Anchor Our Special Ale (2002)

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

Beautiful! Dark brown with reddish tint. Bubbly, frothy light brown head. Looks like cane sugar when first poured. Rich caramel maltiness under an interesting spice aroma that I’m still trying to put a finger on (mild sassafras???). Cola sweetness in aroma but any sweetness in flavor is offset by a hop bite and a mellow sour quality. The smell reminds of crisp, sprucy fresh winter air. Not quite like a York’s Peppermint Patty but I’m feeling the sensation. Woodsy, resin notes.

Outstanding!! To see this beer piled into my Stella glass is to become a believer in art. The body is a DEEP Crimson, mostly Brown, but a mammoth pillow of caramel colored head rests atop. The aroma is Spicy, Spicy, Spicy, malt, and loads of chocolate malt, ginger, rhubarb, cinnamon, and rosemary. But Boy let me tell you; the taste is one major pungent thing in particular, CARROT Juice!
I use-to-use my “Juice Man Juicer” all the damn time and the flavor is absolutely fresh carrot and apple juice!!!! I am very impressed with this beer, I have never had anything like it, but I really wanted to sample the 2002 before the 2003 is released.
Very unique and highly recommended.
If you are looking for a brew outside the norm you have found it here!

Beautiful dark beer with a reddish tint in the sunlight. Nutmeg and gingerbread nose. Very roasty with some anice hints and long breaths of chocolate toward the end. Finish is thick, chocolatey, massively spiced and hoppy at the tail end. A wonderful concoction.

An almost black beer that pours with a creamy, tan head that shows very good retention. The head fades to a thin layer of foam, which leaves a thin lace on the glass. Ruby highlights are apparent around the rim of the glass that gradually slide back to rejoin the beer. The aroma is very strong on the nutmeg, with some nice malt, cinnamon, and some fruity plumlike scents blended into the nutmeg. The taste is hard to pinpoint. It has a strong roasted character to it, but with some sort of spice that clouds the flavor. Some sweetness and nutmeg are on the finish, but one flavor I can't seem to place overpowers the beer. As the beer warms, abit more fruit and alcohol are apparent, but the same flavor profile is there. Actually a great disappointment, as previous years were so complex. The initial mouthfeel is thinner than previous years, but it expands nicely in the mouth.

Nutmeg. Dark chunky brown with red highlights. Corriander, and vegetable taste. Sweet with a heck of a lot of flavors. Interesting beer. I dig it.

This beer had a small sized tan head that consisted of fine sized bubbles.The body was carbonated and the hue was dark brown.The nose was spicy and also of gingerbread.It had a malty, spicy and chocolate flavor to it and the mouthfeel was very smooth and it was medium bodied.There was excellent lacing with this beer.

2002 vintage,Dark brown to almost black in color,small head that faded fast.The aroma smells alot like my winter brew,malty sweet and very spicy almost like pure ginger bread.malty taste,medium spice and a nice hop presence.The spice comes through much better as the brew warms up very close to the affore mentioned ginger bread.with an after taste that is spicy and mildly hopped.Over all it's a very nice brew but will be much better when it grows a little hair on it so to speak.

This brew poured a small head of very long lasting brown colored bubbles that left behind a good lacing and a dark brown colored body with soft carbonation rising up the side of the mug. The aroma is different than any other beer I have tried. Its is somewhat malty spicey and reminded us of gingerbread. The mouthfeel is smooth with and unusual finish to it. The flavor is also unlike any other beer I have tried. It has elements of malt, mild spice, bread and dark chocolate. This brew is definately in a class of its own. Very different from anything else I have tried.