Anchor Our Special Ale (2005 and later)

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

Serve in Lager glass, Tumbler

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UPDATED: AUG 8, 2010 2010-08-08, vertical tasting, vintage 2008, 2 years old, 7-4-4-3-10=28
The color is very dark, no light passes through; generous, compact head. Good aroma, chocolate cake, cedar peel, chinese spices. The body is lean, the mouthfeel quite dry; it has some roasted malt flavor, heavily roasted nuts, not very good. The final is dry, with the black, roasted malt only, dusty. Not pleasant.

2010-08-08, vertical tasting, vintage 2006, 4 years old, 6-4-6-3-12=31
The color is very dark, no light passes through; generous, compact head, a bit more brownish than the 2008; immediately evident that it has less carbonation. Strange aroma, mild, gingerbread and soap, almost metallic; some chocolate. The body is a bit rounder and less dry than the 2008; chocolate and roasted malt flavor, also here the malt is heavily roasted, but better hidden; there are traces of a starting oxidisation and of metal. Balanced, better than almost all Scandinavian Julöl, but nothing spectacular.

2010-08-08, vertical tasting, vintage 2005, 5 years old, 6-4-6-3-13=32
The color is very dark, no light passes through; generous, compact head, more similar to the 2008 than 2006. Delicate aroma of roasted malt, chocolate and spices. The body is round enough like the 2006, but a bit more dynami, probably because of a light sourness; the flavor is again chocolate and roasted malt and roasted nuts; it shows less oxidization than the 2006, and it doesn’t have the metallic trace. Balanced, as well not spectacular.

2008-02-15, vintage 2007, 6-4-6-3-11=30
Dark chestnut color, almost back, with a reasonably big head. The aroma is strange, with soap, meat, sweet nuts, spices and cookies. It has a medium mouthfeel, with a medium flavor of roasted malt and some spices (nutmeg and maybe cinnamon in the front); the almost roasted malt feeling is more evident at the end. Boring, unbalanced, not very pleasant. I won’t come back on this one soon.

2005-12-12, vintage 2005, 7-4-7-4-15=37
Dark brown color; creamy beige head. I’m quite disappointed by the first impression (too dry mouthfeel) so my recommendation is to leave it to breathe in the glass for 20 minutes…
The aroma is nice, with malt, caramel, spices, light gingerbread or cookies. The taste is round, well malty, with a brandy touch, caramel, spices and raisins (a light Christmas pudding). And the hopping is quite good as well. Very pleasant.

Kryddigt och gott. Välbalanserat och komplext. Förvånansvärt lättdrucken. En ale att lita på.

You think x mas cake when you taste this beer. Malt driven with cinnamon notes. I notice a lingering bitter finish. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

35 cl bottle @ home. Pours dark brown with a big off-white head that fades leaving some lacing. Aroma is malt, a little coriander and quite a bit of cinnamon. Taste is much like the aroma with a rather dry finish.

Pours a clear and dark brown beer with an offwhite head. The aroma is malt, caramel, spices, cinnamon, cloves and coriander. The flavor follows the nose. The palate is dry with sweetness. Overall an average beer with too much spices.

Pours brown with a dense white head. Aroma is roasted caramel, perfume, clove and coriander. Flavour is roasted caramel, dry, clove and coriander.

Dark brown colour with big nice head. Aroma is lof of christmas spices. Flavour is sweet, spicy. I think 2010 was better than 2011.

