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    Anchor’s Our Special Ale 2009

    December 17, 2009
    / Beer Review /
    7 Comments

    Name – Anchor’s Our Special Ale 2009
    Country – United States
    Type – Winter Warmer

    Appearance – Pours a dark red and borders on brown with red highlights around the edges of the glass.  Nice size tans head but it is gone pretty quick.

    Smell – Woah!  There is a lot going on here.  You get the cinnamon and nutmeg like you’d expect but there  is also some piney notes and dark fruits.

    Taste – Even bigger woah!  All those spices mixed with a heavy dark fruit flavor.  Think figs and dates.  There is a bit of a caramel taste in there as well and a little piney hops.  Ultra complex.

    I know that Anchor changes their recipe on this beer each year and I have heard people saying this is the best year ever.  Unfortunately this is my first to judge and it is definitely different.  There is so much complexity to this beer that it was almost sensory overload trying to pick out the flavors.  This is definitely not for a new comer but a big beer geek should really enjoy the hell out this one.

    Overall Grade – B-

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    Winterbraun

    December 16, 2009
    / Beer Review /
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    Name – Winterbraun
    Country – United States
    Type – English Brown Ale

    Appearance – Poured a clear, amazing deep red color with a big slightly off white head.

    Smell – Sweet caramel with some roasted malts and roasted nuts.

    Taste – Subtle roasted malts followed by roasted nuts and finishes smooth and sweet with caramel and a bit of a chocolate taste.

    Of the Lost Coast brews I have tried so far I have been underwhelmed but my never giving up on a brewery has paid off as I find Winterbraun to be a very good brown ale.  It doesn’t really have the winter type spices to it like other winter beers but does have a bit of a warming effect with the roasted nuts and malt type flavors in it.  I wish this one was a year rounder.

    Overall Grade – A

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    Bison Organic Gingerbread Ale

    December 15, 2009
    / Beer Review /
    3 Comments

    Name – Bison Organic Gingerbread Ale
    Country – United States
    Type – Spiced Beer

    Appearance – Pours a very dark and opaque brown with some lighter shades of brown around the edges of the glass.  There was really no head at all on either bottle I poured.

    Smell – Cinnamon, nutmeg, some cloves and a faint ginger smell.

    Taste – Sweet caramel with cinnamon and nutmeg.  Just a tad bit of gingerbread taste at the end.

    I love gingerbread so this was a no brainer for me to pick up.  And while I enjoyed the beer as a whole I was disappointed by how faint the gingerbread smells and tastes were in it.  As I tend to do when grading beers that say they have rye in them I guess I expect the taste of those to punch me in the face.  I also found it very odd that Shipyard’s Pumpkinhead had a more defined gingerbread taste to it and they are suppose to be a pumpkin beer.  As a beer itself I really enjoyed it but as a person expecting lots of gingerbread goodness I was a bit let down.

    Overall Grade – C

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