Anchor Our Special Ale (2002)
Our Special Ale, a dark, rich, heavily spiced ale with a recipe that changes with each passing year.
3.6
276 reviews
San Francisco, United States
Community reviews
Bottle from Liquid Solutions. Pours a deep brown with ruby tones. Head is finely bubbled tan. Aroma is lightly xmas spice. Full bodied with creamy carbonation. Flavor is toffee/treacle, cinnamon, and malt. It is very smooth. Very integrated. Some hot bits in the finish. Quite flavorful.
50 oz. bottle found at Bottleworks! Holy crap...I can’t belive this was at Bottleworks. Glad to have tried this one. $25 for a 50 oz. Nice off-white head that fades away to a thin head, but the head is a nice off-white brownish head. Great looking beer! After 7 years, I am glad this thing still carries as much carbonation as it does. Dark brown almost black in color. Nice looking ber I must say. Very malty with a slight spice aroma. The aging has had an effect on the spices. Again, for this beer the time hasn’t destroyed the spices. Spices come out more as the beer warms, but that malt has had a nice amount of time to develop and add a great flavor along with the spices. Wow, I can’t belive I was able to try this. Actually, I keep drinking this and the beer warms up this thing still has a fair amount of spice in the flavor but not in the aroma. The spice seems a bit more mature. A carbonated beer for its age.
12oz bottle. Pours a deep hazy coffee brown with a 2 finger tan head that left some spotty lacing. Nose was reminiscent of port wine with some sweet malts, toffee and a hint of coffee in the nose. good spice and toffee on the palate with a long finish that really stuck to the tongue. Very full bodied and bursting with flavor. My favorite of the aged Anchor X mas brews.
Nutmeg, coriander, allspice, treacle and bread nose. Almost salty on the palate with lots of spice and fruitcake notes. Clean lingering finish. Seems spicier that usual this year.
Bottle at The Bruery, 2002 vintage, drank it December 2008, vertical with 2001 and 2008 vintages. Dark amber color with an off-white head. Aroma of roasted malt, nutmeg, ginger, and brown sugar. Taste is the same, malty and spicy, not quite as mellow as the 2001. Medium-full body.
2002, consumed during our 2002 to 2006 vertical Dec. 2008. Pours dark hazy brown with mocha head and a bit of cobweb lacing. The aroma comes across as gingerbread cookie, molasses, hints of pepper and a whiff or two of caramel candy. The taste has a mix of concord grape jam, chocolate, hints of burnt molasses and smooth highly roasted malts. It ends with a bit of drying roasted malts and lingering sweet dark fruitiness. Very nice. Another one that has aged wonderfully.
courtesy of cigarcitybrew.
Pours dark brown, tan head.
Aroma and taste, had some fine herbal - pine hops and molasses with caramel malts.
There was a spicy touch that is very similar to a peppery, possibly chiles undertone.
After taste is spicy.
This 2002 version matured very well, retained all of its components and more than likely gained a lot of flavors.
2002 Bottle, although I also got 2001 and 1997 from the same place. Pours with a small, dark brown head and an opaque brown body. Aroma is really good with vinous qualities, brown sugar, port, molasses and currants. Taste is raisins and a bit oxidized with nuts, pine and sherry. A touch of cardboard. too. I think I like these better fresh as the last couple I have had, even as early as 05 are oxidized. Mouthfeel is a bit thick and seems to stick to the tongue in a sort of sickly way. Light bubbles. Still holds up well for a mere 5.5 percent bottled beer.
Bottle courtesy of Retorp. Pours a dark brown color with a thin white head. Aroma is roasted malt, sweet caramel, phenol, slightl peppercorn notes. Flavor is malty and sweet with some caramel, pine and brown sugar notes. A slight spice note is present toward finish that turns slightly peppery at finish. Generally medium body with a malty and sweet finish. This bottle has aged well.
Thanks retorp for the share. Still sweet and spicy after all these years. Aroma is caramel, candy sugar, spice, and malt. Lots of malt. Flavor is similar with some dark fruit and pepper towards the finish with a bready sweetness. Malty, mellow sweetness through the finish. Silky.
