Anchor Our Special Ale (2004)

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

This beer offers a wonderful aroma full of peppa, ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, all-spice, and molasses. This beer fills the glass with a dark dark brown solution that resides under a thick walnut colored head. This thick and heavy beer presents itself smoothly to the mouth. The palate is enticed with the initial flavor of nutmeg, then ginger creeps in followed by all-spice. All these flavors come together to leaving a wonderful mixture of taste resonating on the palate and in the throat for a good long time.

It smells like Christmas. Clove and cinammon, orange peel and gingerbread. Fresh ginger and a bit of chocolate, too. Dark brown-red clear with off-white lacing head. Medium bodied with medium-high carbonation. Starts with spicy Christmas flavors; ginger, cinammon, clove and nutmeg. Decent carbonic acidity and sweet roasty malts. Dry hoppy bitterness comes at the finish and dries off the tongue. Nice bit of baker’s chocolate, too. Nice Christmas ale, with a bit of an herbal after.

(Bottle 35,5 cl) Clear, dark mahogany with a reddish glow and a delicate, creamy, brownish, cappuchinoish head. Aroma is very roasted, almost lightly burned and quite spicy. Very soft mouthfeel. The body is rather light with a velvety smoothness, dominated by roasted malt and notes of dark, bitter chocolate. Appears vaguely stoutish, but without the burned, bitter edge. 020106

Very similar, but not quite as good as last years. Still has an excellent aroma but something seemed lacking from 2003.

12z bottle. So I’m going through a bunch of Anchor 31st cases, when I come across something different. This tree is completely different than the others. What a serendipitous discovery. And of course, I bought the whole case. Anyway. Opaque hue with a lingering tan head. Raisins and pine in the nose. Fruitcake, bread, plums, slightly vinuous, sugar and spices. Wonderful beer! Just as good, if not better than I remember (which was a magnum last new year’s eve). Terrific oily, full body. Thick rich coffee flavor that turns into a sherry, port sweetness, and wrapping it up in a resinous, piney, chocolate and raisins lingering flavor. Toasty. Pruny. Jammy. F’N’A.

On tap @ Falling Rock poured aclear reddish brown with a large, lasting amber head. Aromas of roasted malt, bitter chocolate, and a hint of spices. Palate was heavy and smooth. Flavors of bitter chocolate,toffee, and a hint of citrus with a smooth, lingering bittersweet finish.

Dark brown beer. Kind of yellow head, big and lasting. Aroma is somehow artificial, like some kind of candy. Don’t know if I like it. Flavor is sweet. Palate is big.

Opaque mahogany with a fine bubbled medium size and lasting tan head. Vinous plum puddling, raosted malts with hint of acetone and bootpolish. Smooth medium thin body with medium to lively carbonation. Flavour is a bit stout like also reflecting aroma characters. Mild roasted malt sweetness and added spiceiness, ginger? Finish is perhaps a little too long in the acrid bitter stakes, otherwise an interesting festive/winter ale.