Anchor Our Special Ale (2005 and later)

Looked ike a good jar of stout dark brown with much lacing Sweet floral aroma of rose and tulips. Malty body with notes of espresso coffee, chocolate and toast. More flowers. LIngering floral finish. My first comment was "It’s like drinking flowers."

2007, on tap at d’s. poured a clearish dark brown, with a thin tan head. huge spicy nose, with lots of nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, and anise. more of that in the flavor, with the anise and nutmeg overpowering the light sprucey hop notes and the caramel malts. a touch sweet on the finish, with the spices again dominating everything. medium bodied, and a good carbonation. i don’t like anise, and after a while that was all i could taste. i don’t like this style, but for some reason i keep trying.

12oz bottle...like drinking a Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas ham in a bottle. very spicy and fulla hops, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pine tree. good for standinging line in the butt ass cold before you go to a Dead show while you’re frying on acid.

2007 - Pours a very dark clear red with small tan head. Aroma is filled with cinnamon, nutmeg, pine and sugar cookies. Flavor is brightly spicy, lightly sweet and finishes mildly bitter. Overall, pretty good and unique but not something I’d drink regularly. Perfect for the holidays.

Nice rich porter like color with notes of chocolate and spice. Great dark tan head with excellent lacing. Nice allspice finish that lingers just a bit before I’m ready for another sip. A very enjoyable winter beer that I will continue to enjoy after a day on the slopes.

2006 Pours deep garnet/ruby brown with a fleeting tan head. Light caramel and spice aroma. Starts sweet with a sour bitterness in the finish that must come from the spices. I don’t know if this one works for me.

2007 Vintage. I have had many other vintages in the past, but I guess I haven’t bothered rating them, surprisingly. Aroma is of pine needles, hops, spiciness, nutmeg, and some allspice, too. Pretty aromatic and fairly quaffable. Gorgeous rather transparent mahogany colored body with a rocky, frothy light tan head that is rather large and persistent. Good lacing. Hmm, somewhat astringent, lightly sour start, which is a little chalky and chocolate-roasted like. Some light spiciness with more allspice comes in later with a little more roastiness. This isn’t really doing it for me. Kind of harsh, astringent, and boring.

2007 version, Valley oak tree on label: Opaque body, with a tan head that disappeared way too quickly. Splotchy lacing. Holiday cookie-like aroma, which was quite a bit sweeter than the flavor. At first, the flavor profile consisted of cardamom, nutmeg, giner, allspice, and toffee, but the finish could best be described as acrid coffee and smoke. The carbonation was lively, but overall mouthfeel was slightly on the watery side. I feel that Anchor did a pretty good job with this one, but years past had finer offerings.