Anchor Our Special Ale (2005 and later)

12oz bottle from 2006 batch. Pours a deep coffee brown, tan head. Nose was both sweet and spicy. This brew helped to keep me warm on a cold night.

A lively and warming aroma filled with over-ripe cherries, figs and sweet cocoa. Dark and mysterious, with a very coloured thick head. Sizzles on entrance, bursting with those cherries. Sweet malt and playful hops continue throughout the mouth, but unfortunately finish short. Still, a christmas tradition well worth waiting for!

Beautiful beer. Absolutely beautiful. Dark brown, almost ruby color with a nice fluffy head. Smells pretty sweet, a bit malty, but mostly sweet. Hmmm.. not quite as intense as I was hoping out of this one. From the look and smell, I was expecting a whopper of a taste and it just wasn’t there. Sweet taste with some evident spices but didn’t really taste any malt in there. I think I probably should have held on to this one for a while. Only bought one bottle and wanted to try it, probably should have waited.

Compared to the earlier versions, the ’05-’07 didn’t match up, but some time cellared would remedy that. Very dark chestnut body with big tan head. That same fruitcake aroma with a bit too much spice that might mellow with some aging. Or intensify. Who knows. Sweet/spicy flavor that finishes with a slight bitterness. Still a good drink.

2007 - Pour DARK brown, with a nice, one-finger head. Aroma is spicy, but not as strong as I was expecting. Flavor is malty, with a holiday spice finish (allspice, cinnamon?). The mouth is creamy and smooth. Overall a nice traditional seasonal , but not one that I’d by in huge quantities.

2007 vintage. 12oz. bottle served in a shaker pint glass. Poured a dark, reddish brown. One finger of fine bubbled light tan head. Lots of pine and cinnamon spice in the aroma. Very fragrant. Medium to full bodied. Plenty of caramel malt and some dark fruit. Pumpkin pie spice and spruce in the finish. The spice seems a little more subdued this year allowing the base beer flavor to be more evident. A Christmas tradition for me that I always look forward to drinking.

Got this as an extra in a trade thanks to Dickinsonbeer and drank it while eating christmas dinner which was really good. It went very well with a nice roasted ham. It was a nice dark brown with no head but did have some mild laceing along the sides of the glass. The aroma was an intence with fruits, roasted nuts and malt and some hints of allspice and cinnamon. As it warmed up the flavor was full of pitted fruits and a nice initial bitterness from the spices that were added. the palate was veryu short but had some caramel that did coat your mouth but faded rather quick.

Magnum. Pours dark chocolate with a flimsy off white head. Smells of spice and cinnamon. Dry chocolate caramel flavor. Watery mouth feel with a dry finish. Don’t go out of your way to get the 2007 Magnum. Maybe the 12 oz. bottle is better?