Anchor Our Special Ale (2001 and earlier)

Formerly brewed at Anchor Brewing Company
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
San Francisco, California USA

2001 vintage. Aroma is cinnamon, nutmeg, piney hops and hint of roasted barley. Dark chesnut color with a medium creamy brown head. Dry to start with malty spiced middle. Finishes dry, a hint of bitterness, and a touch of cooked vegetable. Im not too crazy about this, but its alright. Big thanks to Wes at Premier Gourmet for giving me this one for free.

Pours dark brown with a good tan head. A multitude of layered aromas including ginger, pine, nutmeg, port, cognac, candy canes, gingerbread, and toffee. It tastes like you are drinking a Christmas tree. It is heavy on the palate, and can be intimidating to some. I like to finish a session with one of these around the Christmas holiday. You must try this style.

Rusty brown body and silky beige head. Aroma of cloves, molasses, and vanilla. Flavor is like a bowl of raisins with some spice thrown in. Has an aged malty feel and flavor. Nice and enjoyable. Thanks TannerTavernboys for bringing this beer to our beer tasting.

1998, Consumed 10Apr04 at Whaleman’s tasting: Poured dark brown with a thick tan head. Aroma of molasses and ginger with a touch of cloves. Roasty malt flavor and moderate spice and raisins. Light sour finish. Pretty good for an almost 6 year old beer.

2000 Vintage Tasted on my birthday Dec. 5, 2003 Pours a cloudy deep mahogany. Nice creamy head. Aroma is sweet piney malts with some nice caramel notes. The taste is smooth, smooth, smooth. A perfect balance of caramel and hops with piney flavors present throughout. The piney flavors are nice and subdued unlike the current edition of this brew. Flavor is perfect for this night with the first snow of the season. Does finish up with a nice subtle warming by alcohol. Not a session beer by any means but the balance is exceptional. I have 4 more bottles to save till my next birthday.

2001: I've been aging this puppy in my basement for a while. Finally cracked it open next to a 2002 (which was also aged a little). In general, they both had a lot of similarities, but the 2001 was creamier, with more pronounced malts (caramel, brown sugar, molasses), and the spices were more subdued. Prune notes were a little more evident. Seemed to have less bitterness than the 2002 as well. Fresh Our Special Ales are a little over-the-top for me (in the spice department), but this one was really enjoyable. The spices were still rich, but they were blended nicely; it was good, like leftover lasagna.

1999: Poured a dark brown with a reddish hue and a thick biege head. Aroma was very spicey. Nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, caramel, and mild hops on the tongue. This beer held up really well. I found it in a store about a week ago. It was mixed in with Zima! The store still has magnums of the same vintage. I think I may buy one for next Christmas. The magnums are mixed in with champagne. This was a nice find!

2000 bottle. Creamier with age as some of spices lose their influence. Still had a pleasant hops band at the end. As always, just a great beer.