Our Special Ale 2012 (Anchor Christmas Ale) - Anchor Brewing Company

Our Special Ale 2012 (Anchor Christmas Ale)Our Special Ale 2012 (Anchor Christmas Ale)

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BA SCORE
82
good
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523 Ratings
THE BROS
N/A

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rAvg: 3.64
pDev: 14.84%
Reviews: 179
Hads: 344

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Brewed by:
Anchor Brewing Company visit their website
California, United States

Style | ABV
Winter Warmer |  5.50% ABV

Availability: Limited (brewed once). bottle (166), on-tap (11), growler (2)

Notes:
No notes at this time.
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Reviews

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Photo of Hopswagger
Hopswagger

Oklahoma

3.73/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

P: Deep dark mahogany body topped with a thin short lived later of micro bubble tan head.

S: Smells like christmas. Burnt toffee, nutmeg, butterscotch, spruce tree, hints of vanilla bean, cinnamon and sweet molasses.

T/M: Taste follows the nose with loads of spices, brown sugar and sweet malt. Stingy carbonation in a medium body. Darks fruits and tart apple peels come out toward the end. Finish is semi dry and finishes with bitter-sweet prunes coated in brown sugar.

O: A great warmer for Christmas time. Robust flavors and complexity blended into a great beer. I read a review that mentioned Dr. Pepper flavor and I can totally get that in this. Anxious for next year.

Serving type: bottle

12-27-2012 22:52:55 | More by Hopswagger
Photo of micromaniac129
micromaniac129

Pennsylvania

4.33/5  rDev +19%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Drink this on Christmas eve, after mass.
Pours a deep brown color with some ruby high lights. A ta;;ish tan head sits on top, dense and mousse like it coats the glass with lacing.

Aroma is piney with cinnamon nutmeg and ginger.
Taste is similar with piney notes. not really all that spice and lingers just below the pine tree.
Malty but not very balanced.
Feels almost thick on the palette and finishes semi dry and semi bitter with a very light amount of cloying,
As with pass years, very good. Ill put the remaing in my cellar for good keeping

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2012 16:25:17 | More by micromaniac129
Photo of Treyliff
Treyliff

West Virginia

3.85/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4

A- pours a dark cola-like brown with a huge frothy dark tan head with good retention and lacing.

S- sweet toasty malts with some winter spices, cinnamon, nutmeg, old fashioned hard candy, and just a bit of hope, very nice.

T- earthy piney hops with some roasted malt character. Sweet toffee, coffee, nutty, yeasty, dark fruits. Finishes bitter and dry with a roasted linger. Lots of flavors can be picked out of this one.

M- light-med body with medium carbonation and a bit creamy on the finish. Would like a little more body as the finish is a little slick.

O- this one had more complexity in flavor than many of the style, quite unique and enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2012 02:13:32 | More by Treyliff
Photo of NiceTaps
NiceTaps

New Jersey

3.48/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a magnum bottle into a pint glass.

A- Pours a dark brown with slight reddish highlights. A mocha tan 1-finger head leaves some nice lacing as it gently fades.

S- dark fruits and spices, plums and sugars abound. Some notes of roasty malts, maybe a bit of toffee, coffee, or similar.

T- Cola beer or Dr. Pepper beer, hard to tell. Dark fruits and cola are what I take from this drink. There's some dark bread in there, too.

M- Nice body and carbonation but finishes so bready dry, that despite the flavors, I was looking for a kick.

O-This is a good brew that I believe would benefit from some kind of hoppiness.

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2012 00:56:37 | More by NiceTaps
Photo of jdhilt
jdhilt

New Hampshire

3.53/5  rDev -3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

2012 version - 1.5L green bottle, gift, good carbonation and light-medium bodied. Spices are not as prominent otherwise similar to 2007 version: pours with a three fingered, light brown head that goes slowly and leaves a good lace. Nearly black hints of mahogany color. Flavor is spicy all the way, hops stay in the background. Nose is winter spices. Light carbonation and medium bodied. $1.50 for a 12oz bottle from Capitol Convenience.

