Anchor Our Special Ale (2004)

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

Pours thick. Toasty, Roasted, Sweet, nutmeg flavor. Heavy on the tongue. I like.

Bottle. Dark brown with small beige head. Spices; ginger, nutmeg and others in a good blend. Liqourice and malt. A quite nice spice beer. Thanks Jbrus.

Bottle from Utobeer. Pours deep red, dark with a fine tan head. Aroma is spice dominated with nutmeg. Flavour is along the same lines, spicy, nutmeg, cinammon and perhaps a bit of ginger. Sweet with spiced pears. A tasty spiced ale like the 2003.

Murky blood rust pour, with nice light tan head topping the beer off. Fruity whiff, backed with a light candy cane aroma and strong pears. A very mellow and relaxing aroma. A little more bland than I expected. I’m getting a very warm orange flavor. A little rice and sherry. Strong dry wood and tobacco textures and notes, like spanish cedar. Not too much depth to the flavor profile. The palate is full and chewy, with a good smooth creamy finish. Carbonation bites the mouth a little on the way down and feels a little too watery. Leaves a bit of a non-descript burnt smack.

I had the 2003 and 2004 side-by-side. In appearance they are roughly similar, both producing attractive dark-cream colored heads on brown bodies; the 2003 was slightly more "nutty" and cloudy in appearance, while the 2004 had a bit more red glow to it. The 2004 also had a much more fascinating cascade effect and a slightly more "billowing" head. The 2004 also had the 2003 beat in aroma. The 2003 had a couple of aroma elements, one being like a cola, then a layer of spices that suggested a limited-edition spiced/holiday Dr. Pepper that I once had. There is also a lactic quality in the 2003 that mellowed as it warmed but at first was worrying. The 2004 was more flat-out roasted, with an alcohol vein more pronounced, but excellent deep spices, such as clover, pepper, cinnamon, as well as lots of caramel and orange. The 2004 had much of the same in the flavor, but was more like a winter warmer than a porter/stout, while the 2003 brought out some curious sets of flavors, being again more cola-like with its caramel syrup, but also more on the porter spectrum with grape-tinged roasts and some rum. With both years I was surprised how flat, even watery the body seemed. There was surprisingly light carbonation--perhaps it all burned off in the head--and not a lot of zip to the body in other ways. In the end, I found myself drinking more quickly, and finishing first, with the 2004; the 2003 was fine once it warmed a bit (losing the lactic quality in the flavor) but with each sip I still couldn’t get past that cola aroma, as it seemed too out of place.

I’m growing tired of the background orange flavour that characterises the beer year after year. The novelty has worn off.

Poured brown with a light reddish tinit. Spicy aroma mixed with pine. Malt burried underneath. Sweet malty flavor with pine and alcohol (suprising for such a light abv.) Dry finish.

A warm, thick, slightly oily mouthfeel. The spice was a tad bit harsh, but I couldn’t tell just what kind of spice was doing the overpowering. Malt backbone was pleasant, mildy syrupy, a bit doughy and some caramel. Hops kick in shortly at the very finish but the spices overpower them in the aftertaste. Not bad.