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. And choosing a winner like college football does. Via a biased playoff.
(You can check out last years mega-review HERE)
2008 pours a near reddish color this year. The first whiff upon popping the cap is of Oud Bruin and cherry but as the beer warms up that fades off like the head diminishes. There is a decidedly fruit taste to this beer. Fruit punch primarily. Strawberry would be my next guess. It doesn’t taste bad per se but it is certainly more fruitcake and dried fruit than anything else.
2009 has a more pleasing aroma to it. Good start. And it is so different from the ’08. Cinnamon red hot flavor hits me first. Never had that in a beer before. That initial taste fades a skosh and the beer starts to taste better as it warms. There is a nice rich, full taste to this with what seems to be a darker malt bill to it.
It is kinda hard to pick a winner to move on to the next round against the victor of 2010 vs. 2011. The oldest and last bottle of the Our Special Ale had faded too much for me though it was offensive. So I have to pick the 2009, though the spice profile makes it an underdog for the next round.