This beer style may have launched the craft beer movement via Fritz Maytag’s beloved Anchor Steam Ale, however, with the zeitgeist chasing haze, double digit DIPAs and pastry stouts, Steam Machine seems, well, rather common. That is until the drinker pauses for a moment and checks the serenity – beautifully made beers of this cannon may not receive their previous levels of attention but there is certainly a place for this kind of craft.
Nicknamed "Karridale Common" thanks to the addition of fresh Cascade hop flowers from the Karridale Hop Farm in WA, the deep copper colour provides an exquisite clarity while evoking the toffee that arrives on tasting. Atop the lovely malt base, the hops imbue apricot and touches of tropical fruit. Bitterness lifts the body in unison with a short dry finish. Before long, though, the late twenty-teen ADHD mind starts to wonder what a double iteration would be like before a quiet voice hushes, for Steam Machine’s beauty lies in its simplicity.
Guy Southern
Published April 24, 2019 2019-04-24 00:00:00