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2012 00:41:43 | More by jdhilt
Photo of RonaldTheriot
RonaldTheriot

Louisiana

3.8/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Anchor Christmas Ale (2012) has a very thick, creamy, beige head, a dark, reddish-brown appearance, and lots of thick lacing left down the glass. The aroma is very fruity, spicy, and those the predominate odors. Taste is of fruit (maybe, juniper?), brown bread, a touch of hop bitterness, spice, and sweetness. The mouthfeel is medium and sort of slick, and Anchor Christmas Ale (2012) finishes wet, pleasant, and drinkable. Overall, this is very good.

RJT

Serving type: bottle

12-25-2012 23:37:44 | More by RonaldTheriot
Photo of MattyG85
MattyG85

Minnesota

4.33/5  rDev +19%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a Sam Adams "Perfect Pint" glass. 2012 Bottle.

Appearance: Pours a dark brownish black with a little ruby color. Lots of rising bubbles and a huge five finger light tan head with decent retention. Leaves a lot of creamy lacing around the glass.

Smell: A toasty malt driven aroma with a lot of Holiday spicing. Upfront is a big scent of spices including cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and allspice. Roasted malts with hints of chocolate, burnt caramel, toffee, nuts, yeast, and a slight hint of coffee. A moderate amount of brown sugar adds to the sweetness. Subtle hints of dark fruit including prune, raisin, and dates. Good presence of earthy hops with hints of pine and grass. Pretty solid aroma.

Taste: Like the smell hints, a nicely roasty and spicy taste with a good dose of earthy piney hops. Lots of spicing with a taste of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice. Dark roasted malts with notes of burnt caramel, toffee, bitter chocolate, toast, coffee, nuts, and yeast. Light presence of brown sugar. A little bit of subtle dark raisin, prune, and date. Solid hop notes that provide some drying bitterness. Earthy pine and some grass. A good and well balanced taste.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a moderate amount of carbonation. Very creamy, slick, and smooth.

Overall: Another good version of this Holiday ale. Nice taste of roast, spice, and hops.

Serving type: bottle

12-25-2012 19:34:55 | More by MattyG85
Photo of equinox
equinox

New York

3.33/5  rDev -8.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

This has been a personal tradition for me since many years. It is possibly due to my taste becoming more sophisticated, but I have to admit to being a tad disappointed. The mouthfeel was thin. This years version seemed to have little hop-presence. I did not get that Christmas tree pine note that has been present in prior years. It approaches a "sessionable" quality.
I still enjoyed this Ale, and I intend to purchase it again and maintain the tradition. But in the past where I've bought several six-packs, I might just buy one six-pack in the future. My feeling is that Anchor might need to acknowledge that its customers are becoming more sophisticated and "up-their-game" in the future. Perhaps offer an entirely different style as a change of pace; maybe a belgian or IPA.

Serving type: bottle

12-25-2012 13:31:52 | More by equinox
Photo of TheQuietMan22
TheQuietMan22

Iowa

3.85/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Serving type: 12-ounce bottle. The bottling code printed on the label is “2OH,” which is deciphered to mean October 8, 2012. (It may also be “2OM,” which would be October 13, 2012.)

Appearance: Poured into a pint glass. The color is brown with ruby tones. Two fingers of dense, cappuccino-colored head left a lacing, ring around the edge, and trails of foam along the glass.

Smell: I got a whiff of the spice the moment I popped the cap. Loads of festive cinnamon, pine, brown sugar, and ginger. Underneath is a solid foundation of toasted malts, caramel, toffee, dark fruit (I get plum and fig), and molasses. It is pretty solid — exactly what I want from an Anchor Christmas Ale — though I get the impression it is very familiar.

Taste: At first it is not as spicy as the smell led me to believe; the cinnamon, pine, and ginger are relegated to the background and hints in the aftertaste. The brown sugar, though, remains prominent. However, the spices slowly emerge as the beer warms. It is maltier than I was expecting, too; lots of toasted, and even roasted, malts. Caramel, molasses, cocoa, and burnt syrup. I also get a hint of flat Coke. A roasted aftertaste lingers after each sip.

