As the holiday season approaches each year we all reach out to our traditions and holiday customs to celebrate the season. We’re no different on the WILK Friday BeerBuzz as we welcome the holiday season by reaching out to the friends we’ve met along the way.
After last year’s appearance on our show, I knew we had a new holiday tradition on the Friday BeerBuzz with Anchor Christmas Ale and our pal brewmaster Mark Carpenter. What better way to celebrate the season than by welcoming Mark back with this year’s version of Anchor Christmas Ale or Our Special Ale as many know it. Mark kindly agreed to wake up early again to talk to us and we were honored to have him back.
Anchor Christmas Ale began in 1975 and in it’s 38th year, the recipe has never been the same as any previous year. Each year the beer uses a top-secret set of ingredients to achieve it’s rich and unique flavors. Each year the beer also features a classic label featuring a specific tree hand drawn by 83-year old label artist Jim Stitt. Of course this year is no different, and the label features a Norfolk Island Pine drawn from a real tree in Golden Gate Park. Trees symbolize the winter solstice and the change of seasons and as you’ll see when you taste it, this is the perfect beer to celebrate the winter season. Anchor Christmas Ale is a 5.5% ABV, slightly spicy, slightly malty and infinitely drinkable winter brew. You’ll find notes of dark fruit, caramel and winter spices, and the beer itself is simply pretty to look at with it’s reddish brown color.
It was fun quizzing Mark about the direction Anchor Christmas Ale will move toward in the future. Mark mentioned in a previous interview that they had possibly exhausted the traditional style of this beer so we’ll be excited to see what changes he may make in 2013. It was of course also fun talking to Mark about the Anchor brewery itself. If you get a chance to visit this brewery, DO SO….it is a beautiful facility and it has some of the most amazing copper kettles you’ll ever see.
Try Anchor Christmas for yourself, and if you’re lucky enough to find some samples from previous years, try them all together. This beer ages well and gets even more complex and interesting as it ages.
T
hank you to Mark Carpenter from Anchor Brewing, Nancy, John & Joe for yet another
fun Friday.
The Friday BeerBuzz…bringing good beers and good people together. As always you can check out the video on-line at the WILK Friday BeerBuzz page by clicking HERE.
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Anchor Christmas Ale 2012 is excellent!
ReplyDeleteWe can thank Mark Carpenter for that. And we can thank him for getting up at 5:30am to be on the WILK Friday Beer Buzz! A thrill to have him on the show.
Thanks Mark! Thanks Bill from MyBeerBuzz.com, and thanks to you for listening!
Best,
John
webster@wilknewsradio.com
Thank you to Mark Carpenter for joining us today to sample Anchor Brewing Our Special Ale 2012. Mark not only gets up at 5:30AM he manages to be awake and a great guest as well. Thanks Mark!
ReplyDeleteWe're working on the video (coming soon) and I'm working on comment moderation...crazy day so please be patient!
ReplyDeleteGreat show guys. I already bought a sixer of Anchor. Cheers to Mark.
ReplyDeleteEric
I bought Anchor OSA last weekend. A whole case too. I love your show and Mark Carpenter is a good guest too. Nice job guys. JJ
ReplyDeleteThis is a beer i buy every year. Nice to see it on the show today. Cheers! Jerry
ReplyDeleteAn excellent guest! Mark Carpenter returns to the Friday beerbuzz! Rock on Anchor Brewing. I never knew what the steam beer meant!
ReplyDeleteJason
Me too. I thought the brewery was Anchor Steam and the beer used steam to brew it. Thank you beer buzz. Mary
ReplyDeleteHey I called in today. Nice show and I too love the Anchor Christmas ale.
ReplyDeleteMark
I always manage to learn something about beer on your show and laugh too. I think you should have Mark Carpenter on every week. I love his enthusiasm for the craft of brewing.
ReplyDeleteRob
Thanks Rob and everyone. We have a blast doing the show and I agree that Mark Carpenter is a great guest and has a passion for brewing. We'd have him every week but I think we'd wear him out waking up so early.
ReplyDeleteNice show. I love OSA and I love that it's not politically correct. Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteChris
Now I will be VERY curious to see what Mark brews for next year's 2013 OSA. Thanks for asking him. Good investigative beer reporting. He seemed surprised that you knew about California Lager and the potential revamp of 2013 OSA. Nice show. Jenna
ReplyDeleteThanks Jenna. We were lucky enough to time the show with the approval of the California Lager label and the interview Mark did relative to 2013 OSA. He answered both questions very well.
ReplyDeleteI love the beer and the show and who knew the guest was so cool! TJ
ReplyDeleteRock on buzzers. Howard the Duck would be proud.
ReplyDeleteHi buzzers. I'm surprised at the guests you get each week too. The beer they make is some of the best and this is Mark's second appearance isn't it?
ReplyDeleteChris Tal
Yes Chris. Mark Carpenter joined us last December to feature OSA 2011. He's a fantastic guest and we look forward to talking to him again in the future.
ReplyDelete