Anchor Brewery Christmas Ale
Anchor Brewing Company
5.5%
San Francisco, California, USA

Anchor Brewery create some fantastic beer and have been around since 1896. Their ‘standard’ lager which I sampled in London’s best burger joint Honest Burgers reminds me a bit of Sierra Nevada. Every year Anchor Brewery produce a special one off Christmas ale that is different every year. To get in the Christmas spirit I picked one up to sample.

The Christmas ale is incredibly dark in colour and bitter in taste. I tend to drink more stouts and porters now and have been trying several varieties of dark bitter. The Anchor Brewery Christmas ale is extremely strong in flavour and perhaps for me, a bit too bitter in flavour. I’d say 5.5% is the average ABV of a pint but the Christmas ale definitely tastes like it could be double that.

I ‘m sure there are people out there who will love this pint. A lot of care and attention to detail has gone into crafting up a festive drop however the bitterness is just too much for my mouth to deal with it. Anchor Brewery say, “The Ale’s recipe is different every year—as is the tree on the label—but the intent with which we offer it remains the same: joy and celebration of the newness of life. Since ancient times, trees have symbolized the winter solstice when the earth, with its seasons, appears born anew. Our tree for 2013 is the California White Fir.” The tree on the label is absolutely lovely and symbolises Christmas.

Fantastic branding and a superb little bottle. I just didn’t feel much about the flavour, a huge shame!

BITTER: 5
SWEET: 1
DESIGN: 4
OVERALL: 2