Tag: Christmas Ale

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Holiday Ale Review – Christmas Ale from Anchor


The 2016 recipe seems more spice forward than the past couple of years. I am catching more rye notes as well as more of the spruce/tree aroma and bite. I’m tasting a bit of clove as well. The malt seems to be more of a burnt roast. Overall, more hearty this year.

Of course part of the allure of the beer is the tree on the label, discussed as much, if not more than the recipe. Here is the 411 on the 2016 label: “Our tree for 2016 is the “1,000 Mile Tree” or the lone pine found during westbound construction of the transcontinental railroad. Discovered in 1869, it was a lone pine amidst a vast and desolate landscape. The tree on this year’s label was hand-drawn by Bay Area artist James Stitt, who has been creating Anchor’s Christmas Ale labels since 1975. His charming illustration of the 1,000 Mile Tree includes a person at the top of the tree with a mug of beer, honoring an old legend that railway passengers sometimes attempted to climb the tree.”

You can see all 42 of the Christmas “trees” in the collection right HERE.

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Featured Review – Christmas Ale from Bell’s

Well, if you brew a beer called Christmas Ale, it might as well be vivid red in color. That is what Bell’s has accomplished as you can see….
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Their Midwestern take on the holiday seasonal almost smells like fruitcake as well. Their is a definitive fruit note here that evokes the better aspect of the oft neglected cake. The jelly note and sweetness is here as is a tang of metallic swirling with the soft malts. There is a tiny touch of bitterness as well but it doesn’t linger for long. A lighter take that I would like to see bulked a little bit with some roastier malt but is an interesting viewpoint on what Santa might drink.

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Review – Our Special Ale 2014 from Anchor Brewing

Up from the Cellar for December will be focusing on multiple vintages of the Anchor Christmas beer. We have arrived at the present day like some Dickensian character.

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(You can check out last years review HERE)

2014 The new vintage is fairly plain compared with the past. No big spruce or pine notes to it. Not much hops either. It is a simple beer. More liquid bread and in line with a British winter warmer than anything else. It is pretty thick to me. There is almost a fruitcake without the fruit thing going on here. A bit of toffee notes for me as well. Decent. It won’t stop me from buying the 2015 version. But I wish it was more spicy with spruce. It is simply missing something.

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Up From the Cellar – Christmas Ale from Anchor (2010-2011)

Up from the Cellar for December will be focusing on multiple vintages of the Anchor Christmas beer. I will be covering the years 2008-2014. Today’s post goes back to 2010 and 2011.

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(You can check out last years review HERE)

2010 This one tastes much like a regular, current year offering would taste like. Though there is a creeping set of flavors that remind me of the 2008 version. Tartness. Cherry like notes. But right now they are at bay and the malt is nice and there is a bit of bitterness to it still.

2011 Finally a beer without a red tint!  The progression from year to year shows a marked growth from too sour-ish cherry back to the holiday themed taste that I am used to. But they are all of a piece. And flavors that are foreground in older vintages are bit players in later years. There is even a bit of chocolate notes in 2011. 2009 is such an outlier in comparison.

My winner though is the 2010. There is simply more hop bite here that covers the ferric fruit tang that is super prevalent in 2008 and still there in 2011.

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Xmas 2012 – Karbach / Yule Shoot Your Eye Out

I am a big fan of the now classic “A Christmas Story”. (All other versions and sequels are abominations unto my eyes) and this cheekily named beer from Karbach has a cool label and hopefully a cool beer inside….

“This, our Winter seasonal, is a black ale spiced generously with cocoa nibs, orange peel, ginger, cardamom, allspice, nutmeg, and cinnamon. It truly is the holidays in a glass.”

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Xmas 2012 Upslope / Christmas Ale

If Upslope were anywhere near my beer buying radius, I would always have their cans on hand and in hand too. It would be especially nice to crack open a can of this Christmas cheer…..

“Celebrating the wintry nights and lights of the season, this lightly spiced English old ale is caramel colored and malty sweet. Second generation to the traditional Winter Warmer, allspice, orange peel and ginger round out the piney aroma of crushed juniper berries.”