Our Special Ale 2004 (Anchor Christmas Ale) - Anchor Brewing Company

FormatKid

Tennessee

4.43/5  rDev +9.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

A much anticipated Seasonal from Anchor. Poured this one out of it’s stubby Anchor bottle into a tumbler pint. The body is a solid ruby brown with hints of translucence, the head is tannish brown, medium-sized and sturdy. Fine strands of lace cling to the glass. The nose is chewy caramel, roasted nuts, cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg, with chocolate chips and gingerbread coyly hinted at in the background. After taking a drink I realize that this beer may have some of the most diverse flavors I’ve experienced yet. Up front it brings to mind raisons, burnt toffee, tiny hints of brandy flavor, about half-way through the holiday spices and piney flavors begin to come into play in unison. Cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, these spices dig into the piney flavor and create a flavor like a deep pungent peppermint. The beer finishes with a hint of cherry and a robust bitterness and dryness that leaves you wanting another drink. Nice piney hop burps. The mouthfeel is absolutely perfect, medium bodied with an ever so slight slickness which makes it go down smoothly. The perfect beer to come home to and sip on while you’re doing your holiday chores. Looking forward to the next one.

Serving type: bottle

12-16-2004 23:24:03 | More by FormatKid

spycow

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev +4.9%

03-11-2013 06:11:43 | More by spycow

matjack85

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +11.1%

02-12-2013 01:18:59 | More by matjack85

Thunder

Georgia

2.75/5  rDev -32.1%

02-08-2013 23:51:24 | More by Thunder

yoitsarch

California

4.25/5  rDev +4.9%

01-05-2013 18:37:35 | More by yoitsarch

hanlonrn

4.5/5  rDev +11.1%

07-10-2012 12:21:24 | More by hanlonrn

IPAchris

Pennsylvania

4.75/5  rDev +17.3%

07-06-2012 22:10:18 | More by IPAchris

Sean9689

Illinois

3.43/5  rDev -15.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottle shared at Alex's Birthday Bash.

A - Looks like all the other Our Special Ale's.

S - Light spice, dark fruits, figs, oak, caramel. A little more spice then previous years, which helps create a bit more complexity. Not quite as smooth with the sweetness though.

T - Similar to the nose. Spices, sweetness, dark fruits. Tastes like a spicy brown ale to me. Finish is sweet brown sugar.

M - Light body, good carbonation, dry finish.

O - I preferred the 2001 version to this beer, but still decent. I like the addition of the spice to this one but would rather have the smoothness of the 2001.

Serving type: bottle

06-27-2012 18:05:29 | More by Sean9689

jfcaa193

Connecticut

4/5  rDev -1.2%

02-19-2012 01:27:08 | More by jfcaa193

imperialking

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -13.6%

01-08-2012 21:52:20 | More by imperialking

DoubleJ

California

4/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Where was I when this beer was released in 2004? For starters, I couldn't drink legally. I was in my first year in college. I only had alcohol on two occasions up to that time. And perhaps most strange when I look back at it, I thought that wine would become my forte among alcoholic beverages. I never thought that I would be interested in beer, let alone re-checking my vision to see if those were indeed 2004 vintages of Our Special Ale that I picked up a few weeks ago. Christmas Day is winding down, so let's pop the crown of one of the bottles, and on to the beer:

The "pfft" sound coming out of the bottle is a good sign of things to come. Its color is very dark brown, nearly black, with definate ruby brown hues. The head forms ½ inch thick, and settles to a creamy lace which kicks up spotty lace. There's a lot to like from the aroma. There's powdered cocoa, spotted dick, a little nutmeg and ginger. All around pleasant.

I've recently had the current 2011 edition, and this tastes like a mellower, rounder version of that. Plum pudding, molasses, dry cocoa, assorted drying spice. A little bitterness builds and finished off the beer with a spruce note. It's medium bodied with low carbonation yet a moderately silky texture.

The individual pieces are very good in Our Special Ale 2004. That helps make it a heck of a beer. Now what should I do with the other, unopened bottle?

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2011 05:23:36 | More by DoubleJ

seanyfo

United Kingdom (Scotland)

3.93/5  rDev -3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

2004 bottle poured into nonic pint glass

A- aggressive pour produces 4 finger mocha head sitting atop a black body with no light perception. Head retention and lacing are very good.

S- gingerbread. For our Uk ba's, it's like liquid Old Jamaica ginger cake

T- spice up front - ginger and nutmeg. Toasted malts come through with a vinous streak running throughout.

M- low carbonation and a bit thin in the body

D- overall, I'd say the flavour profile has held up well although not having the beer fresh it's hard to tell how it's aged. Nevertheless a nice presence of spice and a solid toasted malt profile with a full body/fresh carbonation this would be excellent

Serving type: bottle

12-16-2011 20:48:24 | More by seanyfo

pperez38

California

3.75/5  rDev -7.4%

12-01-2011 08:30:52 | More by pperez38

brandoman63

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -7.4%

11-22-2011 21:45:47 | More by brandoman63

rab53

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev -1.2%

11-20-2011 03:04:14 | More by rab53

ROGUE16

Delaware

4/5  rDev -1.2%

11-17-2011 19:50:26 | More by ROGUE16

oline73

Maryland

3.4/5  rDev -16%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured from a large bottle into a 4 oz. tasting glass at Max's Christmas in July event.

Appearance: Pours a murky brown with a some red coming through when the light hits. There is a layer of light tan head that leaves a ring around the edge of the glass.

Smell: Malty with notes of caramel and brown sugar and some mild spice.

Taste: Very malty with lots of molasses and brown sugar flavor but not too sweet overall. Some holiday spices with a bitter finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium body with very mild carbonation and a dry finish.