Pours dark brown with a minimal tan head. Still heavily carbonated after six years. Aroma is of bourbon, spice, malt, caramel, and tobacco. Taste is of dark fruit, malt, bourbon, tobacco, spice, and caramel. Tastes like it was barrel aged with cherries and a pack of smokes. Lingering booze bite. Finish is very mellow, with some nice fruit and alcohol tastes.
Dark mahogany colored ale with a long lasting white head. Very nice aroma showcases notes of fruit cake, vanilla, nutmeg and mint. Flavor is very nice and brilliantly balanced. Notes of cinnamon, pine, juniper and fruit cake. Very nice body to it and well as a nice finish.
12 oz bottle from a Liquor store in North Park. I have a long story I want to tell about this beer. First, I have been in search for this 2002 special ale since it was the only one I was missing in the lineup. Well, I went to this store since I had remembered it had vintage 6 packs left so I bought a 2005 six pack and when pulling out the first bottle to examine the year I noticed it said 2002. I was so excited and now I get a wish come true for Christmas.
The aroma is mild with the slightest notes of dark roast malt and light spicing. The appearance is a deep brown with thick head still able to be created despite its age. The flavor is sort of bland and lost most of its original flavors I imagine it had but it still is smooth and drinkable. I honestly think its past its prime and still say the fresh batches of Anchor’s special ale will be the best tasting.
Bottled
Dark nut brown color, very small off-white head. Chocolaty, rye breadish "vintage aroma". Very coffeish, roasted flavor, some American hops. Liquerish, specially in the aftertaste. Loads of coffee and chocolate.
Bottled (thanks Degarth!). Deep amber colour, not much head. Aroma is spices, raisins some coffee and chocolate. Flavour is mildly oxidized, caramelly, quite hoppy and mild malts & raisins.
At a recent Champaign-Urbana Beer Club meeting, mamabeer and her papa provided a vertical tasting of these special ales from 2001 through 2007. Thanks Nancy and Tom. This 2002 was like a holiday fruitcake (and I love a GOOD fruitcake). Poured dark chestnut with a robust tan head. The aroma was spice, fruit, chocolate, caramel, well, as I said, a fruitcake in the best sense of the word. Same elements held in the flavor with a nice spicy finish. Nice treat.
2007 edition. Nice aroma but thin mouthfeel and bitter taste. Not as big as the inviting seasonal aroma would promise.
Dark brown pour with an off-white head. Ginger and allspice aroma with hints of nutmeg. Spicy with a roasted finish. Medium body.
Had this beer on 12/3/2002. Color is a deep rich solid brown, no light comes though. Good carbonation and thin head. Taste is rich and very spicy. WOW. Starting with a medium body that goes down with a strong spicy feel. Finish is almost too much to explain, full of coriander and spicy with a nice roasted taste. This is far more flavor than they or anyone else has put into a charismas brew.
On cask at the Gingerman in Houston in 2004. One of the best beers I’ve ever tasted. I think I would call it a porter more than an ale, because of the wonderful chocolate aromas and flavors that intermingled with the spices and citurs. Pours a deep red-brown with a nice head. Sits medium-full on the palate with gentle carbonation. Very well-seasoned, as you can imagine, sitting 2 years in a cask. Tastes of chocolate, nutmeg. Nicely malted. The chocolate really comes through with warming.
