Wantsum Anchor Imperial Ale

Tasting Summary

These comments are the opinion of the individual reviewer and represent what they thought of the beer on a particular day in a particular pub. If a review is less favourable, it may be because the beer suffered somewhere in the supply chain between them and the brewery.

The Anchor, Sevenoaks, Kent

Who	Score	When	Notes
Hogan Sampling		14 Mar 2026	Badged as Anchor Imperial Ale,* superb head and lacing presented and sticking to the glass for the whole performance on this amber-coloured Kentish best bitter. A fruited bitter first bite from this Thanet-based brewery at Saint Nicholas-at-Wade just inland and south-west of Birchington-on-Sea in Kent. A malty full-bodied bitterness rising from its biscuit-infused malts. A dry hoppiness winning over from its locally grown Kent Bullion hops.** They are said to have a "New World" character about them and here I detected blackcurrant, zesty orange and dark red fruits tantalising my taste buddies along with a sprinkling of spice and pepper and with an earthy and resinous (pine-like) quality. A very moreish hoppy bitterness mixed with a fine malt or two for good balance sliding downwards. Very quaffable indeed and in superb nick. *"Imperial" usually refers to much stronger beers but here "Imperial" refers to the rule of King Ethelbert over the sub-kingdoms of Kent. He reigned c. 589–616 and was the first Anglo-Saxon ruler to hold a form of supreme authority known as imperium over other southern English kingdoms. ** Bullion was bred by Professor Ernest Salmon in 1919 at Wye College in Kent. A sister to Brewer's Gold, it was one of the first high-alpha hops ever developed. It came to fame in the 1930s and 40s in recipes. By the 1980s it nearly went out of production but has witnessed a resurgence among craft brewers dedicated to its unique heritage.
Magnus Greel	Not Tried	24 Aug 2021