Sail & Anchor Craft Beer 4-Pack
A few months ago I was given one of these to see what I thought. To say I was less than enthused was an understatement! I’ve had the Sail & Anchor Draught and while drinkable, it’s very ordinary.
The Sail & Anchor brand is synonymous with Australian craft beer. The name comes from a brew pub in W.A. where they brewed ales on-site until 2010. Now the beers are brewed in W.A. (either at Gage Roads or Feral) and are featuring prominently in Dan Murphy’s and all Woolworths stores nationwide. Now that I really need the fridge room it’s time to knock these beers off.
I was unsure where to start with these, so left to right seemed like a logical way to do it. First up was Monkey’s Fist, the pale ale which packs a punch (supposedly). The beer was quite a dark golden, almost amber, colour with plenty of carbonation rising to a disappointingly thin white head. The nose was very limited, only a tiny hint of apricot was evident.
This is barely a pale ale. It’s overly sweet, there is little to no hop character and there is no bitterness. It’s a malty beer with a little apricot for flavouring. The mouthfeel isn’t the worst, but the flavour really marks this beer a long way down. There’s none of the punch that the back of the bottle promised. If this is the highlight of the pack I will be in for a long day!
Style: American Pale Ale
ABV: 4.9%
Lark’s Foot doesn’t let it’s nose down, it’s a much better beer than the Monkey’s Fist. As American Pale Ale’s go it’s got some quite herbaceous hops, which add just enough bitterness to keep the discerning drinker interested. It’s a little lacking in flavour is probably the only real criticism I can give this beer. Overall it’s not too bad.
Style: American Pale Ale
ABV: 4.6%
Boa’s Bind is the first of these Sail & Anchor beers that can really stand up to what it claimed to be. It’s a very heavily malt based beer with just enough hop bitterness to satisfy. It’s much better than the others in terms of having enough flavour although it could also be considered slightly lacking in this department. In my opinion it’s the pick of the bunch.