Anchor Our Special Ale (2003)

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

pours a dark porter-like brown with red hues, short white head, aroma is spicy – cinnamon and nutmeg, chocolate, some fruitiness – lemon, orange, hints of coffee and pine, more earthy than 2 previous years, woody – maybe a hint of smoke; flavor is bitter and rich, black licorice, chocolate, some coffee, hints of fruit – lemon especially though not as pronounced as in the aroma, cinnamon, ginger, pepper, dry finish, piney hops add a nice element

Brown with delicate beige head. perfumed aroma with notes of flowers, milk, pears, wood, bitter chocolate, coffee and merengue. Bitter flavor with notes of hops, bitter chocolate, alcohol, mint, fruit, wood, apricots, sugar, citrus and juniperwood. Dry finish.

This was a great beer. Much better than last year's vintage. It poured the same dark brown, almost black, with reddish hints around the ends. The head was very small but lasted, and the taste was just the right blend of maltiness and spice. The spice is not overpowering at all and is very well balanced. Highly recommended.

Deep dark with not much head. Aromas of nutmeg, cinamon, banana, and tutti-Frutti? Dry with a light airy sweetness, full bodied, w/chocolate/malty/hop finish. Very rich w/ flavors of cherry, banana which seem to linger forever. Great beer

Pours an opaque brown with a thin light brown head. Smells on pine and nutty malt. Taste is sweet and smoky. Almost syrupy sweet. Nutty. Underlying piney tastes. Like you’re drinking something with pine needles in the glass. It may not sound good but it really works. Slightly bitter pine flavors in the finish. Full bodied with a sticky pine sap aftertaste that lingers a bit. Sweetish and syrupy aftertaste on the tongue. A great christmas beer. This beer makes me happy.

A deep garnet color as it set’s in the glass, the head portly in size, frothy in its texture and a nice deep tan in color with the lace a velum like curtain to drape down the sides of the glass. The aroma of vanilla, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and yes I even thought a bit pepper, along with sweet malted grains greets your nose, crisp and fresh, and most certainly a one of a kind nose, start is rich in malt, lightly sweet, top is light to moderate in feel. Finish is benign in its acidity with the hops meaningful in their spiciness and a desert dry and lingering aftertaste, got a case to age and enjoy for many years to come.

Excellent effor from Anchor. Aroma is wonderful and bursting with spice. Appearance is darkly attractive. There is a nice head with good retention and some lacing. Flavor is very good. Malt flavors of a stout then some nice hoppiness and you have spiciness mixed in throughout. Very tasty. Very good.

Have 2 sixers left over from 2003 which I’ve been ageing. As always a fatastic Holiday brew. Seems to have stood up well over the past year continuing to show lots of pumpkin pie spices, especially ginger. Smooth, silky mouthfeel; especially when enjoyed at about 60F in a snifter.