Anchor Our Special Ale (2005 and later)

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

Serve in Lager glass, Shaker, Tumbler

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Bottle. Pours cloudy darkish brown with stable light tan head. Dark aroma of malt, caramel, dried fruit and spices, possibly aniseed. Roasty, malty flavour, keeping a fair amount of bitterness towards the end, enriched by a touch of dried cranberries towards the end. Dryish aftertaste. Good.

Bottle 0.355l at Pivo, Oulu. BBE 7/2013 (propably). 2011 edition. Colour is brown with brownish white small head. Aromas and flavours: Chocolate, spices, sweetness and roasted malts.

2010 Vintage A - Pours a light cola color with a 1 finger khaki head. S - Brown sugar, prunes, candied ham, roasted malt, sorghum, maraschino cherries, smashed sesame seeds, wood. Some sour notes. It smells like a Christmas ham. T - Brown sugar and dark malt mixes with salty nuts. Prunes and other dark fruits reside in the background. Spiced oranges come out as it warms. A sour bitterness cuts in on the finish. M - Medium bodied but on the thin side. It really smells like a cooked Christmas ham. Lots of interesting flavors. I could not drink more than 1 or 2 in a row. Serving type: bottle 01-02-2011

Láhev 355 ml. 2012 Christmas Ale. Po nalití má pivo tmavě rudou barvu, krásnou pro oko, pěna je vysoká zlatohnědá s jemnými až středně velkými bublinkami, poměrně držící. Aroma připomíná jemnou kávu s bonbóny, také pomerančová kůra a jiné koření, velmi zajímavá kombinace. Chuťově je pivo opravdu originální, příjemná chuť kávy snoubená s pomerančovou kůrou a banánem doplněná hořkostí připomínající slabší kávu a dotažená kyselejším závěrem. Jedná se o velmi zajímavé pivo, originální a výjimečné.

Very dark ruby-brown. Aroma of sweet caramel malts, hops and subtle spices. Taste is sweet malt and spices with a slight bitterness on the finish. Medium bodied. Good holiday stuff.

Nice beer, solid Anchor quality with enjoyable hint of spices. Quite easy to drink due to use of special spicies.

(2011 Bottle) Very dark red/brown with white head. Aroma of sweet bread, some cinnamon and cloves Taste is similar to aroma with sweet winter spices.

2012 Giant Bottle. Complex in the spice mix with the malts and hops. I’d like to age this.

Dark red, almost black beer. Creamy head that lingers. Great beer, lots of berries, blackcurrant?

(2012) Weird, interesting beer. Indeed, almost every aspect of the beer surprised me! Much darker than expected, though a lightly colored head. Necco wafers (!), berried hard candy and a touch of juniper in the smell, along with some mellow but certain root beer action. Summarily, smells like a root beer Necco wafer. None-the-less, not too sweet, nor junipery in the flavor. That being said, definitely on the sweeter side, but even as a guy who shies from such, I’m enjoying this one. Actually a pretty enjoyable flavor, if not a bit confusing. Indeed, this is a good example of a beer with a heavily accented flavor that is still well-balanced in it’s overall taste. Mouthfeel was a bit sparse, and aftertaste suffered in comparison to the flavor, but these weren’t detriments. My only complaint is that it never really occurred to me what I was drinking. Which, come to think of it, isn’t necessarily a complaint. Off to work on this very large bottle.