For the past couple of years, I have raided the cellar for Anchor Brewing’s Merry Christmas – Happy New Year to taste test the changes in each year’s beers.
Here is how this year’s vertical stacks up:
2012 – Cider aroma. Cider taste as well. Back end is not good. Some weird flavor notes. It is well past its prime.
2013 – Sawdust hoppy aroma. Prevalent hops here which is surprising. Still good fizz to it. Like an India red ale almost. A little spice as well. Some cola notes as well.
2014 – This year was the outlier with a sweet aroma. Almost milk chocolate. Cinnamon too as it warms up. The most Christmas-y of the bunch.
2015 – Malt and fruity. Closer to the 12 & 13. It is the lightest of the group. Some pine notes.
2013 is the clear winner with 2014 coming in second. 2015 is a distant third and 2012 is a DQ for being too old.
For a refresher, here are my posts from last year covering these same vintages. Check HERE For the older years and HERE for 2014.
