Still looking for something different to pair your Thanksgiving feast? Raise a glass of Anchor Liberty Ale and give thanks to one of the true pioneers of American brewing, Fritz Maytag. In 1965, Fritz Maytag, great-grandson of the founder of Maytag Appliance, was drinking an Anchor Steam beer at The Old Spaghetti Factory (different from the chain restaurant on the Seattle waterfront), when the owner of the restaurant told him the brewery was closing. He immediately purchased controlling interest in the company and over the next decade transformed America's last specialty brewery into something truly special and iconic. Although most known for their Steam beer, a style they rescued from the dead, Anchor's real contributions to American brewing culture were for reviving other long forgotten styles that today are commonplace. They started brewing a porter in the seventies when it was virtually extinct even in Great Britain. Their Christmas Ale and Summer wheat were the first post-prohibition examples of those styles.
During the early period of the new Anchor era, when Fritz Maytag was selling off his shares of the Maytag fortune to grow his fledgling brewery, he went to England to do some research. Maytag was strong believer in American ingredients for his beer. He used California grown barley, and to this day Anchor employees travel each year to go see and participate in the hop harvest at nearby farms. On his trip to England, Maytag studied the brewing methods of the famous Pale Ales and Bitters. When he returned home he decided to make a Pale Ale that would be uniquely American; the aptly titled Anchor Liberty Ale. Brewed in 1975 to commemorate the 200 year anniversary of Paul Revere's ride, Liberty was a boldly hopped beacon of light in what was a bleak time for beer. Keep mind that during this time Lite beer was becoming all the rage, pitched as the new 'manly' brew by football stars, Billy Dee Williams was hawking Colt 45, and the ultimate low in American brewing, the generic beer-too cheap to even warrant a label. , but in the seventies, marketing a big hoppy bitter ale was like trying to sell the slow food movement to people who ate nothing but TV dinners.
Liberty Ale is a perfect Thanksgiving beer. Light straw in color, and a head you could float a dime on, Liberty's floral, citrus and pine flavors from Cascade hops stand up nicely to the big and varied flavors on the Thanksgiving menu. Liberty Ale may be light in color, but has a nice assertive body and a lively carbonation. The hoppy but dry finish make it seem more IPA than Pale. You can almost taste the history in the beer and imagination what it would have been like to first sip this beer in 1975. Liberty Ale is one of America's undervalued treasures and deserves to be celebrated on Thanksgiving. If you love great beer, give thanks to Jimmy Carter for changing the brewing laws in this country, and Fritz Maytag for reviving the beers we now take for granted and expect to find at every grocery store and corner market.
Liberty Ale can be purchased at most Trader Joe's locations.
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