Anchor Our Special Ale (2005 and later)

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

Jan. 2007 - I’m trying to be fair. I hate these overly spiced ales. This one, if I look at it clinically, was probably good. Deep brown color with red highlights. Nice head and lacing. Lots of roasted malts, chocolate, and some spices...too many of them for me to even finish the bottle, but if this is your thing, I’ll bet this beer would be loved. Rich thick mouthfeel. Not again for me, though.

2007 bottle. pours a dark ruby-copper with a tan head. aroma is clove, spice, dark fruits, sweetness, and yeah, i actually do sense the furniture polish hughie wrote of (haha, a strangely satisfying aroma)! taste is clovey, liquorice, dirt, spices, light cinnamony raisins. tastes very christmas-like, similar to bread pudding. mid-light bodied with a bubbly, prickly mouthfeel. not a bad brew at all, has that classic anchor taste with a holiday twist. not a flavor explosion, but a gently satisfying holiday session brew. will definately buy again next year.

2007 Bottle from Whole Foods Market, New York. Dark brown with a large beige head. Aroma that combines icing sugar, dark fruit and furniture polish. Sugar and spice in the taste. A little cinnamon, some liquorice and a background earthy sourness. Quite a light, gentle mouthfeel: nothing very demanding. Mid bitter finish. Odd, special beer for a special occasion.

Bottle at the Manchester Winter Ales Festival. Very nice. A good xmas beer (I would imagine, what the fuck do I know? Who am I?), dark brown, almost opaque. Like a mince pie. All Christmassy and that. Lovely! Cheers and happy christmas to one and all.

Without a doubt, I feel warmly filled with the Christmas spirit after drinking this delicious spiced beer despite it being mid-February. Dark mahogany pour with decent beige head, this winter beer hits the drinker with a sweet mixture of spices (cinnamon? toffee? someone suggested pumpkin) I noticed a strong chocolate presence as well. Very smooth spiced beer that finishes well.

Spice hits right away, like spiced apple cider, strong almost like one of those scented candles (which I hate). Very dark, clear ale with good looking amber highlightsand a rocky beige head with good retention. Christmas spices completely dominate the smell, obscuring any malt or hop aroma. Taste is, thankfully, more mellow than the smell, although spices are still very prominent, there’s a decent malt backbone and a pleasant bitterness. I think that cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger are the main spices, but I’m not claiming any expertise in this area. Some caramel apple flavor, smooth feel even though the carbonation is a bit much for my taste. I would probably enjoy this one more with age on it, right now it’s almost one dimensional and not too enjoyable to me. Some citrus emerges on the finish.

Bottle. Medium head with medium duration. Color is dark brown. Aroma and taste are malt, herbs and hops.

12oz bottle, 2007. Pours a dark caramel color with red highlights. Nice, thick, creamy looking, light brown head. Smells like the holiday season to me. Nutmeg and malt dominate the nose. Tastes of nutmeg and other spices. Pumpkin? This beer is a little on the thin side. Nice lively carbonation. This is the best holiday brew that I’ve ever had.