Drinkability: Much better than the 2011 edition. The flavor lacks the punch of the aroma but it is still a good brew.

Serving type: bottle

12-25-2012 06:12:01 | More by TheQuietMan22
Photo of StoutHunter
StoutHunter

Michigan

3.65/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I picked up a bottle of Anchor's Our Special Ale, a couple weeks ago for $1.99 at The Lager Mill. I wanted to get a few different Christmas beers that I haven't had before and this one caught my eye so I thought I would give it a try, so lets see how it goes. 2012 Vintage. Poured from a shorter brown bottle into a tulip.

A- I like the label on this beer it's pretty simple, but it looks nice and isn't overdone and I like the extra info about the beer. It poured a dark brown color that took on some ruby hues when held to the light with three and a half fingers worth of fluffy dark tan head that died down to a thick ring that stayed till the end and left lots of nice lacing. This was a very good looking beer, the color and head were very nice.

S- The aroma starts off with starts off with loads of spices that are pretty strong and very unique, it's got the typical Winter Warmer spices with nutmeg sticking out, but there's also a heavy ginger aroma and combined with other spices make an almost spiced perfume like aroma that's pretty unique. After that comes some brown sugar and a slight bit of dark fruits followed by the malts which impart a pretty sweet roasted aroma. I liked the aroma of this beer, it's not the best I have ever encountered but it's so unique that I just can't stop smelling it and I think it's good.

T- The taste seems to be pretty similar to the aroma, it starts off with this unique burnt sugar flavor followed by a good amount of roasted malts that had a medium amount of sweetness to it and imparted some roasted and grainy flavors follows by a noticeable molasses flavor. After that comes the spices which mix with the unique burnt sugar flavor to make and even more unique flavor with ginger coming through. On the finish there's a slight earthy hop flavor followed by a slightly lighter amount of medium bitterness and some roasted, slightly charred and spiced flavors in the aftertaste. This beer tasted nice, I didn't love the taste of this beer, but it wasn't bad and it was pretty different.

M- Fairly smooth, creamy, a little sticky, medium bodied with a nice slightly higher amount of medium carbonation. The mouthfeel was nice and it worked well with this beer.

Overall I thought that was a nice beer and a slightly above average Winter Warmer, there's no confusing this beer with any other Winter Warmer the flavor and aroma were very distinctive. This beer didn't have the greatest drinkability, it went down fairly smooth, but the flavor was a little too much for me to want to have another one in a row, one is just enough for me. What I liked the most about this beer was the appearance, it was very good with nice color, great head, and good lacing. What I liked the least about this beer was the drinkability, the mouthfeel should help the drinkability, but the flavor really doesn't make me want to come back for more. I would buy this beer again for Christmas next year but I won't be getting any more of this years batch. I would recommend giving this a try, it a very unique Winter Warmer. All in all i was happy with this beer, I liked how different it was and that it just wasn't a heavily spiced brown ale, it was much more than that. Anchor made a pretty solid beer for this years Our Special Ale, and I am down to see how next years release is. I need to get around to trying more Anchor beers, their a pretty solid brewery.

Serving type: bottle

12-25-2012 04:44:26 | More by StoutHunter
Photo of TheBigLebrewski
TheBigLebrewski

Michigan

4.03/5  rDev +10.7%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4

Weird, interesting beer. Indeed, almost every aspect of the beer surprised me! Much darker than expected, though a lightly colored head. Necco wafers (!), berried hard candy and a touch of juniper in the smell, along with some mellow but certain root beer action. Summarily, smells like a root beer Necco wafer. None-the-less, not too sweet, nor junipery in the flavor. That being said, definitely on the sweeter side, but even as a guy who shies from such, I'm enjoying this one. Actually a pretty enjoyable flavor, if not a bit confusing. Indeed, this is a good example of a beer with a heavily accented flavor that is still well-balanced in it's overall taste. Mouthfeel was a bit sparse, and aftertaste suffered in comparison to the flavor, but these weren't detriments. My only complaint is that it never really occurred to me what I was drinking. Which, come to think of it, isn't necessarily a complaint.

