Next in line of Asia Pacific Breweries Limited’s brews is Anchor Beer. Anchor beer has been a household name here in Singapore for a while now, yet, not many know it’s one of the OGs in Singapore’s beer history.

The Anchor Beer label, featuring the ABC initials. Source: graphic.sg 

It all starts with a group of German investors from the 1930s - with Archipel Brouwerij Compagnie. The company was initially set up to bring beers to Southeast Asia during the colonial years of the 20th century. Under the Archipel Brouwerij Compagnie, Anchor Beer became a brand in 1933. 

There were two ongoing breweries in the region - one in Batavia (modern day Jakarta) and the other in Alexandria Road, Singapore, named Anchor brewery.

Anchor Brewery at Alexandria Road, Singapore. Source: Roots.gov.sg 

However, as World War II rolled along, the German-owned breweries were quickly seized by the British. A joint venture between British and Singaporean own Fraser & Neave (F&N) and Dutch owned Heineken gave rise to the Malayan Breweries Limited, and bought over Archipel Brouwerij Compagnie and its brewery, renaming it Archipelago Brewery Company Limited in 1941. The brewery changed hands once again when the Japanese occupied Singapore, and by the end of 1945, returned hands to the British.

A very helpful infographic - check out deep dive on Archipelago Brewery here!

Fast forward to today, Malayan Breweries Limited has now renamed themselves as Asia Pacific Breweries Limited (APB), with Anchor beer under its banner as well as Archipelago Brewery.

Source: Heineken Malaysia

With its 90 years of history, Anchor has a nostalgic air surrounding it. For one, the iconic crossed-anchors stay relatively unchanged. On top of that, the brewmaster’s quarters of Anchor brewery still remain, its conical-ish roof a notable local landmark.

The brewmaster’s quarters as well as Anchorpoint shopping mall. Source: Frasers Properties

The actual brewery has been demolished and a shopping mall built on its site, aptly named Anchorpoint, whereas brewing operations shifted to a modern facility in Tuas. 

A lineup of Hainan’s Anchor Beers. Source: wiki

Apart from its popularity in Singapore, Anchor beer has found much success on Hainan Island as well. Not only did Asia Pacific Breweries set up a production brewery in the capital city of Haikou in 1997, Hainan has a whole different line of Anchor beers that are unique to and only sold there. 

Take this with a few handfuls of salt - from my own personal observation and informal surveys, Anchor (and particularly the Anchor Strong) seems to have a rugged, gruff masculine stereotype pegged to it. It’s often associated with that group of senior men lounging together at hawker centres with their cigarettes, or in the hands of that solitary one taking the edge of the day’s work. I feel that the stereotype isn’t entirely unfounded - Anchor Strong comes at a whopping 7.2% ABV and only in bigger 490ml cans, giving the most bang for your buck when it comes to getting that buzz beer wise. 

I’ll be tasting the two beers that can be found almost anywhere in Singapore: Anchor Smooth and Anchor Strong.

Anchor Smooth Pilsner 3.8% - Review

Tasting Notes

Appearance: Golden blonde, thin foam.

Nose: Light, faint chamomile, before giving way to that fragrance when you tear open a packet of cream crackers. As it sits, it develops more bready aromas that’s like sliced white bread. Very characteristic of draft pilsners, but perhaps a bit on the wheatier, baked goods side.

Palate: Very light effervescence, which makes way for a watery texture. At first sip, there is that slightly savoury quality from cream crackers or salted butter, before developing to that bready taste akin to commercial sliced bread. The hops are a bit steely and noticeable after the initial wave of biscuit and bready flavours, but doesn’t develop to any distinct bitterness.

Finish: Fairly short lived, the flavours develop towards a malt-candy sweetness that does not show during the initial tasting. The hops carry on slightly more and leaves a drying aftertaste after the malt candy flavour fades off.

Given that I am fond of plain cream crackers, it has that nostalgia factor for me. Also, with how low the ABV for this beer is, this is a good beer to stock up on for days where you want to scratch the beer itch.

Anchor Strong 7.2% - Review

Tasting Notes

Appearance: Deep golden, toast colour. Relatively dense foam that holds. 

Nose: Moderately bolder, though still a bit of a struggle to pick up like its Smooth sibling. Instead of wheat, biscuity aromas, there is more mango and banana aromas that compliment the bread aromas. On top of that, the bread aroma is noticeably more toasted with this beer.

Palate: The effervescence is much more aggressive to the Anchor Smooth and comparable to the average draft beer in the supermarket. From the get-go, the flavour leans towards a slice of toasted dense wholewheat bread with a bit of sweetness. The heat from the alcohol does come through quite strongly, alongside with the hops which while starting out floral and pleasant gets rather astringent quickly. As you let the beer sit out longer, the tropical fruit aromas show their character a bit more, though still overpowered by the hoppiness at the end. 

Finish: Moderate, with mostly the drying hops left on the palate. There is a hint of toasted bread left on the palate, but astringent bitterness akin to chewing on used tea leaves is the mainstay flavour.

I compare this to lugging a heavy backpack or the anchoring of a ship, and this beer should be treated with caution for lightweights.

Conclusion:

The Anchor Smooth was a very pleasant surprise for me! I passed the beer around to other people who haven’t had it before, and everyone concurred that it was indeed a very light beer. For the Anchor Strong however, perhaps my palate couldn’t stand against its increasingly bitter flavours. I think that Anchor doesn’t quite deserve the slightly negative stereotype it earned from the Anchor Strong, and that Anchor Smooth is worthy a contender to other draft beers out there for its price.

Learn more about the history of Archipelago Brewery here!

@vernoncelli