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We’re having our ABNormal Brewers steering meeting tonight at Fat Jack’s, and Fred, our former president, brought this bottle to share. He said he found it at a liquor store up near Chicago, and they had several 6 packs of every year of Anchor’s Christmas Ale since 1999. I’ve already rated Anchor’s 2010 Christmas Ale.
It was a deep, dark brown color, and had very little head on it. In fact, it didn’t seem to have much carbonation left in it at all. The aroma was pretty big, full of raisins, figs, and a bit of a oaky-alcohol aroma like a barrel aged beer.
The body was surprisingly light, and it was very smooth drinking without any carbonation. The flavor was a complex mix of fig, raisin, and bit of a stale maltiness that could have been a bit of oxydation.
I think this would probably go best with a coffee, carrot, or spice cake. The complex raisin and fig flavors would be soaked into the cake, making for an even more complex tastiness.
I was very surprised at how well this beer stood up to time, given that it is 11 years old. I really enjoyed the aroma, especially the oaky-alcohol flavor. However, the body was a bit light to age this long, and the staleness detracted a bit from the taste. Overall, it wasn’t too bad, although it’s peaked my interest in trying some of these from the early-mid 2000’s.
My Rating: 
Reader Ratings[five-star-rating]
February 3, 2012
Over the years I bought multiple years worth of Anchors Special Christmas/New Years Ales at the Blue Max in Burnsville, MN. Some dating to 1999, these hold up very well, and seem to take on a soured flavor. I might be trying to justify taking up fridge space for 12 years with a bottle of beer, but it was fun to know good things are still good that many years later.