Anchor Our Special Ale (2004)

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

Bottle at Akkurat, Stockholm 2 Dec 2008. Dark brown colour with firm, pale brown head. Malty, spicy nose with notes of chocolate, cinnamon and nutmeg. Malty, spicy taste with toffee, chocolate and spices. Slightly earthy, dusty cellar notes lurking in the background. Medium body, moderate bitterness. Seems to have aged pretty well, with all the spices and a good roasted, malt character still there. Nice one.

12 fl oz bottle. Pours dark brown to black with a huge and tan head. Chocolate and roasted malty aroma. Light dark fruity note too. Light wooden ad dark fruity flavoured with a light oxidised note. Lingering fruity and roasted malty finish with a lasting mild spice note.

Dark brown with a red hue, nice tan head that retains pretty well. Lots of nutmeg and ginger in the aroma, but some cinnamon bread and spice are there too. Taste is of ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, brown sugar, and maybe a bit of licorice. A little thinner on the tongue than I would have liked, carbonation is about medium levels. Pretty good and has held up pretty well. I’d drink this again.

A bunch of this stuff just showed up at Sun Devil Liquors, which I thought was odd given the vintage. But, I couldn’t help but pick one up. Pours a dark brown with a foamy tan head that recedes to a ring. Aroma is lots of spice; cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and ginger. Also sweet roasted malt. Flavor is sweet, but not overdone. Some dark fruit and malt, and the spice comes through nicely. Very enjoyable. I may have to pick up another!

Appearance: Pours a deep, dark brown body with a full, though quickly thinning, light beige head. Smell: Earthy, smokey dark maltiness, some chocolate and caramel with notes of aniseed, nutmeg, cinnamon, and even allspice. Taste: Dark malts with minor hints of sweetened cocoa and dark caramel. There’s still a big sprucy spiciness present, but it’s definitely died down over the years. There’s still a dull, earthy bitterness surrounding the maltiness. Touch of fruit, along with citrus and candied ginger in the background. Wisp of smoke. Drying finish with a lingering taste of spiced cocoa powder. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium low carbonation. Drinkability: A pleasing wintery treat from yesteryear.

Courtesy of Irishboy, Thanks Richard! Pours a chocolatey dark brown color that is opaque. Head is fizzy dark brown that dissapates to small ring. Nose is very sweet, fruity, fig, plum, nutmeg and other spices. Initial taste is of cocoa, light roasted malt, cloves, nutmeg and red fruits. Mid palate displays the cocoa and tanginess of fruits. Finishing with a good palate, duration is above average. Light bodied. Velvety smooth mouthfeel. Minor hop balance on the finish. Interesting brew.

(Sample from December 14, 2006 Beer Club Meeting) Deep, dark color with red tint. Nose was of roasted flavors, cinnamon, spices... expected, I suppose. Flavor was well balanced: malty, sweet and fruity, spicy, gentle hops... reminded me a little of being trapped under a Christmas tree with a lingering presence of hop cones... and that scent... yep - like Christmas in a bottle. Goes down easy. Well done considering what was thrown into this medium bodied special brew... a pleasure to experience.

Footbalm shared a giant 50.7 oz bottle of this over Thanksgiving last year and I didn’t realize I had not rated it until now, luckily I wrote down the rating. Pours a deep red with a nice big tan head. The aroma was full of spices and pine notes, very appealing. The taste was well balanced between tons of cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg with a light chocolate and malt body. Smooth and full body. Really nice beer especially for over the holidays.