Overall: Perhaps a bit past its prime. The spice has faded, mostly malt. I'm glad I got to try this.

Serving type: bottle

07-15-2011 21:04:40 | More by oline73

TMoney2591

Illinois

3.2/5  rDev -21%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Served in a Half Acre shaker pint glass.

Big thanks to whartontallboy for helping me finish my vertical!

The Sixth Day of Beermas... It pours a murkily opaque black-brown topped by a healthy tan foam. Best-looking offering thus far. The nose comprises light mint, chocolate, cardboard (corrugated, o' course), nutmeg, brown sugar, light molasses, ginger, and stale Rice Krispies. The taste comprises fishy cocoa, fig, light green apple, ginger, nutmeg, and some more o' that cardboard. The body is a Stimpy medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a grainy feel. Overall, another step in the right direction, but there's still a good amount of ground to be made yet.

Serving type: bottle

12-21-2010 02:30:40 | More by TMoney2591

Vdubb86

Illinois

3.05/5  rDev -24.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Served in a pint glass

Thanks to TMoney2591 for this beermas gift.

This beer pours a deep dark brown with mahogany shades and a nice beige foam. The smell is of brown sugar, caramel, butterscotch and a little bit of older oxidized whiskey. The taste is a bit like old cold coffee with a tint of whiskey in it. It's not really all that good and I'm sure that is due to the fact that it is past it's prime. This starts out ok and fades to a dryer acidic mouth feel that is pretty nasty on the palate. It's not that pleasant to drink, I'm happy this was a split bottle.

Serving type: bottle

12-21-2010 02:29:14 | More by Vdubb86

MPLS

Minnesota

3.33/5  rDev -17.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Nabbed a few random "Christmas beers" of older vintages a while back and this one seemed to be calling me before I went to bed. This bottle has 5 years on it and honestly have not tried any of the other vintages of this beer.

A: Pours a dark cocoa with a head that almost edges out of the 12 oz snifter glass. Carbonation still in tact just from visual inspection. Some rainy day lacing, nice ring atop the glass, opaque color.

S: Raisin, caramel, cardboard, but mostly a lot of spicy juicy fruit/warped citrus.

T: Mellow natured beer @5.25 ABV this may be pushing the boundaries of cellaring for this one. Up front the beer has cocoa + juicy fruit that is followed by some spiced cinnamon cardboard. There is something about the finish of this beer that doesn't sit well with my palate.

M: Medium-bodies and it certainly can't be the alcohol level that makes it spicey, Lower carbonation, more so from extended aging.

D: Above average offering here. A great looking beer that has some promise in the nose, but the finisih didn't quite seal the deal for me. Alcohol is masked completely and a mellow beer with a spicy earthy juicy fruit element to it.

Serving type: bottle

12-15-2009 10:30:06 | More by MPLS

Lothore

California

3.78/5  rDev -6.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A- Pours a deep, dark brownish hue with a nice, 2 finger frothy head.

S- Sweet, brown sugar notes, hints of raisin.

T- Lots of roasted malt, hints of sweet brown sugar that fade off into nothingness.

M- Thin with low/medium carbonation

D- This may be past it's prime. Looked and smelled great but carbonation was a little low.

Serving type: bottle

12-13-2009 08:13:45 | More by Lothore

Floydster

California

3.78/5  rDev -6.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12 ounce bottle purchased from Stuffed Sandwich in San Gabriel for five dollars and some change a few months back, drank on 2/11/09, reviewed from notes, poured into my Humboldt pint glass, color is a nice dark brown with a one inch beige creamy head that lasts over five minutes, some lace too, aroma consists of earthiness, nutmeg, roasted malts, dark cocoa, cinnamon, burned caramel, and clove, taste is caramel first, then roasted malts and chocolate in the middle, tons of spice in the finish, lots of clove and cinnamon, like how this evolved since the last time I had it, nice mixture of bready and roasted malt, along with a large amount of spice, mouthfeel is spicy, earthy and roasty, medium bodied, decent level of carbonation, taste lingered well, also warming, could drink a few of these, not too filling, alcohol is well hidden, this particular year has aged nicely and I look forward to drinking more of it down the road, recommended

Serving type: bottle

02-19-2009 04:13:14 | More by Floydster

far333

Connecticut

3.9/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A bottle stashed away in the cellar. Pours a dark chestnut brown color with some ruddy highlights at the base of the glass. A medium thick head of light brown foam rises up to a half inch and settles out slowly.

Low aroma of raisin, prune, and spruce.

Flavor fairly matches the aroma, prune and fig upfront with hints of cocoa. Resiny spruce notes line the finish.

Even mouthfeel, full and rich with a tingly finish. Amazing how well this holds up over the years.

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2009 23:37:06 | More by far333

jpaltan

Texas

4/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Nice and dark with an egg shell head that sticks up top. Lots of lacing. I'm surprised by the head on this 4 year old beer. Smell is much better than the 07. A much gentler nose - more fresh ginger than anything else I can pick out. Taste is malty, with a good hop in the middle with a touch of nutmeg or other spice in the finish. Much better than the 07 imo. mouthfeel suffers from lack of carbonation, but could be b/c of age.

Serving type: bottle

12-27-2008 22:26:00 | More by jpaltan

tmoneyba

Ohio

4/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle found at Village Pub in Covington, KY.

Poured dark reddish brown color with an average frothy light brown head that lasted with good lacing. Good complex sweet spicy aroma. Medium body with a sticky texture. Good sweet dark fruit spicy flavor with an average sweet finish of moderate duration.

Complex good brew.

Serving type: bottle

11-25-2008 01:15:06 | More by tmoneyba