Fog Breaker was Anchor’s love letter to its own neighborhood. Released in 2018 and named for the sunshine that breaks through the fog over Potrero Hill, where the brewery sits, it was also a first for Anchor: the first beer developed at its Anchor Public Taps pilot brewery to graduate to full-scale production. It is a San Francisco IPA in the classic sense, bright and bitter, with no haze and no shortcuts.

The basics

• Brewery: Anchor Brewing Company (San Francisco, CA)
• Style: American IPA
• ABV: 6.8%
• IBU: Not disclosed by the brewery

What to expect

Fog Breaker pours a bright, golden straw color with a lasting creamy head, and it looks like sunshine in a glass. The aroma is the main event: ripe pineapple and melon layered over resinous pine, courtesy of Citra Cryo hops plus whole-cone Denali and Cascade. The flavor follows the same path, fruity and assertively bitter, with a light biscuity malt backbone from malted wheat and two-row pale malt keeping everything in balance.

The mouthfeel is smooth and effervescent rather than heavy, which is what makes this IPA so drinkable despite its strength. It finishes crisp and clean, with the hop bitterness lingering just long enough to invite another sip. This is a beer built for a sunny afternoon, and it tastes like one.

Our rating

7/10

Rated by Nick (7). Nick lands this one at a flat 7, and that feels right: Fog Breaker is a well-made, flavorful IPA that does exactly what it promises, even if it does not quite reach the heights of the greats in the style. If you like your IPAs bright, bitter, and clear, this is a very good glass.