Anchor Our Special Ale (2005 and later)

33 cl bottle. 2007 vintage. Here we go. Creamy nice head but mostly diminishing. Complex flavor sweet finish with light bitterness. Dark bread with hints of chocolate roasted coffee and a typical citrus tone. Spicy with echos of coriander and ginger. A bit watery finish and the spices end up a bit sharp but its good and one of anchors classics. Cheers

Deep, roasted malt backcone with lots of molasses and spice. Some light pine and ginger. Nice holiday drink - bring on the solstice.

Sampled 05, 06, 07, all very similar, 05 the best. Dark brown, caramel , spice, molasses, little dark fruits.

2008 Vintage: Sample at December 12, 2008 Beer Club meeting. The first Special Ale I have had since their 2004. Loved the awesome brown head on this. Had a solid, dark color. Now THIS is the kind of stuff I want to drink around the holidays. Its aroma is almost of pine, other spices. Its flavor, however, is almost candyish. Tons of spice, but well balanced. Very enjoyable and different. I like! Ginger is present, but not overpowering. Just enough. Musky character, as well.

12oz bottle. Pours a dark brown body with hints of ruby in the light. Small, light brown head that dissipates slowly and remains nicely laced. Aroma is sweet and spicy. Lots of caramel and molasses blended with a holiday spice nose of nutmeg, ginger, and cinamon. Some christmas tree spruce needle aroma and some roasted grains. Plum notes and dark chocolate as well. The flavor is very similar. Dry roasted malts and lots of spicy caramel. Medium to full body and dry in the finish. Overall, a very malty and spicy beer. Good hop balance. Very drinkable. Pretty nice holiday beer.

This was the first holiday brew I have tried from Anchor. It poured very dark and I wouldnt say amber, but moreso dark crimson. Very thick head. It smelled of the holidays, caramel, nutmeg, cider spices. I found it to be filling, interesting, and tasty.

Very dark amber pour, rocky cream colored head. Nice lacing. Rather unassuming aroma, some malt, citrus, Thanksgiving and Christmas dessert spices. Flavor is much more standout than the nose. Nice malt and hop citrus and pine up front. Mellows to slightly sweet and the spices. Clean finishing and surprisingly filling. Liked this one a lot, much better than the previous 2 years. Though none of these Christmas ales have been bad.

2008 Bottle Into Tumbler. Aroma seems very spicy in a holiday type way with a bit of caramel. Not something I particularly enjoy. Looks nice, small tan head, rich brown body, good lacing. My initial thought when tasting it was wow, bitter. As i swallowed, the bitterness was replaced by holiday spices, and a slight bit of sweetness. Aftertaste was again bitter in an almost toasty, slightly burnt way. Has a bit of creaminess, but not overly prevalent.