Anchor – Christmas Ale 2011 or Our Special Ale

Anchor has been around since 1896 and one of the oldest craft breweries in America.  They offer a number of styles and are probably best known for Anchor Steam.  Since 1975 they have brewed a beer for the holidays that is named Christmas Ale or Our Special Ale.  The interesting thing with this beer is the recipe changes every year and the ingredients are kept secret.  Chris Ley, a friend of mine, brought over a bottle because he thought I would enjoy it – he was right. 

Winter Warmer – “These malty sweet offerings tend to be a favorite winter seasonal.  Big malt presence, both in flavor and body.  The color ranges from brownish reds to nearly pitch black.  Hop bitterness is generally low, leveled and balance, but hop character can be pronounced.  Alcohol warmth is not uncommon.  Many English versions contain no spices, though some brewers of spiced winter seasonal ales will slap “Winter Warmer” on the label.  Those that are spiced, ten to follow the “wassail” tradition of blending robust ales with mixed spice, before hops became the chief “spice” in beer.  American varieties many have a larger presences of hops in bitterness and flavor.”  BeerAdvocate

Appearance – Dark brown with hints of red / mahogany and a light tan head.

Aroma – Spice (cinnamon, holiday spices, root beer), and sweetness (brown sugar, caramel a little chocolate), and citrus.

Taste – One gets a nice spicy taste that is not overpowering and you detect the holiday spices, then sweetness like brown sugar / caramel, bready / biscuity from the malt and some citrus / earthy / pine from the bitterness.  Very good. 

Overall – A – This is an excellent winter seasonal and I will purchase it next year. Thanks for brining one to me Chris.

Website description – “Each year since 1975, Anchor Brewing creates a distinctive Christmas Ale, available from early November to mid-January. A rich, dark spiced ale, our secret recipe is different every year—as is the tree on the label—but the intent remains the same: joy and celebration of the newness of life.  Since ancient times, trees have symbolized the winter solstice when the earth, with its seasons, appears born anew. Our tree for 2011 is the bristlecone pine. Found high atop California's White Mountains, bristlecones are among the oldest living things on the planet. Some date back nearly 5,000 years, to the dawn of the ancient art of brewing. Each year our Christmas Ale gets a unique label and a unique recipe. Although our recipes must remain a secret, many save a few bottles from year to year. Properly refrigerated, the beer remains intriguing and drinkable for years. Different nuances emerge as the flavor mellows slightly, much like the memories of great holiday seasons past. Celebrate the holidays with Anchor Christmas Ale, an Anchor tradition since 1975.”

URL - http://www.anchorbrewing.com/beer/christmas_ale

Lagunitas - The Censored and Anchor - Liberty Ale

Lagunitas The Censored (6.75% ABV) is described as a “Rich Copper Ale” and is an American Amber / Red Ale and The Censored pours a beautiful copper color this is a malty beer and it has some nice bitterness with it.  I enjoyed this one and Lagunitas is a great brewer.  The web description of The Censored is, “The original name of this original ale was originally derived from an origin so heinous that we cannot reveal its aboriginal oregeny. sorry. Actually, it's an easy drinking malty Copper Ale that goes easy on the hops. Whatever.”  Side note – Chronic is slang for Marijuana – I am not sure if this is what they are referring to.

 Anchor Liberty Ale (5.9% ABV) and was first brewed to commemorate the bicentennial of Paul Revere’s famous ride.  Liberty Ale pours golden with a large head.  This is another tasty beverage from Anchor.  Anchor is a great brewer and I really appreciate them leading the craft beer revolution.  The web description of Liberty Ale – “First introduced in 1975, Liberty Ale^® is brewed strictly according to traditional brewing methods, and, like all Anchor Brewing Company products, uses only natural ingredients — water, malted barley, fresh whole hops and yeast.  A special top-fermenting ale yeast is used during fermentation and is responsible for many of Liberty Ale's subtle flavors and characteristics. Carbonation is produced by an entirely natural process called "bunging," which produces champagne-like bubbles. Dry-hopping (adding fresh hops to the brew during aging), imparts a unique aroma to the ale. It is a process rarely used in this country today.”  Note – There are a number of brewers that use the dry-hopping technique today.  These are the craft brewers and I do not know if any of the macro-brewers use this technique.

Anchor Steam, Spaten Dunkel and Upslope Brown Ale

I had a steak last night and wanted to pair Anchor Steam (4.88%ABV and ?? IBU) with it.  Anchor Steam is considered the oldest craft brewer in American and I am glad Fritz Maytag purchased the brewery in 1965 to keep brewing the beer he enjoyed.  Anchor Steam pours gold / amber / orange with a nice frothy head.  Take your time pouring it.  It is called steam beer because of a nickname for the beer and some say it is attributed to the old days with steam rose from the beer during cooling using cool ships.  Steam is a trademarked by Anchor and it is a tasty beer that went very well with my steak dinner.

After dinner I decided to taste a Spaten Dunkel from the Fatherland.  Spaten Dunkel is Munich Dunkel Lager (5.5% ABV) and pours tan / brown with a nice two-finger head.  Very nice taste that reminds me of pilsener – biscuity / bready malt, nice sweetness, just enough hops to balance it out, and a crisp finish.  I have had a few from Spaten and Dunkel is not bad at all.  One complaint – use amber bottles, not green.  The use of any other container other than amber bottles or cans just baffles me. 

On Sunday, time for a Colorado brewer.  Upslope is a new brewer based in Boulder and they currently offer three styles that I am aware of – Pale Ale, IPA and Brown Ale.  The Brown Ale (6.7% ABV and ?? IBU) pours brown with hints of amber and has a two-finger head that quickly recedes.  Upslope has “tweaked” the recipe a few times on this and added more specialty malts and American hops.  It is a Brown Ale, but it is probably outside of the style guidelines (not sure, but I am guessing).  This is tasty beverage and I will have it again.

Anchor – Porter and Deschutes – Obsidian

Anchor is the oldest craft brewer in America that began in 1896, survived prohibition, and Fritz Maytag saved near extinction in 1965 when the brewery had a bank balance of $128.  First, thank you Mr. Maytag for this purchase as this is one of the breweries that started the craft beer revolution.  Anchor is best know for Anchor Steam – a California Common Beer – was first released in 1975.  Flash-forward to today and Anchor has five styles available year-round and special seasonal and project releases.  Lori made a nice birthday dinner last night of grilled rib eye, sautéed green beans and fried potatoes.  I was confident that Anchor’s Porter (5.6% ABV) would be a perfect pairing and it was. You cannot go wrong with pairing a porter with steak.  Anchor Porter pours very dark with a nice thick head.  This beer has great aroma and has a wonderful taste of chocolate and coffee that went beautifully with the grilled rib eye. 

For desert, Lori had made my favorite, German Chocolate Cake.  I was confident that a stout would pair nicely with this and I choose Deschutes Obsidian (6.4% ABV and 55 IBU).   This stout pours black and has a great nose with taste of roasted malt, coffee and chocolate.  This is a very nice stout and I really enjoyed it with the cake.  Obsidian has won many awards ove the years and I can taste why.  I like everything I have tried from Deshutes and they are one of my favorite brewers.  When I get back to Portland, I will stop by the tap room.