Off to work on this very large bottle. Happy Holidays BAs.

Serving type: bottle

12-25-2012 04:38:46 | More by TheBigLebrewski
Photo of ONUMello
ONUMello

Ohio

3.63/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle poured into a pint glass
A: Pours an opaque brown with a lingering 1/2 finger head
T: Warming aromas of toasted malt, brown sugar and spice
T: Matches the nose with brown sugar, malt & a bit of toasted marshmallow towards the finish. A bit sweeter & thinner than I would like
M: Medium-bodied, this feels toasted if that makes sense, which I like, but again a bit thin in texture
O: Tasty but I would prefer a bit more structure

Serving type: bottle

12-25-2012 00:20:42 | More by ONUMello
Photo of tjsdomer2
tjsdomer2

Illinois

3.18/5  rDev -12.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

Appearance: Extremely dark for a winter warmer. Basically a stout with excellent tan/white foam and lacing.

Smell: Sugar plums and nutmeg.

Taste/Mouthfeel: Tastes like coke and coffee. Really flat overall though, which ruins the flavor.

Overall: Very promising, but very disappointing.

Serving type: bottle

12-24-2012 22:32:08 | More by tjsdomer2
Photo of barnzy78
barnzy78

Illinois

3.48/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12oz bottle, pours dark brown with a thin, beige head that dissipates quickly leaving minimal lacing. Spicy aroma with molasses, brown sugar, anise. Tastes are complex with dark malt, smoky, burnt caramel, molasses, brown sugar, plum, clove, allspice, faint cinnamon, faint pine, roasted chestnut perhaps; Christmasy nonetheless. Thin-to-medium body, moderate carbonation, finishes clean. Overall, good winter warmer & is actually the first time I've tried this perennial Anchor offering.

Serving type: bottle

12-24-2012 04:54:57 | More by barnzy78
Photo of Suds
Suds

Pennsylvania

3.9/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This year's ale is a dark brown color with a tan, large-bubbled head. The aroma is of Christmas spices and malt. It's a bit of a muted smell, but mulling spice is evident, backed by a brown malt and moderately roasty scent. The taste is pleasant...brown sugar, malt, orange peel and clove. It has a tongue numbing sensation that's somehow appropriate. Firm and full in body. This is a very enjoyable holiday ale.

Serving type: bottle

12-24-2012 01:50:39 | More by Suds
Photo of stakem
stakem

Pennsylvania

3.78/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Standard anchor stubby brown bottle into a tulip shaped pint glass. The brew appears a dark mahogany with a tan cap less than a finger strong. A light swirl revives less than a finger that produces some spotty lacing effect on the glass. When held to the light, the brew shows some lighter brown clarity and ruby coloration through the body.

The nose is quite pleasant with a mixture of holiday spicing. A bit of pine, anise and cinnamon work together quite well with a dark sweetness of caramel or toffee maltiness. Some dark fruity alcohol emerges as the brew warms up.

The taste is dark burnt sugary caramel/toffee and molasses. Some cinnamon flavors are quite natural almost like bark mixed with earthy nutmeg. Enough hops are present providing some herbal to pine bitterness backing that gets slightly medicinal at times. But overall it is balanced quite nicely.

This is a medium bodied brew with a modest amount of carbonation. It is quite a nice holiday brew that is not over the top with spicing to really drive home that holiday feel. This is worth trying even if not for the holidays.

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2012 19:59:34 | More by stakem
Photo of steveh
steveh

Illinois

4.1/5  rDev +12.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

The last in the series of OSAs of this brewing style -- so the brewery is saying. I'll miss it, it's been a nice tradition for me for almost 30 years.

A -- Clear, deep garnet with a dense, long-lasting tan head.

