Up from the Cellar for December will be focusing on multiple vintages of the Anchor Christmas beer. I will be covering the years 2008-2014. Today’s post goes back to 2010 and 2011.
(You can check out last years review HERE)
2010 This one tastes much like a regular, current year offering would taste like. Though there is a creeping set of flavors that remind me of the 2008 version. Tartness. Cherry like notes. But right now they are at bay and the malt is nice and there is a bit of bitterness to it still.
2011 Finally a beer without a red tint! The progression from year to year shows a marked growth from too sour-ish cherry back to the holiday themed taste that I am used to. But they are all of a piece. And flavors that are foreground in older vintages are bit players in later years. There is even a bit of chocolate notes in 2011. 2009 is such an outlier in comparison.
My winner though is the 2010. There is simply more hop bite here that covers the ferric fruit tang that is super prevalent in 2008 and still there in 2011.