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Our Special Ale 2008 (Anchor Christmas Ale)
Anchor Brewing Company
- From:
- Anchor Brewing Company
- California, United States
- Style:
- Winter Warmer
- ABV:
- 5.5%
- Score:
- 87
- Avg:
- 3.86 | pDev: 10.62%
- Reviews:
- 400
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Jul 04, 2020
- Added:
- Oct 23, 2008
- Wants:
- 3
- Gots:
- 32
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by jikvig:
Reviewed by jikvig from Norway
4.47/5 rDev +15.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4.47/5 rDev +15.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
On the nose, I digg the raisins, coffe, chocolate flavours that show up!
Also getting "gløgg" which is a Scandinavian thing, almost like a gluhwein (google it)
It´s kinda shy in taste at the begging, before it builds up. Soft bitternes, a lovely rich malt flavour. Really smooth in the mouth. Getting some roasted malt aswell in on the end palate.
This is for me, christmas in a bottle! Never tried this beer, but doing so in the middle of july makes me look forward to snow and december!
The nose is fantastic, and taste is really good! I just wish the beer was more foamy in taste, but it holds really good for a 2 year old beer! I want to get my hands on an 09 as soon as possible!
Jul 23, 2010Also getting "gløgg" which is a Scandinavian thing, almost like a gluhwein (google it)
It´s kinda shy in taste at the begging, before it builds up. Soft bitternes, a lovely rich malt flavour. Really smooth in the mouth. Getting some roasted malt aswell in on the end palate.
This is for me, christmas in a bottle! Never tried this beer, but doing so in the middle of july makes me look forward to snow and december!
The nose is fantastic, and taste is really good! I just wish the beer was more foamy in taste, but it holds really good for a 2 year old beer! I want to get my hands on an 09 as soon as possible!
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by KensWorld from Florida
4.27/5 rDev +10.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.27/5 rDev +10.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
This baby has 9 years of age on it yet it still pours like it was new. Plenty of carbonation and 2 finger brown head. Looks almost ruby red. Smell is the classic Anchor Christmas, no off smells at all. Taste is quite different then the other vintage years I’ve had. Lots of herbs, semi sweet mellow malty aftertaste. The feel is extreamly smooth as expected for its age. Somewhat watery and lacking a bite. Overall I lucked out on this one, it has aged perfectly.
Jan 20, 2018Reviewed by mnj21655 from Massachusetts
3.76/5 rDev -2.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
3.76/5 rDev -2.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Pours very dark brown with ruby accents when held to the light, there is a bit over a finger of light brown head that settles to a thin head but hangs around forever. Aroma is lots of dark fruits (think raisins, dates, prunes) and some dark malt. Taste tempers those dark fruit notes a bit and presents a more rounded flavor profile. Mouthfeel starts medium on body with moderate carbonation but then falls off and turns very thin and aqueous in the finish. Overall this beer held up quite well over the past 8 years. I wouldn't advocate saving these quite that long but this beer is proof that a well brewed beer can evolve over time and still give an enjoyable drinking experience.
Dec 21, 2016Reviewed by Stevedore from Oregon
3.32/5 rDev -14%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
3.32/5 rDev -14%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
2008 vintage. Served in a snifter glass 8 years later in 2016.
Pours a dark cola brown body, minimal half finger white head, short retention time, no lacing. Smells of dark fruit, a bit of soy sauce, pine, raisin. Nothing special. Flavour is similarly heavy on the raisin, dark fruit, dates, soy sauce, and a touch of pine bitterness. It's definitely malty and didn't do all that well with time. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, a tough one to get down. Overall... not terrible, but I can't imagine it's any better than it was fresh.
Jun 06, 2016Pours a dark cola brown body, minimal half finger white head, short retention time, no lacing. Smells of dark fruit, a bit of soy sauce, pine, raisin. Nothing special. Flavour is similarly heavy on the raisin, dark fruit, dates, soy sauce, and a touch of pine bitterness. It's definitely malty and didn't do all that well with time. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, a tough one to get down. Overall... not terrible, but I can't imagine it's any better than it was fresh.