S -- Bold spices up front: nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, ginger, with some mild cocoa peeking through at the end.

T -- Same spice medley up front followed by roasted malt and some biscuit and breadiness back. The spices make an encore for the finish and aftertaste -- the roasted malt lending a licorice or anise character to the spices.

M -- Mouthfeel is soft and sticky with a heavy-medium body.

O -- I think I like this spiced ale better than others because the spice is balanced so well with the malts that it doesn't overpower the palate. It's also not so high in ABV to knock you around, so a couple go down very nicely on a cold December afternoon.

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2012 19:07:01 | More by steveh
Photo of mdcrouser
mdcrouser

Missouri

3.75/5  rDev +3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Love this pour - the head is like the icing on a dark gingerbread house, building like snowfall on the roof. It's just a much darker version, nearly black, with a ginger-brown head, fluffy like a new drift.

If I remember, it's a similar smell to previous years - balanced between bready malts and a spicy, juniper-like hops. Very seasonally influenced, as always. It's relatively muted in this version though.

Like dark juniper-soaked gingerbread in the mouth - imagine that. The vegetation, spice and molasses each seem to come through.

Exceptionally creamy, much like you'd expect from a stout, allowing the carbonation to lay back and the rest of the beer to showcase.

As expected, a good beer. Always a good tradition for the season.

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2012 05:39:34 | More by mdcrouser
Photo of BeerFMAndy
BeerFMAndy

Wisconsin

3.7/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

12 oz bottle poured into a snifter.
5.5% ABV, 2OC punched in back label.

A - Clear and nutty brown pouring, Our Special Ale becomes nearly opaque black in the snifter and is crowned by a tightly packed tan head. The foam seems to disappear rapidly but specks of lace are left around the glass.

S - Each year a new tree is featured on the label of the ever-changing Anchor Our Special Ale and it's a primer for what follows as this winter warmer introduces itself with a pine and bold woodsy aroma. Toast and dry chocolate malt combine for a dusty nose that has nuances of baker's chocolate and spent coffee grounds with a hint of nuttiness. I imagine enjoying this in a log cabin with a wood fire roaring as gentle snow falls.

T - Dry pinecone, moisture-starved firewood, and toasted whole wheat bread encompass much of the beer's flavor with nutty undertones and suggestions of cocoa or mocha on the finish with a subtle nod to pine needle. Hints of dry spice are suggested as well, but certainly no particular flavors come to mind, rather a muddled sprinkle, possibly attributed to the other ingredients' blend.

M - Malt forward, the deprivation of hops doesn't quite mean a lack of balance as this beer is not sweet at all, nor is it bitter. Instead, it's bone dry with a hard water and somewhat gritty feel, further reflecting it's outdoorsy, earthiness.

O - While Anchor's recipe for their annual Our Special Ale changes from year to year, this beer is incredibly reminiscent of how I remember last year's batch being with a big push towards rustic, woodsy notes of, well, wood, pine, and nuttiness. I can imagine a glass of this in my hand on a cold Christmas day, but outside of the immediate holiday time, it's too strange a flavor for me to get into on a regular basis.

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2012 00:32:22 | More by BeerFMAndy
Photo of SaCkErZ9
SaCkErZ9

Florida

2.73/5  rDev -25%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

I always enjoy drinking this new beer every year. Each year is different but they are all generally pretty similar. This is my 10th year in this series, so it is somewhat special to me. This one pours beautifully! Chocolate amber in color with a very nice, frothy, rather robust off white colored head. Nice lacing and even better retention.

The aromas was a bit lackluster. There are some seasonal spices but overall, there isnt really anything great. Plus, it smells like things are off just a bit. Kind of metallic, cloves, allspice, caramel and toasted bread.

Not a big fan of the flavor on this one. Quite bitter and astringent. Mouthfeel is a little thin and it finishes dry. I dont remember any of the others tasting this bad. Chalky with raw nutmeg, cinnamon bark, burnt grains. Kind of yeasty too. Its almost like they used cheaper ingredients or something. Something is definitely off and different. This one has to be the least attractive version of this beer I have had. I always cellar these as well, so hopefully it will improve; it cant get much worse.

