Anchor Our Special Ale (2005 and later)

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

If trees could taste good, this would be how they taste. Very dark with prominent spices.

[Bought at UTO-beer, Borough Market, London.] A good thirstquencher for autumn-times. Not that christmas-sweet-like as the belgian ones, but more like an original ale added with spices, but a goodone is it indeed. Brown look with offw. head and notes of weak spices as cardamomme, cinnamon, some wood. Light and easy drinkable.

Vintage 2007. Dark brown colour. Thin creamy weak light brown head. Aroma is malty with fruity (raisins), spicy (coriander) and caramel notes. Flavor is malty too with fruity (dates, ripe prunes) and light licorice notes, ending in an initially fruity, then roasty finish. Light to medium bodied.

I decided that this would be my Christmas in July beer and I also wanted to see if six months had changed anything. It turned out to be like a Christmas with no presents. When I first tasted this beer I didn’t care for it. Let’s see if it is doing any better. The head was a soft, fluffy cocoa color and quickly dissipated into a pathetic ring of bubbles. The color appears black with some brown at the edges. Smell is slightly spicy and also smells like blackjack gum, fucking weird. Carbonation is prickly and the mouthfeel is thin. The flavor is more strange gum flavors that thankfully don’t leave too strong of an aftertaste. I don’t like this beer and I really can’t see how age will improve this. I guess it is all just a matter of preference but I plan on giving the rest of these away to unsuspecting friends. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 07-23-2007 14:39:47

Pours a deep, rich red, to the point of just about brown. Foamy off-white/tan head. Light at the edges. Glassy but so thick you can’t see through it. Head shrinks but doesn’t quit. In the nose: spices of cinnamon and potpurri. Soap flakes. Sweet, sugary malt; some light cherry liqueur. Really soapy. Dry leaves. The taste: serious, sweet plum/stone fruit. Dark caramel and molasses. Bitter coffee and nutmeg. Incredibly complex. Sweet brown sugar. Unlike any beer I’ve ever had. Earthy and leavy. Just a ton of flavor. Coca-Cola caramel at the end, as well as vanilla. Amazing. The feel is bready and creamy. Chewy, thick, smooth. Warms the insides. This is a beer just exploding with flavor. Evolves by the minute. Just tremendous.

Poured into Pint Glass, insane amount of thick, creamy head. A lot darker than I expected, looks like the color of black coffee with a slight translucency. First whiff gave me some spice and alcohol scent. Second gave me a huge hit of citrus and hops. Very appetizing though the hoppy scent always throws up an alarm in my neck of the woods..this may be out of my league. Finally as the head settles a little bit, I get a taste. Wow, very smooth and unexpected considering the heavy scent. Very well balanced with a fruity taste at first leaving a lingering citrus aftertaste. The hops from the scent are there, but not nearly as overpowering as I thought it would be. Mouthfeel is surprisingly thick as this has a major coating sensation. Color me impressed.

bottle 355ml from Utobeer London EXP Sep 2010. 2008 bottle. Reddish dark brown beige head lacing. Scent: dark malts spices Taste: smooth dark malts juniper ginger somewhere under there dried fruits and full body covered with bit medicin like and grapefruity hops. Tasted these first time over 10 years ago. This baby brought from London and it was very delicious re-union.

bottle, vintage 2007, mit Dank ins Ruhrgebiet! Dark red-brown colour, large beige head. Fruity nose. Intensively malty with lots of fruit flavours: berries, plums, blackcurrant. Bitter-sweet with lovely citrusy hops that add flavours of bitter orange marmalade. Lingering finish. Delicious!