Anchor Our Special Ale 2014
Anchor Our Special Ale 2014
Rated 3.343 by BeerPals
Brewed by Anchor Brewing Company
San Francisco, CA, United States
Style: Spiced Beer
5.5% Alcohol by Volume
Availability of this beer is unknown
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This is the fortieth annual Christmas Ale from the Anchor brewers. It is sold only from early November to mid–January. The Ale's recipe is different every year, as is the tree on the label, but the intent with which we offer it remains the same: joy and celebration of the newness of life. Our tree for 2014 is the Giant Sequoia. It was hand-drawn by James Stitt—who has been creating Christmas Ale labels for us since 1975—to look as a "Big Tree" planted in 1975 might look today. "The Big Tree is Nature's forest masterpiece, and…keeps its youth far longer than any of its neighbors. Most silver firs are old in their second or third century, pines in their fourth or fifth, while the Big Tree growing beside them is still in the bloom of its youth, juvenile in every feature at the age of old pines, and cannot be said to attain anything like prime size and beauty before its fifteen hundredth year, or under favorable circumstances become old before its three thousandth."–John Muir We chose the Giant Sequoia for our fortieth Christmas Ale in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Yosemite Act. Signed into law by President Lincoln during the Civil War, it granted the Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Big Tree Grove to the State of California "for public use, resort, and recreation." The first such land grant in American history, it marked the beginning of the California State Parks.
ID: 58388 Last updated 1 month ago Added to database 10 years agoKey Stats
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0
Drunk4
Reviews0
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Most noted beer attributes
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Statistics
| Overall Rank | 8232 |
| Overall Percentile | 85.3 |
| Style Rank | 159 of 1288 |
| Style Percentile | 87.7 |
| Lowest Score | 3.1 |
| Highest Score | 4.0 |
| Average Score | 3.600 |
| Weighted Score | 3.343 |
| Standard Deviation | 0.000 |
Rating Distribution
Beer vs Style
4 Member Reviews
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Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7
Pours transparent cola brown with a nice light tan head. Malty aroma has a strong spicy overtone, mainly clove with some cinnamon. Flavor has a malty core that supports clove and caramel tones. Texture is a bit thin and lacks fizz. Still, a good drink, any time of year.
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Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6
I look forward to this beer every year. This year, the beer looks the same, but the pour is way too thin. The aroma is lacking too. I can't put my finger on it but something just ain't right. Thin mouthfeel. Soapy taste. Nothing else. What the F? Maybe I got a bad batch, but I'm not willing to drop another $12 to find out. Maybe next year...
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Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8
pours a medium, cream-colored head, a dark, ruby-brown appearance, and some moderate lacing left on the glass. The aroma is very spicy this year, with probably nutmeg, cinnamon, and white pepper, and the flavor is also spicy, with brown bread, some bitterness, and a touch of fruit. Mouthfeel is medium and prickly, and finishes semi-dry, spicy, and easy drinking.
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Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8
Sampled on 11/21/2104. This spiced ale pours a deep brown color from a 12oz bottle. Large sized off white to beige head. The aroma is caramel, fruity and sweet, with some orange peel and chocolate along with the assorted spices. A medium bodied Christmas ale. The malts are caramel, fruity and sweet, with some chocolate. The hops are earthy and herbal. Nice carbonation. I have been drinking this beer for maybe 30 -35 years and I still can’t figure out the spices. Seems a little more herbal this year, and a touch drier and hoppier. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.
