Our Special Ale 2007 (Anchor Christmas Ale)
Anchor Brewing Company

Our Special Ale 2007 (Anchor Christmas Ale)Our Special Ale 2007 (Anchor Christmas Ale)
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From:
Anchor Brewing Company
 
California, United States
Style:
Winter Warmer
ABV:
5.5%
Score:
89
Avg:
3.97 | pDev: 10.83%
Reviews:
351
Ratings:
399
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jul 19, 2022
Added:
Nov 03, 2007
Wants:
  5
Gots:
  16
No description / notes.
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Photo of Sigmund
Reviewed by Sigmund from Norway

3.99/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Nov. 2007: 355 ml bottle, vintage 2007, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. ABV is 5.5%. BB Sep. 09. Very dark reddish brown colour, nearly black. Large and lasting tan head. Nice vinous and sweetish aroma, notes of malts, herbs, oak, spices and caramel. Malty flavour with moderate notes of caramel and herbs, moderate hops and spices in the finish and aftertaste. A very pleasant beer to drink.
Jul 19, 2022
 
Rated: 3.91 by DOCRW from Kentucky

Jul 04, 2020
 
Rated: 3.75 by smithj4 from New York

Jul 29, 2018
 
Rated: 3.89 by Bunuelian from Minnesota

Dec 26, 2017
Photo of KensWorld
Reviewed by KensWorld from Florida

4.02/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Wow, looks smells and tastes solid, even after 9 years. Has held up very well. Extreamly smooth and mellow. Sweat spicy notes that seem to have merged well over the years.
Dec 25, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by Beginner2 from Illinois

May 15, 2016
 
Rated: 3.94 by DucksFan16 from Tennessee

Jun 07, 2015
 
Rated: 4.31 by wisrarebeer from Wisconsin

Feb 09, 2015
Photo of MattyG85
Reviewed by MattyG85 from Minnesota

4.26/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a tall pint glass. Purchased a year ago from a store’s cellar.

Appearance: Pours a dark brownish amber with a moderate amount of bubbles. Big two finger tan head with decent retention. Lots of creamy lacing.

Smell: A spicy, roasty, and toasty malt forward aroma with hints of chocolate, spices, and dark fruit. Roasted malt with hints of biscuit, chocolate, toasted bread, grains, cracker, and yeast. Big mix of winter spices with hints of cinnamon, clove, allspice, cardamom, and ginger. Dark fruit hints of plum, raisin, fig, and dates. Sweet brown sugar hints. Light earthy hop hints. A pretty good aroma at this age.

Taste: Like it smells, a spicy and toasty malt forward taste with good notes of chocolate, spices, and dark fruit. Roasted malt with notes of biscuit, toast, chocolate, grains, cracker, and yeast. Sharp mix of winter spices with some cinnamon, clove, ginger, cardamom, and allspice. Big presence of dark fruit with notes of raisin, fig, plum, cherry ,and dates. Sweet taste of brown sugar along with some light earthy hops. A really nice taste.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a moderate amount of carbonation. Creamy and pretty smooth with a very drying finish.

Overall: A very good aged brew. The dark roast flavors have fallen off a bit but the dark fruit has really emerged.
Dec 26, 2014
 
Rated: 3.8 by Nbdreher

Aug 19, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by senselessinsanity from Illinois

Jun 20, 2014
Photo of Beerzebub
Reviewed by Beerzebub from California

4.35/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
12/9/2007:

Deep dark red color. Thick layer of creamy tan head. Nice lace.

Smells strange and wonderful. Something much like root beer, with a vaguely minty aspect, bordering on Jagermeister. A touch of solvent. Spicy and herbal notes like pine; cassia or cinnamon; perhaps some cardamom; and others, blending together seemlessly and elusively.

Tastes drier than it smells, almost completely dry. Dark toasty malt, with savory dry spices, a refreshing quasi-minty herbal note, some grassy/herbal hops, fruit like white grape and plum, and some acidity. Long complex finish: herbs, spices, dark toast.

Smooth creamy texture, even suggestive of oatmeal. Certainly drinkable.

Great beer, with character.

6/1/2014 (cellared for 6 and a half years at 55 degrees F):

Red-brown color with some beige froth.

Smells like pine tree, spices, caramel, malt. Surprisingly fresh with 6 1/2 years on it.

Tastes delicious. Malt, pine, spices - cinnamon, allspice, cardamom - and finishes cool, fresh and herbaceous.

This has aged shockingly well; nice surprise that it wasn't silly to cellar a few of these.
Jun 01, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by afsdan from Colorado

Apr 21, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by SkinniePost from Wisconsin

Apr 18, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by Gonzoillini from Illinois

Jan 29, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by Iowacraft from Iowa

Jan 10, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by pinnser from Colorado

Dec 31, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by BillRoth from Maryland

Dec 28, 2013
Photo of mfnmbvp
Reviewed by mfnmbvp from Illinois

3.88/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
12 oz. bottle, with a more than obvious vintage date. Code on the back label reads 703. Vintage 2007, making this the third oldest beer I've ever drank, behind the 2006 and 2005 vintages of this beer.

Poured into a clear balloon snifter.

A - Pours a half finger of chocolate tan head on top of an extremely dark mahogany colored body with some ruby highlights. Almost opaque in the glass. Nice frothy head when given a good swirl, with some nice thin tan lacing. Looks pretty nice.

S - Smell is of creamy caramel, woody earthiness, cloves, chocolate malt, maybe a hint of zesty ginger, cherry-vanilla, some light herbal spice rack notes, and some dark fruit like dates, figs, and raisins.

T - Taste is of chocolate malt / amber malt / red malt, tea leaves, caramel sweetness, dried earthiness, some herbal / woody tree bark type taste, cola, dried grass, some cocoa / pine bitterness, and some lightly vinous cherry / raisin. Chocolate malt seems to take the lead here, this type around.

M - Feel is fairly smooth & creamy. Finish is mostly clean and dry, with a bit of stickiness, some powdery cocoa bitterness, and some bitter herbal earthiness on the palate. Feel is more full and not as watery as past vintages that I've tried.

Overall, another different and unique holiday vintage from Anchor. Much more noticeable chocolate malt presence this time around which I found delightful. I look forward to more as these continue to impress me. In all, I'd say this vintage has held up well, and will continue to enjoy the ride for many more years to come.

Anchor Brewing Our Special Ale 2007 ---4/5.
Dec 25, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by WanderingFool from Massachusetts

Dec 25, 2013
Our Special Ale 2007 (Anchor Christmas Ale) from Anchor Brewing Company
Beer rating: 89 out of 100 with 399 ratings