Anchor Our Special Ale (2002)

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

Sweet aroma with hints of cinammon and nutmeg, black berries? Huge, light brown, creamy, rocky head. Opaque with a faint red hue when viewed through light. Excellent lace. Passes very well for a holiday beer. Very Christmasy. An excellent effort. Cinammon and nutmeg notes come through in the taste for a pleasant, mildly hoppy brew.

On first sniff, I got a heavy ginger aroma, then when it started to warm I picked up orange peel, piney aromas, and as it warmed even more diacetyl became more evident. The ginger wasn't quite as heavy in the taste as it was in the initial aroma, which in my book is a good thing, but the orange peel was there as well as maltiness and diacetyl. I wish I had a beer flavor wheel in front of me when I drank this because there was a familiar aroma in when I first put my nose in the glass, but I couldn't place it, but it was not an aroma I was particularly fond of, thankfully, it was there and gone. It was pretty well balanced but had a bitter finish to go along with that nice deep copper body and tan head. The bitterness was in the very finish, but it was not offensive, at least as far as I'm concerned. It also became more subdued as the beer warmed. One of these was enough for me for a while, at least for now. If this beer aged more to mellow out the spices, it would be a very good Christmas beer. One year later: 2002 bottle on 11/6/03 The pine, orange peel, and heavy ginger aromas have dissipated (not completely), but the ginger is still prevalent; light caramel as well. It poured w/a dark tan head and the body is a hazy mohogany (I should have described this last time). I now pick up more chocolate and sherry (oxidative) notes, but I think it adds a little to the complexity; Diacetyl last year is all but gone. The flavor has suffered the most I think. Very oxidized and cardboardy. There are slight hints of the chocolate, caramel, and sherry, even a little sourness. Oddly enough, there is still a tiny bit of hop flavor left, and it's still well balanced. I'm guessing this sixer wasn't stored in the most ideal of conditions and seems to be past it's prime. I just don't think this beer has the alcohol to support any aging. I'm not sure how to go about re rating since the ratings now will take away from my first rating so I'll leave it at that. I'm hoping my comments will say it all. If I had to put some numbers to this they would be in the following order: 4,5,4,5,9. Take is as you will, just MHO!

Dark brown w/ mahogany hue. Small tan head. Ginger, pine, & nutmeg aroma. Thick, somewhat resiny feel. Rich malt start not unlike molasses w/ notes of burnt caramel. Middle is slightly tart/sour. Finish is long & bitter. Spices linger.

31-October-2003 Batch: Very dark brown in colour, almost black. A nice tan head develops and stays atop for a long while. Smells of vanilla, cloves and anise come out from the beer. The taste is equally as complex: roasted malt, cinnamon, cloves and vanilla are very noticable. The hops aren't very noticeable, but the malt is very evident. This was the first vintage of this beer I had, but I was pleasantly surprised, and am looking forward to next year! I bought this 12 ounce bottle in July at Beers of the World in Rochester, New York.

Ruby colored, tan head. Faint aroma of coffee, malt and spices. Flavor is malty, with hints of pine and a mish-mash of spices (clove, allspice, nutmeg, coriander?) Full mouthfeel with a bitter finish. Not my favorite beer, but one of the best Christmas ales I’ve had.

Unblanced ,but unique and enjoyable. First tasted like coffee, but as it opened up tasted more like chocolate. It's heavily spiced with cinnimon and nutmeg. Also taste a lot of orange. Finish is kind of bitter. Rerate 112303: I'm drinking a bottle I saved from last year. Compared to the new 2003, this is smoother and more refined. The aroma and flavor of the 2002 is a little sweeter. Finish isn't as dry as the 2003. Nose has a subtle carmelized apricot flavor with a dry cocoa finish. Other than the 2003 tasting more young and dry, they pretty much taste the same. The 2002 is better right now. From what I can remember, it's better than last year. My score went from a 3.7 to 3.9.

Smells like fresh cut pine sawdust mixed with cinnamon. Looks like a deep abyss of black with lots of brown around the edges. Head is big, leaves quickly. The yeasty tart hits me up front then a wave of woody spice, spruce, and a hint of pine at the end. Sawdust and Cinnamon, makes me feel fine.

2002, magnum bottle. Enjoyed this beer quite a lot. Much more distinctive than the 2001 when tasted side by side. A bit strong out of the bottle (like chewing a pine needle) the beer mellows nicely in the glass as it warms a bit and gets some air. Behind the spicing (ginger, anise, clove, and something sprucy/piney) is a lovely malt character with some chocolate undertones. Nice. NEW: Had this again a year later and it has mellowed, removing the up front harshness. Really nice, drink some now if you can find it.