Brewery: Anchor Brewing Company
Location: San Francisco, USA
ABV: 5.5%
Version: 355ml bottle
Source: Gap Wines

Okay, so Christmas is over but as this ale’s full name is “Merry Christmas & Happy New Year 2008″ I can justify posting this. That and I only got the bottle yesterday.

Anchor have been brewing their Christmas Ale since 1975, and each year they change the label and the recipe. The former features a different tree each time (the current one is a Jeffrey Pine, according to the Pint Log) while the latter remains a secret. This is my first year sampling this so I’m no position to compare it with previous incarnations.

Enough preamble, on with the pouring and tasting. Anchor suggest on their website that this be refridgerated if being stored for any length of time but there’s no mention on the label of serving chilled, so at I did so at room temperature (plus it seems strange to me to serve a winter beer chilled, although maybe not so in California). It’s a very dark, virtually opaque, brown with just a hint of red when held up to the light. The aroma is at first malty, with some caramel biscuity qualities and a touch of light fruit. All very complex and a bit of a mystery - maybe pine to match the label? The taste is just as interesting a mix. Malt comes through straight away, with some chocolate and fresh herbs (some of those secret ingredients) and I’m fairly sure I detected a touch of butterscotch in there too. All very smooth, but with a slight bitterness coming through to add a little bit of bite to the finish. Lovely stuff.