Anchor Zymaster Series

Zymaster
[Gk zyme leaven + master - more at ZYMURGY]

1: a new word coined by Anchor Brewing to describe a brewmaster with hands-on experience throughout the a-to-z process of creating a new beer, from the research and selection of the raw materials and development of a recipe to brewing, fermentation, cellaring, and finishing

2: a unique series of beers from Anchor Brewing, rooted in its exceptional respect for the ancient art and noble traditions of brewing, featuring extraordinary ingredients, innovative techniques, and unusual flavors

Zymaster No. 8

A perfectly crafted, refreshing summer brew just in time for the warmer months. Luxardo® Maraschino Cherries offer a deep ruby-black color, intensely exotic flavor, and rich fruit aroma. Rather than dry-hopping this ale, we age Zymaster 8 on a bed of these magnificent cherries. A uniquely complex brew that offers the perfect balance between sweetness and tartness, with depth of flavor, tantalizing aroma, ruddy complexion, and a luxuriantly dry finish.

Zymaster No. 7

The mash is sour but the beer is not. Instead, the sour mash we blend with our regular mash results in this IPA's unique piquancy. The dry tartness from the sour mash, the bitterness from the Nelson Sauvin hops, and the subtle spiciness from the rye meld to create a singular, thirst-quenching IPA with a clean, crisp finish. Dry-hopping with Nelson Sauvin adds tropical complexity with notes of grapefruit, mandarin orange, and passion fruit.

Zymaster No. 6
Saaremaa Island Ale

A medium-bitter pale ale with Old World hop flavor and aroma. Made with pale barley malt, it has light body and a clean finish. But what makes our “S.I.A.” exceptional is the native yeast that Anchor brewmaster Mark Carpenter clandestinely brought back from his Estonian beer journey. It took months for us to isolate and culture this special strain, so essential to the unique character of Saaremaa Island's indigenous beers. Our trial brews confirmed that this yeast, reminiscent of some Belgian varieties, contributes a richly complex piquancy to this deliciously distinctive ale, with overtones of freshly ground clove and allspice. Mark's journey can now become our journey, elevating and transporting the senses to this faraway land and its uniquely exotic brews.

Zymaster No. 5
Harvest One American Pale Ale

Made with a special blend of pale, caramel, and Munich malts, which contribute a distinctively complex maltiness and deep golden color. Nugget hops give it a tangy bitterness. But the hallmark is the intriguingly novel aroma of an experimental new hop, which was used liberally in both the brewhouse and the cellar. A late addition to the boil plus dry hopping provides Harvest One with an incredibly lively hop aroma reminiscent of tree-ripened peaches, with just a hint of fresh melon.

Zymaster No. 4
Fort Ross Farmhouse Ale

A Belgian-style farmhouse ale with a California twist. The unique bitterness and earthy spiciness of Yerba Santa, a native California herb, perfectly complement the fruitiness and clove-like flavors created by a local saison-style yeast. And in addition to hops, barley malt, and wheat malt, we used toasted Belgian wheat malt, which gives our Fort Ross Farmhouse Ale its distinctive maltiness and burnished bronze color.

Zymaster No. 3
Flying Cloud San Francisco Stout

Named after a San Francisco sailing legend from a time when stouts were first exported to the West Coast. A dry, Irish-style export stout akin to those brewed in the 1800s for the long voyage to San Francisco. Black as night, this high-gravity, malty brew offers intense but well-balanced flavors and aroma, with hints of dark chocolate and roasted coffee.

Zymaster No. 2
Mark's Mild

This creation is Anchor Brewmaster Mark Carpenter's interpretation of a traditional English dark mild. It is made from a single-temperature mash of English Maris Otter pale malt and crystal malts, a single addition of English Goldings hops to the boil, invert sugar, and our own ale yeast in an open fermenter. Mark's Mild is a rich chocolate-brown color with luscious malty sweetness and hints of chocolate, nuts, caramel, and toffee. Neither heavy, bitter, nor high in alcohol, it has a smooth, thirst-quenching finish that makes Mark's Mild the ultimate sociable craft beer.

Zymaster No. 1
Anchor California Lager

Anchor Steam® Beer's roots date back to the sundry and mysterious adaptations and improvisations of brewers to the primitive conditions they faced during the California gold rush, long before icehouses and modern refrigeration made traditional lager beer a viable California option. Early efforts notwithstanding, it wasn't until the winter of 1875/76 that a California brewer was able to create—thanks in part to the ready availability ice in the mountains near Truckee— what might be called the first true California lager. The inaugural brew of the Anchor Brewing Zymaster Series is our attempt to re-create such an iconic beer. Brewed from the finest California barley, Cluster hops—the premier hop variety in 19th–century California—lager yeast, and water, it is, quite simply, re-discovered gold.