Beer of the Weekend #189: Anchor Christmas Ale 2009
Happy holidays, everyone! (A very belated happy Hanukkah for those of the Jewish faith.) If you are traveling anywhere in Iowa tomorrow, drive safe; the six to 10 inches of snow that fell today have left the roads slick and slushy. I braved the conditions for a quick trip to Dirty John’s in my Corolla. It was the first time I drove my car in a lot of snow, and it was very interesting. Go slow…especially you bastards who passed me on Market and Jefferson Streets driving like the pavement was dry. Four-wheel drive cannot solve everything.
It is time for a very special Christmas Eve BotW.
Last Friday, at the Mervgotti Distributing holiday get-together, I asked Papa Mervgotti if he had any leftover Anchor Christmas Ale 2009. In the warehouse fridge, he dug through boxes of vintage Christmas Ale’s, some from 1999 and 200_. (One of his friends accidentally drank the last 2000. I took a whiff from the bottle when the guy was preoccupied, and it smelled incredible.) He was almost to the point of giving up when he found two 2009s and gave them to me. The 2009, he said, was probably one of the best Christmas Ale’s Anchor has released, so I feel very blessed that he willingly gave me the last (supposedly) of his stock.
In honor of Papa Mervgotti, this Christmas Eve beer of the weekend is Anchor Christmas Ale 2009, brewed by the Anchor Brewing Company of San Francisco, California.
As I said I would if I had the chance, I am using my mom’s Christmas Ale 2009 pint glass. Now that’s apt, baby.
Serving type: Two 12-ounce bottles. The cryptic bottling date on the back label is “90V,” which translates to October 22, 2009. Oddly, not only was that my 27th birthday, but also the exact day I toured the Anchor brewery. Perhaps this very bottle was rolling through the filling, capping, or packaging line when I was in the same room.
Appearance: Straight pour into a pint glass. The color is a ruby brown. Two fingers of slightly tanned head developed and dissipated to leave a paper-thin lacing and ring around the edge.
Smell: Very Christmas-like. Cinnamon spice is most noticeable, and there is a hint of pine as well. Toasted chocolate, caramel, nutmeg, and dark fruit (something like figs) follows.
Taste: Mirrors the aroma, but is very smooth and the flavors create a nice, balanced medley. There is immediately cinnamon and a little pine spice, which is tamed by the usual suspects from the smell: toasted chocolate, caramel, nutmeg, and fig.
Drinkability: Good stuff, and good luck getting a bottle.
Fun facts about Christmas Ale 2009:
-Style: Winter Warmer.
-Price: This stuff is hard to come by now. I do not even want to know how much a sixer of this stuff costs on the beer black market, a.k.a. BeerAdvocate or eBay. Basically, the only way you will be able to enjoy this is if you have a connection (comme moi) or buy a couple bottles from some beer nut’s private cellar.
-Serving temperature: 45-50ºF.
-Alcohol content: 5.5 percent ABV.
-Food pairings: Screw it. I don’t care. As I do with all my beer, I am not pairing it with anything other than itself tonight.
The Quiet Man’s grade: A-.
It is time for a very special Christmas Eve BotW.
Last Friday, at the Mervgotti Distributing holiday get-together, I asked Papa Mervgotti if he had any leftover Anchor Christmas Ale 2009. In the warehouse fridge, he dug through boxes of vintage Christmas Ale’s, some from 1999 and 200_. (One of his friends accidentally drank the last 2000. I took a whiff from the bottle when the guy was preoccupied, and it smelled incredible.) He was almost to the point of giving up when he found two 2009s and gave them to me. The 2009, he said, was probably one of the best Christmas Ale’s Anchor has released, so I feel very blessed that he willingly gave me the last (supposedly) of his stock.
In honor of Papa Mervgotti, this Christmas Eve beer of the weekend is Anchor Christmas Ale 2009, brewed by the Anchor Brewing Company of San Francisco, California.
As I said I would if I had the chance, I am using my mom’s Christmas Ale 2009 pint glass. Now that’s apt, baby.
Serving type: Two 12-ounce bottles. The cryptic bottling date on the back label is “90V,” which translates to October 22, 2009. Oddly, not only was that my 27th birthday, but also the exact day I toured the Anchor brewery. Perhaps this very bottle was rolling through the filling, capping, or packaging line when I was in the same room.
Appearance: Straight pour into a pint glass. The color is a ruby brown. Two fingers of slightly tanned head developed and dissipated to leave a paper-thin lacing and ring around the edge.
Smell: Very Christmas-like. Cinnamon spice is most noticeable, and there is a hint of pine as well. Toasted chocolate, caramel, nutmeg, and dark fruit (something like figs) follows.
Taste: Mirrors the aroma, but is very smooth and the flavors create a nice, balanced medley. There is immediately cinnamon and a little pine spice, which is tamed by the usual suspects from the smell: toasted chocolate, caramel, nutmeg, and fig.
Drinkability: Good stuff, and good luck getting a bottle.
Fun facts about Christmas Ale 2009:
-Style: Winter Warmer.
-Price: This stuff is hard to come by now. I do not even want to know how much a sixer of this stuff costs on the beer black market, a.k.a. BeerAdvocate or eBay. Basically, the only way you will be able to enjoy this is if you have a connection (comme moi) or buy a couple bottles from some beer nut’s private cellar.
-Serving temperature: 45-50ºF.
-Alcohol content: 5.5 percent ABV.
-Food pairings: Screw it. I don’t care. As I do with all my beer, I am not pairing it with anything other than itself tonight.
The Quiet Man’s grade: A-.
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