Merry Christmas & Happy New Year (Our Special Ale) (2004)
(Batch of Our Special Ale)
Anchor Brewing Company in San Francisco, California, United States 🇺🇸
Spiced / Herbed / Vegetable / Honey - Spiced Regular Out of Production|
Score
7.18
|
|
This is the thirtieth special ale from the brewers at Anchor. It is available from early November to mid January. The ale's recipe is different every year, but the intent with which we offer it remains the same: joy and celebration of the newness of life. In ancient times, trees symbolized the winter solstice, when the earth with its seasons appears born anew.
Sign up to add a tick or review
7.1/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle. Nice and malty, powerful aroma. Seems a bit more powerful than the 2005 version. Nice dark brown colour, red shine. Leaves lace. The flavour is nice and malty, dusty. Roasted aftertaste. Seems a bit more rounded and nice than 2005, perhaps because of the extra time in the bottle.
Tried
from Bottle
on 03 Aug 2006
at 03:41
8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Bottle courtesy of Enniskillen. Parallel tasting of 2003, 2004 2005. Nose is more fruity than the 2003, but has malts, caramel, and spices; body is a little darker than 2003, walnut with a thin tan head; Flavor of plums, malts, and spices
Tried
from Bottle
on 16 Jun 2006
at 14:59
8.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Bottle from Utobeer. Very dark brown with beige head. Dark roast malt and spicey aroma but with good hop too. Softer than the 2005 that I had a couple of weeks ago. Good dark choc flavours, it also has good depth and length. I love this stuff. It’s like a mulled porter, but the spice is integrated in this.
Tried
from Bottle
on 27 Mar 2006
at 14:46
6.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 7
Not as great as the aged 2000, but still good. It was a little more plain than the older vintage. Some nutmeg in the aroma. Flavor has malt and sugar, but this beer is better described as bitter than sweet.
Tried
on 01 Feb 2006
at 20:13
7.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Rating added 1/26/2006Dark brown color, almost reddish.Hoppy aroma, maybe some cascade, the citrus like smell might also come from Seville orange peels.A very rounded feel in the mouth with a distinct bitterness. Some burnt flavours in the aftertaste.7/4/8/4/15=3.8
Tried
on 26 Jan 2006
at 16:44
7/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
(Bottle 35,5 cl) Clear, dark mahogany with a reddish glow and a delicate, creamy, brownish, cappuchinoish head. Aroma is very roasted, almost lightly burned and quite spicy. Very soft mouthfeel. The body is rather light with a velvety smoothness, dominated by roasted malt and notes of dark, bitter chocolate. Appears vaguely stoutish, but without the burned, bitter edge. 020106
Tried
from Bottle
on 02 Jan 2006
at 12:48
7.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Deep chestnut brown body floats a creamy light brown head. Soft spicy aroma carries some Nutmeg, Clove and Cinnamon. Lightly sweet flavor base with a long dry finish.
Tried
on 25 Nov 2005
at 07:36
6.8/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 7
Dark beer with an initially frothy head, christmas pudding, coffee and chocolate aroma. The flavour is spiced and fruity with a christmas pudding like edge. Overall a reasonable beer.
Tried
on 26 Feb 2005
at 12:05
6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 5
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
Dark red-ish brown colour. Dense head. Sweet-ish liquorice aroma. Roasty flavour with notes of liquorice and spices (cardamom). Somewhat thin finish. Is the recipe really different from last year?
Tried
on 22 Jan 2005
at 14:30
6.4/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 4
Overall 6.5
Deep reddish amber,lasting tan head. Licorice and malt nose.Lots of malt in flavor,a hint of anisette and cedar
Tried
on 21 Jan 2005
at 10:24