Anchor Our Special Ale (2005 and later)

Bottle, nice darl ruddy color with medium head, nice hops some molases and licorice flavor quite nice and very enjoyabe well balanced. Nice

2006 bottle that I picked up in January. Pours dark brown with a nice light brown head. Smells of deep dark malty goodness. Tastes malty as well with a hint of nutmeg or some such spices. Definitely has some roasted chocolate attributes. A bit light on the body. Very nice for a cold day in November!

Fresh 2007 bottle. I’ve been drinking this beer for years, but this is the first time I’ve got around to rating it. A more complete vertical awaits... Aroma of pumpkin spice, cinnamon and juniper. Pours rich, dark brown with cherrywood highlights. Nice, thick creamy khaki head. Cinnamon and nutmeg at first evolving into a more dark chocolate roasted malt finish. Finishes with some nice pine and juniper hops. Medium to full bodied. Another excellent offering.

2006 vintage. I have a magnum of 2005 I can’t wait to open but thought I’d try an 11 month old 12oz. Nose was not as spicey as I had expected. The chocolate had evolved a bit deeper than the initial level and still had faint hints of orange peel. After about three seconds I totally got the anise, nutmeg, and what I thought was ginger but is probably something else. Couldn’t find any cinammon. Man do I love this beer.

2006 vintage. Dark beer with deep mahogany tints when held against the light. The typical spicey nose with cinamon, clove and a lot of orange zest and toast. One finger foamy brown head that shrank to an attractive frothy ring. Dark toast, cinamon, clove, orange, coffee, some bitter chocolate, and a tartness that is a little berryish. Not as cohesive a spiced beer as some other vintages, but still a big, spicey holiday brew.

2006 vintage, from a shelf in my cellar, generous donator unknown but thanked Huge, darker beige head, creamy, over fully dark-opaque, red-shot brown beer. Spicy nose; roasted grains or roasted (sweetish) multi-grains bread. Resins and rosemary, cloves, meatgravy aromas. Roasted taste as roasted coffee, breadcrust and walnutpeel. Flavours of clove or allspice and liquorice. Ends pretty dry - spicy/bitterish, near tartness. Restsugars all but gone. Rather well-bodied, neither slick nor chewy. Some discreet alcohol. Decent spicy winter ale, not too sweet, but not too special neither. Bit roasted-roasty...

2005 version from Utobeer in London. Pours dark brown with tight, light tan head which dissapaits slowly. Aromas of licorice, cinnamon, brown sugar, roasted malt, and dark fruit. After about 3 seconds, bursts with flavours of roasted malt, chocolate, spices, herbs, raisins, and bread. Dry almost chalky finish with astonishingly rich mouthfeel. This is a very unique brew indeed. 2008 version from Winooski. Pours super dark with nice white head. Aroma is predominantly roast with lots of sweet dark fruit notes, as well as a gamut of spices. Flavor is chocolate, deep malty roast, nutmeg, cinnamon, and allspice. Sweet and expertly balanced. I look forward to this one every year- this year’s installment is no exception to the tradition of delicious, unique holiday oriented beers. A fire side sipper to be enjoyed with the best stouts and barleywines.

2005 version from Hollingshead Deli. Dark brown beer with a small velvetty tan head. This beer smells like nutmeg, fruit cake, and egg nog. Flavor is mostly bitter with some roast, some nutmeg, and some egg nog. Is this pretty much the porter with some spices thrown in?