Anchor Our Special Ale (2003)

Formerly brewed at Anchor Brewing Company
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
San Francisco, California USA

Pouring with an interesting, spicey aroma,my 2003 OSA was a very dark mahogany-hued ale with little head. The seasoning pine on the label was marked as Pinea Sitchensis(Sitchen's Pine). The flavor of this brew is very complex and hearty, with a multitude of spice undertones. I like this beer!

Cloves and nutmeg. Hint of orange to the taste. Not too sweet. More flavorful as it warms.

Dark reddish-brown color with a nice creamy light brown head that leaves some lacing in the glass. Spicy nutmeg, cinnamon and vanilla aromas, smokey dark fruit, vanilla, spices and pine flavors, a lot going on here, medium bodied with a soft and creamy mouthfeel, finishes dry and flavorful, beautiful.

The tone is set from the initial pour. A deep mohogony beer with a very large tan head emerges and with it the first hints of the unique aroma. The aroma is dominated by spices such as ginger and cinnemon. There are also some earthy tones present. The first sip gives an experience unlike any beer I've tasted before. It's unique spiced taste is deep and fills the mouth with warmth. There is much complexity in this beer. It's not one for the average beer drinker, but I truely enjoyed this beer.

Paid $1.69 for a 12-oz single. Dark brown with mahogany highlights. HUGE tan head, really fluffy. OOOH interesting smell, very original. I don't recall ever having a beer that smelled quite like this. I can pick out: bread, caramel, pine, and maybe some sort of scented soap or candle. It smells pretty nice, whatever the heck it is. OOOH that's interesting too... I've never had a beer that quite tasted like this either. I've been conditioning myself for ordinariness in spiced beers, because I seem to have been trying a bunch of bland ones lately. Smooth, creamy, piney, slightly unsweetened chocolate, slightly coffee, bready... pretty complex. Pine stands out from everything though; like eating a christmas tree, onlt it's good! This is a nice Christmas brew, and so far, one of my favorites this season.

I got this beer by accident in a 6 pack of Liberty Ale. A nice color-deep red. I really loved the spicy aroma. I also liked the taste of the spices in this cold weather beer. IMO-A marked improvement over last years offering.

Dark red-brown, that is virtually opaque in the glass. Pours with a little creamy head. Full mouthfeel compliments the creamy head. Spices/natural flavors are well balanced and give way to a lingering bitter finish. A good holiday ale in that none of the adjuncts are singularly over powering. The label features a Sitka Spruce, "Picea sitchensis" so I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that they have used tips from Sitka Spruce in it. Subtly different year to year, it is an excellent beer to save a bottle or two of to compare side by side with the next years batch. (And to see how it aged on its own!)

Dark brown colour, nice head. Ginger bread aroma. Tons of spices in the flavour but they manage to keep the whole thing balanced and it all ends in a dry, bitter finish.