Beer of the Weekend #182: Anchor Christmas Ale 2010
Fitting for the first significant snowfall of the winter season (that is, if it will ever come), the beer of the weekend is Anchor Christmas Ale 2010, brewed by the Anchor Brewing Company of San Francisco, California.
After my first experiences with winter warmers two years ago (BotW #35: Winterhook Winter Ale and BotW #36: Anchor Christmas Ale 2008), I stayed far away from them last year, even shying from Anchor’s celebrated seasonal release. They were too aggressive, hoppy, and unbeerlike for my tastes; I was shocked as hell to find flavors of cinnamon and pine in beer. However, while sampling winter releases for my Little Village recommendation, I realized my brewtooth has changed and matured a lot. Though not my favorite, I feel winter warmers, with their added spice, hops, and alcohol, are a very festive and proper drink for the holiday and winter season.
Speaking of my LV recommendation, I waited and waited for this year’s Christmas Ale to arrive in the area. However, it was not delivered until recently. The first time I heard it was available was Wednesday, when Bobblehead told me he had a sixer. At his place that night, I gave his pint a whiff but reserved tasting for tonight. Having sampled Snowstorm 2010 and Breckenridge’s Christmas Ale, Bobblehead said he was very disappointed in Anchor’s winter offering.
Also apt tonight, I am using the limited edition Christmas Ale 2009 pint my mom bought at Anchor. As far as I know, this is the first time it has been used (my parents never drink). I will ask Mervgotti if there are any spare bottles of the 2009 vintage at the Pabst Mecca; if so, I will properly sample them in the 2009 glass. Anchor apparently releases a limited edition glass for every Christmas Ale release, and I am willing to bet there is some beer nut out there who owns the entire collection. I am torn between jealousy and pity.
Serving type: Six 12-ounce bottles. Anchor stamps a cryptic, but decipherable, freshness code onto the back label of each bottle, but the stamp on this first pint of Christmas Ale 2010 was way too faint to read.
Appearance: Straight pour into a pint glass. The color is a dark brown with a ruby tint, especially at the edges. Three fingers of a creamy, cappuccino-like head developed and dissipated slowly to leave a bubbly and thick lacing and ring around the edge.
Smell: The immediate smell is of cherries, cinnamon spice, and brown sugar. It also has a nutty, brown ale quality to it. Hidden underneath are caramel malts, maybe a little bit of a darker fruit (probably plum), and a hint of toffee.
Taste: The flavor is a malt surprise. Though the dominant cherries, cinnamon, and brown sugar from the smell are present, sweet caramel and milk chocolate malts vie for prominence. The dark fruit is also more pronounced. After the pint has warmed, the spices fall into the background to provide a deep and supplemental complexity. Though there is a little, lingering bitterness to the aftertaste, the hop presence is almost nonexistent.
Drinkability: It reminds me a lot of the ’08 vintage, the only other Anchor Christmas Ale I have tried. However, this time I actually liked it. This year’s version is loaded with flavor and is very drinkable.
Fun facts about Christmas Ale 2010:
-Style: Winter warmer.
-Price: $10.49/sixer at the New Pioneer Food Co-op on Washington Street in Iowa City. Yes, I finally bought a BotW somewhere other than John’s. It almost feels blasphemous. However, I bought a sixer of Mild Winter there on Wednesday and took it to Bobblehead’s, so I made my obligatory John’s beer run this week.
-Serving temperature: 45-50ºF.
-Alcohol content: 5.5 percent ABV. I want more from a winter warmer.
-Food pairings: BA recommends general dessert, and poultry and game meat.
-The tree featured on this year’s label is the Ginkgo biloba tree. Ginkgos shed rancid smelling fruit seed, which I hate. The front lawn at City High has a ginkgo tree, though I do not remember it producing seeds, and there are one or two in the UI Pentacrest, which do produce seeds. When the seeds fell and students crushed them underfoot, that area of campus reeked like mad.
