Anchor Our Special Ale (2002)

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

The 28th year of this special ale, and as it sets in my glass, all dark and handsome, I reflect back on the previous beers I’ve had dating back to my first special ale, actually the first Anchor beer I sampled on December 29, 1982.

The beer pours a deep sanguineous color, the head modest and chocolate brown, but it dissipates quickly leaving a fine sheet of lace to cover the glass. Aromas of nutmeg, cinnamon and allspice all hit you up front, caramel sweetness and malt underlying it all, “Complex” just seems inadequate to describe this delicious nose. Ambrosial at the front, the top quite thin and the finish minimally carbonated, hops all mingled in with the other spices, “Different’ for sure, pleasant to the palate, and the aftertaste quite dry and bitter also long lasting. Ranks #312 on my current 1000 beer list.

Strong blackcurrant and raisin aroma. Blackcurrant flavor with hops, tannin, grapes and a hint of licorice. Just a bit thin. Very fruity and complex ale, very well brewed also, but I liked the 2001 version better.

ginger bread nose, just took a sip. When i was little I once took a bite out of a ginger bread christmas ornemant that hung from our tree, Thats what this tasted like.

11/23/02 Pours very dark red with a huge, huge, cream/light tan head. Aroma is nutmeg, cloves, allspice, some anise, maybe a bit of coffee. I love it personally. Flavor a bit of a letdown; it ain’t spicy enough! Low carbonation and even lower hoppiness makes it feel rather syrupy, also. Interesting flavors, to be sure, but right now its not working. I love Anchor generally and have loved this beer for over a decade, so I will certainly be trying at least one more in the hopes that this initial impression is off. 12/16/02 Second bottle much better; either I had an off bottle or off night before. Even stronger and spicier on the nose, and a lovely spiced-chocolate-coffee flavor, reminiscent in some ways of Turkish coffee. Big improvement over last sample, I’m pleased to say. Anchor rocks!

Head is initially average sized, frothy, light brown, mostly diminishing. Body is dark brown. Aroma is moderately malty (dark bread, milk chocolate), with strong notes of allspice, clove, and nutmeg. Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly bitter, moderately acidic. Finish is moderately acidic, moderately bitter. Medium body, watery texture, lively carbonation. Lovely holiday-worthy aroma, but poor flavor balance.

Poured with barely any head and was dark brown to black in color. The flavors weren’t as pronounced as in previous years, which is a good thing in my opinion. Lots of malt and spices up front with a nice hop finish. Have a hoppy New Year!

Dark mahogany color, tan head. Orange rinds in the nose, not much else happening in this area. Body is spritzy and vegetal with slight roasted notes. Various spices including nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger. Brown sugar notes and drying in the finish. Fairly unspectacular, the variety of spices don’t do much for me and don’t blend well.

2002 bottle, drank December. Excellent appearnace, most diminishing head. Aroma was more mild than anticipated. Roasted flavors, spice up front, giving way to more pronounced hop bitterness, and to bot me and a colleague, a metallic vein (colleague asked me about something "tinny"). Palate too, while full and coating, was not notably lively. This was fine but I wasn’t gushing about it.