I can’t even give you an optimum temperature to serve it at as I enjoyed the beer at both temperatures! It did seem to be at its best at about 12˚.

It really is a delicious beer with a lovely toffee and dried fruit aroma, the draught version had a distinctly sweeter aroma, but this didn’t follow through to the taste of lovely toffee, raisons and dates, with hints of apricots and a slight citrus hop bitterness at the back of the mouth. Both beers had a virtually identical profile in the mouth and left the same lovely warming alcohol aftertaste. I was one happy skiver!

My beer tasting antics were arousing interest from behind the bar and I was quickly served with some Montgommery Cheddar to increase my enjoyment that little bit further! I would normally have this cheese with a strong IPA for the fabulous tropical fruit flavours that the cheese brings out of the beer, and I wondered if one of these two heavyweights might batter the other into submission. Hell no, what a joy to have the tasty Cheddar wrapped in a silky embrace and carried off on a wave of toffee and raisons.

I do wish every afternoon could be spent like this!!!

Happy Adventuring!