Reviewed by Beginner2 from Illinois
3.97/5 rDev +2.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 4
3.97/5 rDev +2.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 4
I found this copy in July 2016 at The Beer Temple.
Ritualistic about buying a six pack and saving three and having one each successive December to compare recent vintages, my hypothesis has been: Our Special Ale can be kept for 3 years.
The reviews just below me provide some confirmation that 3 years is enough. Except for a few outliers (BA is famous for its outliers), the average review/rating is much closer in the first three years, but deteriorates thereafter.
For the qualitative test, I opened this 2008. The aromatics of the season are familiar to my run of fourteen successive vintages. The taste is punctuated by the same, but amazingly the bubbles prickle my tongue and I notice less the seasonal spices and the signature malt in the mouth.
So... does age matter ?
Unfortunately, YES!
Always eager to prove my hypothesis wrong, I go get a 2014 copy from the cellar. Same color, same aromatics that remind me faintly of a sack of spices for mulling apple cider. But, 2014 is not prickly on the tongue!
Conclusion: two years old will always better than 8.
After all, "The Terrible Twos" will always beat 8 years old when adults expect you to be good and you prefer not to.... but let's not take the analogy too far.
Our Special Ale, to me, is at its best in its second year.
May 15, 2016Ritualistic about buying a six pack and saving three and having one each successive December to compare recent vintages, my hypothesis has been: Our Special Ale can be kept for 3 years.
The reviews just below me provide some confirmation that 3 years is enough. Except for a few outliers (BA is famous for its outliers), the average review/rating is much closer in the first three years, but deteriorates thereafter.
For the qualitative test, I opened this 2008. The aromatics of the season are familiar to my run of fourteen successive vintages. The taste is punctuated by the same, but amazingly the bubbles prickle my tongue and I notice less the seasonal spices and the signature malt in the mouth.
So... does age matter ?
Unfortunately, YES!
Always eager to prove my hypothesis wrong, I go get a 2014 copy from the cellar. Same color, same aromatics that remind me faintly of a sack of spices for mulling apple cider. But, 2014 is not prickly on the tongue!
Conclusion: two years old will always better than 8.
After all, "The Terrible Twos" will always beat 8 years old when adults expect you to be good and you prefer not to.... but let's not take the analogy too far.
Our Special Ale, to me, is at its best in its second year.
Reviewed by stakem from Pennsylvania
2.41/5 rDev -37.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2.25 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.25
2.41/5 rDev -37.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2.25 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.25
A magnum bottle (because Anchor knows that bad decisions are best served in a 1.5 liter format) poured into a 20oz thistle. The beer is dark chestnut to mahogany in color with a khaki cap. Ok, at least it looks good.
The aroma consists of soy sauce, pine needles and some mild fruity tinges like raison. The more I think about, this smells of christmas wreath and crushed dreams. Hey, there is some chocolate too.
The taste also includes soy sauce, chocolate, roasty almost smoked molasses and fruity hints of raison rubbed against a green air freshener and lost in your couch cushions. Some minerals and meaty dog food make for an earthy aftertaste.
This is medium bodied, modestly carbonated and overall a train wreck. I know "its a thing" to cellar and drink this beer with age but holy hell you wont catch me drinking this beer ever again unless its a freshy...and even then ill be hesitant.
Jan 23, 2015The aroma consists of soy sauce, pine needles and some mild fruity tinges like raison. The more I think about, this smells of christmas wreath and crushed dreams. Hey, there is some chocolate too.
The taste also includes soy sauce, chocolate, roasty almost smoked molasses and fruity hints of raison rubbed against a green air freshener and lost in your couch cushions. Some minerals and meaty dog food make for an earthy aftertaste.
This is medium bodied, modestly carbonated and overall a train wreck. I know "its a thing" to cellar and drink this beer with age but holy hell you wont catch me drinking this beer ever again unless its a freshy...and even then ill be hesitant.
Our Special Ale 2008 (Anchor Christmas Ale) from Anchor Brewing Company
Beer rating:
87 out of
100 with
462 ratings
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