Our Special Ale 2011 (Anchor Christmas Ale) - Anchor Brewing Company

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BA SCORE
87
good
-
626 Ratings

rAvg: 3.86
pDev: 14.77%
Reviews: 280
Hads: 346

Ratings Help

Brewed by:
Anchor Brewing Company

California, United States

Style | ABV
Winter Warmer | 5.50% ABV

Availability: Limited (brewed once). bottle (250), on-tap (29), growler (1).

Notes:
This beer is retired; no longer brewed.

No notes at this time.

View: Beers (15) | Events (0)

Reviews

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Reviews by damndirtyape:

damndirtyape

Ohio

4.1/5 rDev +6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

12oz bottle poured into a Tulip glass.

Appearance: Very dark brown to black on the table, but when held up to the light is a dark ruby red to cola brown. Light tan head upon pouring died back to a ring at the edge, a very thin island in the middle, and some little islands of lacing here and there.

Smell: Caramel, hint of molasses, mild char/burnt smell, a little bit of baked pastry and some dark fruit smells. Quite interesting, but a bit faint and I really only get this on good swirls.

Taste: Burnt sugar + malt sweetness blending in with mild char notes, a hint of molasses, and some mild pine-like bitter flavors. Char a bit more noticeable upon warming up. Quite a lot going on and hard to pull out all the flavors. Tasty though.

Mouthfeel: Light carbonation on the tongue, but enough present to make the beer airy in the mouth. It's there and then it's gone fast. It's not thick, but it's not watery either. It's actually hard to rate but it works well with the flavor of the beer.

Overall / Drinkability: Very drinkable - I finished this one and one I had another night quite quickly. Each component of the beer by itself is just good, but combined....it's very good and it all works together nicely. I think I like this one better than last years and I look forward to seeing what they put together next year.

Serving type: bottle

12-19-2011 23:52:11 | More by damndirtyape

More User Reviews:

AmandaSchaefer

Wisconsin

3/5 rDev -22.3%

05-13-2013 23:03:29 | More by AmandaSchaefer

Mullinger1980

Ohio

3.75/5 rDev -2.8%

05-11-2013 10:51:40 | More by Mullinger1980

rab53

Massachusetts

3.75/5 rDev -2.8%

04-18-2013 02:21:51 | More by rab53

Jimmys

Pennsylvania

3.63/5 rDev -6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.5

2011 Christmas Ale into Hardywood Park tulip.

A: a rich brownish, red hue. slightly hazed. foamy head is similar to the color of the body with a lot more white. retention is perfect. thick lacing left behind after each sip.

S: a little bit of molasses and spruce tips. a little bit of pine wood as well. sweet. unfermented sugars.

T: starts sweet a bit of plums. slightly woody as well. a little bit of cinnamon. lingering flavor is caramel malt flavor. a little bit of diacetyl in the finish.

M: moderate, tingly carb on a medium body.

D: cant get too pumped on this one. good, but nothing mind blowing. seems like time hasn't been too good to it either as I notice a bit of diacetyl that I think will get worse as time goes on.

Serving type: bottle

04-05-2013 03:27:34 | More by Jimmys