Vintage 2006: Cellared bottle consumed on 1/28/09. Pours a very deep dark brown, with no light coming through at all. Small inch-sized head, that falls to a thin sheet quickly. No lacing present. Smells much more roasty than the ’07 and ’08. Some cocoa hints, and some nuttiness. Still a little cinnamon and ginger are present. The flavor on this one aged well! This is much more chocolatey with some roasted characteristics. Picked up some slight hazelnut flavor as well. The spiciness has dropped of considerably, which in my mind, is ok. Mouthfeel is crisp and bubbly, even after 2 years. I find that I am burping alot more with this one, as well. I’m really surprised. I dig this. My favorite of the three I’ve had (’06,’07,’08). Vintage 2007: Cellared bottle consumed on 1/27/09. Pours as it should, a very dark ruby, with just wisps of light coming through on the edges. Huge rocky tan head that retains great. Decent lacing. Nothing smells off on this, for sure. Definitive gingerbread, mint, cherry, and slight molasses. I just finished the ’08 version of this about an hour ago, and this one crushes it in flavor! Much better bold, spicy wallop. The gingerbread and cherry are much more bold in this beer. The mouthfeel on this one is much better too, as it goes down alot thicker than the ’08. I like that. I heard that the ’08 was a step back from the ’07 when consumed on time. Well, I can tell you that the ’07 holds up very well to cellaring. I hope the ’08 tastes like this next year... Vintage 2008: This is my first of Anchor’s Christmas Ales. I’m a little late, you can see. I plan on having the ’06 and the ’07 later on tonight, but I needed the fresh brew to compare them against. Pours a deep dark ruby, that allows just the brightest of light to penetrate. Nice large off-white head on this. Great retention; leaves sticky lacing. Smells of strawberries, cherries, ginger, peppermint...wow! Christmas! This is a really slick and watery beer. I like my brews to be a bit thicker. Goes down almost too easily. I’m tasting the ginger and just a touch of the peppermint that I smelled. Very slight alcohol flavor. Sort of leaves me tasting a Halls throat drop. Not bad for a winter warmer. Now on to the "aged" ales! Vintage 2009: 12 oz. bottle poured into my pint glass. Pours a very dark blackish mahogany with a creamy tan head on top. This is much darker than I remember from previous years. Great retention on the head; leaves tons of sticky globs of lace. Scents of vanilla, cherry, cinnamon, and light pine. The body on this is thin and slick. Needs a bit more depth in carbonation and body. Flavors of mild tart fruits, some spice, and a finish of fresh pumpernickel bread. This was one of my faves of this beer fresh. I usually prefer a few years on these, but this version is quite good. Recommend. Vintage 2010: 12oz bottle poured into a pint glass. Pours a much darker hue than I expected. A small tan head caps it off. As this disappears, it leaves some rings and lace in its wake. The nose is warm and inviting. Notes of cinnamon, toffee, ginger, pumpernickel bread. Very nice. The mouth is firm. Moderate depth and carbonation. More of a sipper than a gulper. Flavors mimic the scent with tastes of cinnamon, nutmeg, sweet malty goodness, and a warm alcohol finish. Some bitterness is present, but it is mild. This is just a great nightcap beer. A little something for the sweet tooth, but warming and satisfying as well. Vintage 2011: Got to try this one thanks to ClarkPinnock bringing some over the other night. I missed my chance to get some around the holidays. Pours a dark rusty amber with a small off-white head as a capper. The nose is sweet and spicy. Lots of cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg. Smooth creamy mouth. Subtle carbonation. As I sip this one, the spices greet me with a hearty "Hello!" They impart a rather dull bitterness to the beer, rather than any sweet characteristics. Some dark fruit-like flavors like fig noted. This wasn’t my favorite of their annual release, but it was fun to drink. Thanks, Jared.

2009 Version: My first review of 2011. The house is calm again, so I can relax and have a quiet beer, slowly. My football team won 6-1 today and 7-2 on New Years Day, so this is my celebratory drink for both games. Poured into my Westmalle chalice, the brown 355ml bottle had a best before date of 20 Oct 2011. Imported into the UK by James Clay and Sons. The beer was a lovely ruby red when held up to the light, darker in the dull lighting of my living room. The full cream coloured head soon left, leaving behind a small wisp and nothing else. The beer seemed to be in good condition, so I was suprised the head ’did a runner’ so swiftly. No great smells, some hints of coffee and malty molasses, expected more. The taste was all malt, well carbonated (again, why the disappearing head), with a hop roughness more than bitterness in the aftertaste. The 5.5% ABV sat nicely within the brew and could be found easily as the beer warmed in the glass, not so obvious when the beer was colder. I was expecting more to be honest, not a bad beer by any standards, but not the rich, creamy special I hoped for!

Bottle(2010). Pour is very dark brown. Active carbonation, small clear bubbles with an off white head. Aromas is very piney sweet with root beer, toasted malt, Christmas spice, nutmeg. Taste is orange peel, tropical hibiscus, belgian candy sugar, clove, and spicy hops. Leaves a minty syrup aftertaste. Good holiday beer worth tasting. Drink it on the warmer side to express its rich flavor and aroma.

Poured from 12oz bottle into lager glass Aroma: dark fruit cinnamon bit of alcohol gingerbread Appearance: deep dark brown red. Very hazy. 1 finger head that faded quickly. Taste: medium sweet medium sour. Light bitter. Palate: medium body and thin mouthfeel. Slightly slick. Average carbonation. Slightly bitter aftertaste. Overall: Very good Christmas beer. I like this. I would pick this up next year. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone