Anchor Our Special Ale (2005 and later)

This is a fantastic beer. Pours a dark amber color with a small light brown head. Aroma of roasted malts and Cinnamon. Great mouthfeel. Complex flavor. Tastes of cinnamon, roasted malts and chocolate. Pefect balance of everything. Very sad to take the last sip of this one.

Draught at the Burns House on Thanksgiving 2008. It’s a gorgeous deep mahogany color with a malty and spice-balanced flavor that makes it a perfect beer for cold weather.

Pours ebony black with brown only popping in the fringe when held to the light. Head is 1.5-2 finger, frothy, muave, and somewhat chunky. Good retention and decent lacing. Aroma has lots of spice to it-cinamon and ginger, slightly charred maple, raisin, roast, toffee and a decent nutty note. Flavor is spicy cinamon sticks, nutmeg, sweet dark chocolate, raspberries, a hint of pine hops and burnt biscuits. Finish is dry with a spicy char that is intriguing enough to encourage another sip. Body is medium thickness and sweet at first, increasingly thin and dry as flavor profile progresses.

2005 vintage consumed Oct of ’08. I was really drunk when rating this so keep that in mind while reading my notes.... Pours a black/brown with a nice sized tan head. Aromas of....Its Anchor X-mas!! Cedar, spruce, syrup and hops. Flavors....god I love this stuff. Spices, hops, malts, and woody flavors.This has aged quite nicely. 2004 vintage was always a favorite of mine, but the ’05 has held up quite nicely.

A - Pours a dark dark amber color with a nice thick light tan head. S - Aroma of spices like nutmeg T - Initial taste of spice but then nothing. I expected more depth from this one D - Don’t think this is one that you would drink much of, but just one is about right. Serving type: bottle, 2008 version

Pours a very dark brown. Aroma has plum, caramel, chocolate, and lots of spice. Flavor is very nice, with lots of spice and chocolate. Palate is very nice- sticks to the tongue- a nice winter warmer. Great beer.

2007 bottle. Poured dark amber/brown with a thin tan head. Smelled fruity sweet, nutty, and spicy. Tasted sweet and lightly fruity, with some apple raisin, hint of chocolate, and spicy with ginger and nutmeg. Some hops present. Smooth bitter aftertaste, yet lingers sweetly.

2008 version. pours a dark brown with about two fingers of tan, slowly dissipating head. Sweet raisin and sweet fruit odor. Lots of spice, I taste, cinnamon, pumpkin and clove. Interesting, I kind of dig it, its good for a nice cold.