Festive Ale Focus: Anchor Christmas Ale 2011
We put our Christmas tree up today as it would have been absurd to have put it up any sooner. I thought it was fitting to celebrate this occasion with an Anchor Christmas Ale from San Francisco, as the label features a drawing of a tree. The type of tree changes every year, with this year’s tree being a pinus longaeva. It sounds rather rude if you try to say it aloud.
Anchor Christmas Ale is brewed to a slightly different recipe every year. It’s the first time I’ve tried it so I can’t compare it to previous years, but I thought this 5.5% ABV ale tasted pretty good. There is some Christmas spice flavour in there and possibly some pine, but that may be due to autosuggestion from the picture on the label. I bought it at The Offie, where a small (12oz/350ml) bottle cost me over three quid. I’ll probably not buy it again this year purely on price grounds, but I’ll be interested to try the 2012 version when it comes out.
