Anchor Christmas Ale / Our Special Ale 2004 Vintage

I’d heard this beer ages well, and for that reason I have sixers dating back through 2006 in my cellar, but Blue Max in MN had individual bottles of 2004 for $2.29 (and 2005 for even less) and I couldn’t resist. The BeerAdvocate reviews led me to think it might be past its prime but it’s drinking mighty fine, with excellent head retention for such a vintage (it helps the brew was kept cold the whole time as per the cellar temp=drink temp golden rule). I was expecting head retention/carbonation to be poor based on recent tastings notes on BA but I had great success. The mouthfeel and flavor have really matured versus the fresher Anchor OSAs I’ve had. I get a lot of egg nog flavor, and the pine tree sap for which it’s best known seems to have taken a back seat (though very noticeable in the nose). The almost milk-like mouthfeel is silky smooth. I had thought three years would be about as long as you’d want to age this beer, as it’s even lower ABV than it’s more recent vintages (a mere 5.25) and while most readers realize this brew is an anomaly among aging craft beers, it really is drinking exceptionally well tonight and I’d urge those in the Twin Cities region to go pick up some bottles from Blue Max, the $2.29/bottle price is a worthwhile taste test. The roasted malt flavor in the middle is fantastic with chocolate, caramel and clove and finishing with plenty of spice and cinnamon. Very glad to have another bottle of those along with one of the 2005 and perhaps this tasting will encourage me to not drink all of my 2006 Anchors this season as I had planned to—I thought 2-3 years was the ideal cellar length for these, but apparently they can go far, far longer!

BTW, for those who haven’t tried it yet, I must say the 2009 Anchor Our Special Ale is a beauty, with the Monterey Cypress lending it its most up-front pine/tree sap flavor in years, easily my favorite I’ve had of the bunch. I need to buy a case or two of it to see how it cellars, but it’s far better than the recent vintages. They use a different tree each year.