Name: Our Special Ale
Date: November 26, 2002
Mode: Bottle
Source: Bullock’s
Vintage: 2002
Appearance: dark ruby red, whispy tan head
Aroma: heavy spiced aroma with spruce, nutmeg, allspice, and a hint of cinamon
Flavor: rich malt flavor, lots of spice, after warming the malt character really comes out with lots of chocolate, only a hint of bitterness
Name: Our Special Ale
Date: November 29, 2003
Mode: draft
Source: summits
Vintage: 2002
Appearance: wow
Flavor: big chocolate flavor, spices have receeded into a unique bitter finish, hint of liquorish coming through in the aroma and flavor at the end
Name: Our Special Ale
Date: February 15, 2004
Mode: bottle
Vintage: 2002
Aroma: nice mild chocolate malt aroma with a touch of spices
Flavor: rich chocolate flavor, touch of sweetness, nice blend of spices
Name: Our Special Ale
Date: July 15, 2005
Mode: draft
Source: summits cumming
Vintage: 2002
Aroma: chocolate cover pine needle aroma with a wide array of spices
Flavor: lots of sweet spicy pine tree flavor, lots of rich chocolate, lots of complexity, more chocolate than bitter, one amazing brew
Overall: the pine is making a comeback being stronger than the last couple of years, unusual for the osa which usually continues to mellow
Name: Our Special Ale
Date: August 19, 2005
Mode: draft
Source: summits
Vintage: 2002
big pine aroma and flavor still present like last month, lots of spice bitterness
Name: Our Special Ale
Date: November 23, 2005
Vintage: 2002
12 oz. bottle via trade with IrishBoy - Pours a brown color with a one finger thick tan head. Light lacing. Aroma is strong spice (nutmeg, allspice). Flavor is roasted malt and spice with some redsidual sweetness. Palate is slightly dry with a slight lingering aftertaste. Medium body. To be honest, I think they all taste the same. I guess I need to try a vertical to see the difference. A good beer. Thanks Richard.
A little over a year ago, prior to rating, Beerdrenched and I did a vertical of OSA and this was the least impressive of the bunch. Now I’m going through and rating them and I think this will still be at the bottom. Pours dark bronze with a surprisingly large dark orange head. The aroma is woody (not hoppy wood), spicy and smooth with some dark malt and butter. Medium body that is smooth and crisp with some minimal sharp carbonation. The taste starts with wintery woody goodness, but there is some sourness involved. The finish is really sharp and sour. This was fine and held up fairly well for four plus years, but I wish I would have rated this one a few years back as it didn’t seem to be the best at aging.
GREAT beer i had 2002 maybe im rating in the wrong spot not sure but really good bought 3 weeks ago a 2002 bottle in burnsville MN at bluemaxx try one very strong lots of ABV very drinkalbe GRAB ONE NOW!
Part of a verticle tasting (97-00, 02-06)
Deep ruby hued. Spicy nutmeg aromas. Strong and zesty. Nutty with a good cocoa flavor. Lively with a good hop profile. Piney sticiness. Slight port nuance. Long and lingering. Relatively, this was the old of the newer. Still retained alot of its original components, but was on the brink of evolution. In my opinion, I caught this brew at its zenith!
Dark brown with some red hints and a tan head that started kind of big and ended as a ring. The aroma contains some nice spice notes, a bit of cinnamon. However, the aroma also has a ton of age on it and has a rusty pipe hint to it that at some points overwhelm the aroma, and other times is hidden in the background. The body is just as I remember all other OSA’s to be, but has some graininess to it. The flavour is mixed, like the aroma, between some gross old rust and tons of Christmas spice, gingerbread, and such. I think 4 years is a but much as far as age is concerned on this one...
Pours out a clear dark brown with about half an inch of tan sudsy head. Nice lacing. The aroma is perfumy - smelling of mincemeat spice and a little molasses.
The flavor is both spicy and malty, I taste nutmeg, ginger, molasses cookies, and a little white pepper. The finish is dry, with nutmeg, licorice, and a little allspice. Medium body with excellent carbonation.
Overall, a bit too spicy for having more than one in a sitting, but still a good beer.
Tasted this after the 2003. Pours a little thinner, and also the head is less pronounced and with little foam. Shows age. Aroma does as well, not showing much but malt and the typical christmas tree smell. Taste is watery, with savory worsteshire sauce and sweet pine sap. Can’t help but recognize some dry dog food, mealiness here. Probably my least favorites of the style, sin gusto
Bottle. Pours a dark amber colour with a tan head. Sweet malty spicy aroma. Dry and very spicy bitter flavor. Lots of pine flavor. Dry spicy finish with a nice bitter aftertaste.
Courtest if Irishboy, thanks Rich. I am celebrating Christ-mas in my own way. Split in two into sampling glasses. Pours black with a small tan head that quickly fades into a small lacing. Aroma is pretty strong with minty pine. Taste is kind of empty with a somewhat medicinal flavor. I will say that the carbonation in the mouthfeel is still rather strong and makes the beer feel lighter. Earthy mint finish. Low Bitterness.