Serving type: bottle

12-22-2012 19:12:21 | More by SaCkErZ9
Photo of HumulusLupulus
HumulusLupulus


3.63/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Dark brown liquid topped with frothy topping of head. Nose gives off scents of black licorice along with dashes of assorted spices. The drink is both funky and weird with flavors of different spices, black licorice and green herbs that I don’t particularly care for. However, the dark malt profile of this beer makes up for the dizzying addition of spices and will probably hold up nicely during a year or more of cellaring. Hopefully some of those strong spice flavors will fade out with time and make this a more drinkable beer.

Serving type: bottle

12-22-2012 04:36:45 | More by HumulusLupulus
Photo of chanokokoro
chanokokoro

Illinois

4/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a cervoise glass

Pours a very dark brown topped with a fluffy, very light beige head. Excellent retention, large amounts of splotchy lacing. Malty nose with nutmeg perhaps some cinnamon, and toffee. Opens with toffee, joined by some nutty accents, cashew and almond, caramel maltiness, nutmeg, and a kiss of cinnamon. Light medium very smooth body, lively carbonation. I always look forward to each year's version of Our Special Ale. Definitely a solid brew this year.

Serving type: bottle

12-22-2012 03:40:30 | More by chanokokoro
Photo of pkalix
pkalix

California

4.55/5  rDev +25%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

from belgium to san francisco . . . .
pours a very dar, slightly able to see thorugh at the edges, mahogany brown with small head on top.
smells AWESOME! malty with some bitter chocolate and hops....
tastes . . . . . almost like a porter (?), no? some dark chocolate, espresso(?), heavy malt, light hop finish.
heavy finish. overall, a nice brew which could have used a higher abv, but i suppose that would have added to the bitterness. never much a fan of anchor brewing (yes, i know they're a fan favorite) but i like this one a lot. i like the heavy, but smooth taste. just wish it were a little higher value abv . . . . .

Serving type: bottle

12-22-2012 01:41:07 | More by pkalix
Photo of vette2006c5r
vette2006c5r

Wisconsin

3.85/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Our Special Ale pours pours a dark brown color, with a nice size lacing head. There are some nutmeg notes on a malty backbone. The taste has a nice burnt sweet malty backbone, with some cinnamon and nutmeg spices. The taste is slightly watery, but still drinkable. Overall this beer is enjoyable, has a unique taste so worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

12-22-2012 00:57:16 | More by vette2006c5r
Photo of JerzDevl2000
JerzDevl2000

New Jersey

3.63/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This is one of the few beers that I buy every year so I was pretty excited when this was out on the store shelves a few weeks back. Like so many others on here, I was a bit disappointed in this, as it did not seem as full or spicy as others in years past. It was unmemorable and went down easily, and even though I don't regret getting this, it was not as good as other Winter Warmers that I've enjoyed.

The pour to this was darker and less red than I remembered it being in years past, with some head and nearly no lacing to be seen. Just a bit of carbonation too but this still had the feeling of flat root beer. Some booze, caramel, and earthy spice in the nose but all of them fell flat when I tasted this. A molasses-like stickiness was here but not in body as the aftertaste felt like tree roots. Only a hint of raisin and other dark fruits without the accompanying spice and sourness. I actually had to pace myself during my review of this, as it was the fastest that I'd ever downed this beer. That's how weak it was.

Even the alcohol could have been upped by a bit, to compensate for the lack of bite and depth to this. While it's not a drain pour, buying six of these might not be a good idea. I do appreciate the subtle changes in this beer from year to year but this time around, it just didn't click. Maybe the Mayans were right about the end of the World after all...

Serving type: bottle

12-21-2012 08:44:04 | More by JerzDevl2000
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Our Special Ale 2012 (Anchor Christmas Ale) from Anchor Brewing Company
82 out of 100 based on 523 user ratings.