-Christmas Ale is only available (supposedly) from November to January.
The Quiet Man’s grade: A-.
After my first experiences with winter warmers two years ago (BotW #35: Winterhook Winter Ale and BotW #36: Anchor Christmas Ale 2008), I stayed far away from them last year, even shying from Anchor’s celebrated seasonal release. They were too aggressive, hoppy, and unbeerlike for my tastes; I was shocked as hell to find flavors of cinnamon and pine in beer. However, while sampling winter releases for my Little Village recommendation, I realized my brewtooth has changed and matured a lot. Though not my favorite, I feel winter warmers, with their added spice, hops, and alcohol, are a very festive and proper drink for the holiday and winter season.
Speaking of my LV recommendation, I waited and waited for this year’s Christmas Ale to arrive in the area. However, it was not delivered until recently. The first time I heard it was available was Wednesday, when Bobblehead told me he had a sixer. At his place that night, I gave his pint a whiff but reserved tasting for tonight. Having sampled Snowstorm 2010 and Breckenridge’s Christmas Ale, Bobblehead said he was very disappointed in Anchor’s winter offering.
Also apt tonight, I am using the limited edition Christmas Ale 2009 pint my mom bought at Anchor. As far as I know, this is the first time it has been used (my parents never drink). I will ask Mervgotti if there are any spare bottles of the 2009 vintage at the Pabst Mecca; if so, I will properly sample them in the 2009 glass. Anchor apparently releases a limited edition glass for every Christmas Ale release, and I am willing to bet there is some beer nut out there who owns the entire collection. I am torn between jealousy and pity.
Serving type: Six 12-ounce bottles. Anchor stamps a cryptic, but decipherable, freshness code onto the back label of each bottle, but the stamp on this first pint of Christmas Ale 2010 was way too faint to read.
Appearance: Straight pour into a pint glass. The color is a dark brown with a ruby tint, especially at the edges. Three fingers of a creamy, cappuccino-like head developed and dissipated slowly to leave a bubbly and thick lacing and ring around the edge.
Smell: The immediate smell is of cherries, cinnamon spice, and brown sugar. It also has a nutty, brown ale quality to it. Hidden underneath are caramel malts, maybe a little bit of a darker fruit (probably plum), and a hint of toffee.
Taste: The flavor is a malt surprise. Though the dominant cherries, cinnamon, and brown sugar from the smell are present, sweet caramel and milk chocolate malts vie for prominence. The dark fruit is also more pronounced. After the pint has warmed, the spices fall into the background to provide a deep and supplemental complexity. Though there is a little, lingering bitterness to the aftertaste, the hop presence is almost nonexistent.
Drinkability: It reminds me a lot of the ’08 vintage, the only other Anchor Christmas Ale I have tried. However, this time I actually liked it. This year’s version is loaded with flavor and is very drinkable.
Fun facts about Christmas Ale 2010:
-Style: Winter warmer.
-Price: $10.49/sixer at the New Pioneer Food Co-op on Washington Street in Iowa City. Yes, I finally bought a BotW somewhere other than John’s. It almost feels blasphemous. However, I bought a sixer of Mild Winter there on Wednesday and took it to Bobblehead’s, so I made my obligatory John’s beer run this week.
-Serving temperature: 45-50ºF.
-Alcohol content: 5.5 percent ABV. I want more from a winter warmer.
-Food pairings: BA recommends general dessert, and poultry and game meat.
-The tree featured on this year’s label is the Ginkgo biloba tree. Ginkgos shed rancid smelling fruit seed, which I hate. The front lawn at City High has a ginkgo tree, though I do not remember it producing seeds, and there are one or two in the UI Pentacrest, which do produce seeds. When the seeds fell and students crushed them underfoot, that area of campus reeked like mad.
-Christmas Ale is only available (supposedly) from November to January.
The Quiet Man’s grade: A-.
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