Anchor Our Special Ale (2004)

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

a pretty damn good winter beer, and it blows away winterbraun (lost coast). dark red color, almost brown - spicy aroma, and equally spicy taste. this one is much thicker than last years, and that is a good thing. im gonna put these away and let them sit for a while, because drinking more than 1 of these in a sitting is almost out of the question due to the sweetness and thickness of this beer. a damn fine winter brew, as to be expected from one of my personal favorite breweries.

Dark mahogany with large tan head. Love getting a 6er of this every holiday season. Each year a bit different,,always piney, lively carbonation, crisp, some spice...this years bottle had a choco/coffee flavor that i do not recall from years past..

Chocolat, roasted, light licorice and some blackberry aroma. Dark brown color, light brown head, good lace. Coffee flavor, fruity, cherry, licorice, roasted finish, nice body and complex.

shared a bottle with flemdawg. doing a comparison with the 2003. poured ruby with a light tan head.aroma ginger snap cookies, fruits, honey, floral, hints of licorice, as it warms coffee. flavorfloral, licorice, alcohol, malts. I liked this a little better than the 2003

Pours a deep amber color with a slight tan head. Has a nice christmasy aroma with a malty flavor. Wow this brew is very nice but 11 bux a 6er im not sure that ill be drinking this one again.

Dark garnet-red with a thin, light-brown head that is mostly diminishing. Big aroma of nutmeg, creamy sunblock (?), mild roasty malts, alcohol and a touch of spicy licorice/anise star flower, though honestly detecting anything beyond the nutmeg is a tremendous chore, and I suspect that many (though not all) of the aroma characteristics mentioned by others (and myself?) are mere perceptions of what they expect a Christmas beer to smell like. Slight piney hop notes in flavor that is hugely dominated by velvety malts and bittersweet chocolate. Very clean finish. One dimensional as expected, but still rather good.

Perpetually beguiling aroma with this one. Dark brown sugar sweetness, berryish fruit, baking spices, spruce, flowers and toasty malt. Impressively deep, dark red color, clear, with a fine, creamy light tan head. Flavor is a very busy combination of sugary sweetness, lightly tart, dark fruitiness, a myriad of spices and herbs, cocoa, faint bitterness and appealing, toasty, dryish malts. Palate is smooth and gently effervescent, body is medium. Almost indescribably appropriate for the season.

Pours a deep ruby brown with a thin brown head that leaves a slightly oily residue on the glass. Nose is carameled creamy plum and peach spiced tea. Chewy malts and nutmeg sit in the beginning. Smoky spices in the finish, with a long smoky, spicy finish. Nutmeg and ginger predominate. Very good indeed.