Malty Anchor’s 2007 Christmas Ale is the 33rd in a series of annual Christmas gifts to beer lovers everywhere from San Francisco’s legendary Anchor Brewing Company. Each is made from a new secret recipe and features a different tree label sharing holiday wishes, Anchor’s Christmas card to the world.

In the glass, this year’s offering glows reddish-brown and sports a head as thick and fluffy as Santa’s beard. A liberal helping of caramelly malt makes this full-bodied ale as sweet and strong as a Christmas fruitcake, laden with flavors of rum-soaked raisins and figs, while malt aromas of hard toffee and gingerbread compete with a piney edge of herbal hops.

Good boys and girls may find some Anchor Christmas Ale in their stockings this year, but needn’t rush to drink it up. This is one of the first American beers to be designed to cellar as well as a fine wine. While it’s a tasty treat now, a year or two of aging (in a cool, dark place) will do this beer a world of good.

Image, anchorbrewing.com

This entry was posted on Friday, December 21st, 2007 at 6:00 am and is filed under What to Drink, Wine & Spirits. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Posted by Marnie Old on 12/21/07 in What to Drink, Wine & Spirits