Curtis is over for tonight's beer tasting, which began with a mystical event. He pulled the bottle of beer out of the fridge and held it up to look at the bottom of the label, whereupon there was a sound as of angels singing in chorus to herald the drinking of the brew. Actually it was just his phone going off, which was much less epic and an unfortunate sign of things to come.
The Anchor Christmas Ale has been brewed for every holiday season for 35 years, and is categorized as a Winter Warmer by people who like to categorize things. This is apparently a generic term for a seasonal ale, as there are many different varieties and pretty much the only thing they have in common is that they are strangely spiced.
This beer proved to be no exception. It was much darker than expected, more like a porter or stout, and relatively thick. Eric could not get past what he called a "strong clovey taste like a Christmas ham"; he found it really weird. Both Eric and Curtis claimed that it was not very hoppy, kind of malty, and not very complex, although other denizens of the internet also report notes of nutmeg, licorice and root beer.
In the end, this is the kind of thing you should try but may not like, not bad but a specific taste that some people may love and some people may find weird. The preferred Christmas option so far has been Santa's Private Reserve from the good people at Rogue Ales, but unfortunately it was enjoyed prior to the commencement of this blog so a full report is unavailable.
Just the facts, ma'am: Anchor Christmas Ale 2009, Anchor Brewing Company, California, Winter Warmer, 5.5% alcohol by volume
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