notes from the cellar - anchor steam's special ale 2006 vintage
tasted 12/16/08, beer thirty in this case came about 2 am. Boy, am I glad to be in a place where I am able to pour this into one of the remarkable new Sam Adams beer glasses that i was sent earlier this year for being a BA-subscribing, Sam Adams-loving beer nerd)
This Anchor has a dark brown-red color with a light, brown and fluffy head which recedes quickly, leaving few lace rings. strong malt presence in the nose alongside the smell of dark, dried fruits and roasted malt; again, a sugary sweetness, similar to a Belgian dark. a light hop spice hits the tongue, but a lasting and strong malt presence are dominating the flavors. A nice cocoa flavor exists-great chocolate malt actually-a split second of coffee bitterness, toasted bread, and a note of raisin.
The mouthfeel is a bit thicker than the hoppy ales and barleywines I typically drink this time of year, and smoother-without any significant balancing spiciness. The palate becomes a battle zone between drying roasted malt and juicier dark fruit sweetness. This is more of what i was expecting from an aged Anchor Christmas Ale, a complex yet strong malt profile, though as i recall, 2006's batch on first taste (Thanksgiving in Austin for me, watching West Side Story with friends) lacked the typical 'tree sap' flavor that makes the beer so uniquely refreshing and keep me buying case after case, year after year.
Anchor Christmas 2006, almost 30 months past its brew time offers an incredibly complex, flavorful beer that is quite the anomaly when it comes to cellaring - a scant 5.5% ABV, but it ages with the best of them, and it lacks the 2-3 years of waiting typically required by American barleywines, old ales, and over-zealously hoppy beers (Dogfish, Victory, Sierra Nevada - I am looking in your general direction!)
Can any northerners bring me any Surly beers next time they visit? I love Furious and Bender, and while I'd like to have some of the former around my fridge, I was really looking for virtually anything besides these two, as I have decided that I love this brewery, and have been using it to keep me focused when it comes to moving Iowa state law regarding beers over 6.2% (treated as liquor, bought and sold by the state) forward into the 21st century.
This Anchor has a dark brown-red color with a light, brown and fluffy head which recedes quickly, leaving few lace rings. strong malt presence in the nose alongside the smell of dark, dried fruits and roasted malt; again, a sugary sweetness, similar to a Belgian dark. a light hop spice hits the tongue, but a lasting and strong malt presence are dominating the flavors. A nice cocoa flavor exists-great chocolate malt actually-a split second of coffee bitterness, toasted bread, and a note of raisin.
The mouthfeel is a bit thicker than the hoppy ales and barleywines I typically drink this time of year, and smoother-without any significant balancing spiciness. The palate becomes a battle zone between drying roasted malt and juicier dark fruit sweetness. This is more of what i was expecting from an aged Anchor Christmas Ale, a complex yet strong malt profile, though as i recall, 2006's batch on first taste (Thanksgiving in Austin for me, watching West Side Story with friends) lacked the typical 'tree sap' flavor that makes the beer so uniquely refreshing and keep me buying case after case, year after year.
Anchor Christmas 2006, almost 30 months past its brew time offers an incredibly complex, flavorful beer that is quite the anomaly when it comes to cellaring - a scant 5.5% ABV, but it ages with the best of them, and it lacks the 2-3 years of waiting typically required by American barleywines, old ales, and over-zealously hoppy beers (Dogfish, Victory, Sierra Nevada - I am looking in your general direction!)
Can any northerners bring me any Surly beers next time they visit? I love Furious and Bender, and while I'd like to have some of the former around my fridge, I was really looking for virtually anything besides these two, as I have decided that I love this brewery, and have been using it to keep me focused when it comes to moving Iowa state law regarding beers over 6.2% (treated as liquor, bought and sold by the state) forward into the 21st century.