Anchor Our Special Ale (2003)

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

Thanks to Paiste2002 for this stellar bottle. Pours a blackish red with a thick tan head. Hug cinnamon, nutmeg and honey aroma, just intoxicating and makes you think of the holidays. Big cinnamon nutmeg malt body with a spicy bitterness, not as amazing as the aroma. Very fragrant and tasty, has held up very well and a great treat.

Bottle (12oz). Shared with blankboy and garthicus, via trade with irishboy. Deep ruby-brown with a lasting frothy off-white head. Aromas of nut oil, sweet roast, mint, herbs spice and molasses, somewhat dry. Tastes the same, very smooth, noticeably spicy and ’’Christmas’’y. Pleasantly silky mouthfeel, very well balanced between roastiness and spice - the was terrific stuff, hardly seemed 5 years old.

Bottle (12oz) shared with HogTownHarry & garthicus -- courtesy of HogTownHarry. Wow, thanks for sharing this Harry! Pours a very deep ruby-brown with a small diminishing tan head. Aroma of rye, dark fruit, spices, chocolate and light hops. Very nice flavour of lightly roasted malt, rye, dark fruit, light spices and light hops. Average bodied. Man, has this ever held up well -- great stuff!

magnum bottle opened at Houston BA Tasting. Pours a dark brown with a nice tan head. Nose is of spice and roasty malt. Taste is the same roasty malt and spice, but also has some nuttiness to it. Mouthfeel is medium-to-thin.

Bottle from Richard (Irishboy) as a bonus. Thanks! Sampled 4/25/08. Very deep brown body, soft tan head with nice lacing. Nose is strangely reminiscent of Chartreuse. Its very strongly herbal and spicy, bright and almost salty. Very interesting - I’m sure it didn’t smell like this when it was released but I wish I had tried the 03 fresh so I could compare notes. Flavor is smoky, slightly vegetal and herbal. Not as spicy as the nose suggests but it does display that Chartreuse character. Caramel comes through in the end along with some pepperiness.

I don’t know if it’s just me, but I have never been crazy about this lineup of beers. Spicy, but not as spicy as in other vintages, this had a more pronounced vegetal quality all the way through, which made it almost undrinkable. Kind of has a musty fruitcake like malt body, that finishes quite dry.

Bottle from jsquire. Thanks, Jeff! Small tan head that mostly diminished, spotty amounts of lacing, opaque, no visible carbonation, and a dark brown hue. Nose was spicy, sweet, malty, and mildly hoppy. Ditto for the flavor with a dry finish. Smooth, dry mouthfeel and light in body. Quaffable, well balanced and worthy of a try.

Bottle shared at a tasting that I hosted. Pour is red. Aroma is fruit and spices, namely nutmeg, cinnamon, and some hints of caramel in the background. Flavor is slightly bitter and even a bit vegetal. This is decent, I’m just not crazy about the finish.

Thanks Curt for letting us sample this from your cellar.