Anchor Our Special Ale (2005 and later)

Brewed by Anchor Brewing Company
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
San Francisco, California USA

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker, Tumbler

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Bottled. Dark amber wih a small, beige head. Fresh, rather hoppy aroma with chocolate, raisins and coffee. Fresh and fizzy palate. Chocolate, raisins, figs, coffee. Rather bitter finish.

UPDATED: NOV 30, 2006 this beer is great, I wait all year for it. always forget what it tasted like and every year it’s a little different anyway!! it perfect. Spicy aroma, nutmeg I think- -WOW this is the best I can remmember. HA HA. very good mouthfeel and very nice subtle aftertaste not overpowering but lingering nonetheless

Nice dark amber, very nice brownish head. Nice compleax aroma from clove, ginger, brown sugar, some cinnamon, spices, caramel, raisins, nuts, chocolate and some roasted notes. Flavor is a bit more hoppy, still spicy, milk and quite bitter. Bitter finish and I was hoping for a better body.

Bottle. Tan medium sized fizzy head with fine and very large sized bubbles, sparse lacing, mostly opaque, fizzy carbonation, and a reddish brown hue. Malty, caramel, cinnnamon, nutmeg, sweet, and spicy aroma. Flavor was sweet, malty, thin, watery, burnt taste, and hint of chocolate. Smooth, watery, thin mouthfeel. Light-medium body.

Dark brown with creamy tan head. Spicy aroma of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and pepper. Flavour is a little roasted with lots of spices. Cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg. Some caramel aswell. Nice sweet bitterness in the end. Very nice.

UPDATED: JAN 22, 2007 2005. Paid $9.79 for a 6-pack. Bottle. Black in color with brown edges and a large brown creamy head. Aroma is the same as it has been, sweet spices, deep spruce, slight floral, raiseny, and brown sugar. Flavor is rich and porterlike with a distinct bitterness, but also has a nice sweet following to it, with some pininess and sweet spice. Love it, but it’s not as good as last year’s version.

Right off the back i noticed that this years special ale had a lot more spice in the aroma. Almost like a cross between cinnamon, pepper and nutmeg. The aroma also had a candy caramel and light roasted malt in it as well. Flavor is dark malt and roast with a sweet reminder of caramel. Has the very same signs of spice in the flavor as it did the aroma, but additional ingredients of clove and hazelnut are found too. Appearance is exaclty the same as i remember it the prior years; dark brown ale with a pillow of head that simmers down after time. I come to believe this years recipe is much more christmas spirited.

Aroma of toasted almonds, roast malt, nutmeg, cinamon. Appears a deep ruby red-brown with a small thick tan head that lasts and leaves lacing. Flavor is nutmeg, cinamon, and lightly bitter hops, followed by sweet malt (like a red ale), and finishing with roasty notes. Palate is medium-heavy and very creamy. Overall, this beer quite interesting and a bit more than the sum of its parts. Oh, and its excellent with chocolate truffles.

Bottle. Dark ruby brown with firm tan head. Cainnamon, pepper, brown sugar and biiter hops in the aroma. Ginger, cinnamon, nutshells, toffe and hoppy in flavour. Dry spicy finish but feels a bit sweeter than past years vintages.

Deep brown and mahogany, thick creamy tan head. Rich nose of gingersnap cookies, toasted caramel, and spruce, with lighter notes of nutmeg and chocolate. Flavor is spiced throughout with ginger, nutmeg and spruce prevalent, some light chocolate tones blended in, with a late soft bitterness rounding it out. Medium to full bodied, soft carbonation, spiced bittersweet finish. Like Hanukkah, err, I mean Christmas in a bottle....