(San Francisco, CA) – So much for not mixing up its beer lineup . . . Anchor Humming Ale makes its bottle debut late this summer.

The big story of the week is the sale of Anchor Brewing after 45 years under owner, Fritz Maytag. One of the things I noted in yesterday’s write-up on the deal was that Anchor has been slow to join countless other breweries in adding new beers to their current portfolio. The last new seasonal introduced was in 2005 with Bock Beer. This August, Anchor Humming Ale will take over that designation.

Humming Ale is a Pale Ale brewed with Nelson Sauvin hops and is pretty light at 4.5% ABV. Availability in bottles is from August to November. The beer has appeared on draft and at some special events intermittently since it was first brewed late last summer. Here’s more from the website:

“Anchor’s Humming Ale was [first] brewed in San Francisco on August 13, 2009, 113 years after our founding and thirty years to the day since the first brew in our new brewhouse.

Humming is an ancient term, used centuries ago to describe both ales and beers. Although its origins are shrouded in mystery, it seemed the perfect fit for a new product from an established company celebrating the 30th anniversary of the first brew in our ‘new’ brewery. From the very day of that first brew we were humming!”

In the video below, Zak Avery, beer book author and Beer Ritz manager (retail shop in UK), discusses the sale of Anchor Brewing and conducts a tasting of one of six preview bottles of Humming Ale in Europe.