Pinus longaeva

What is Pinus longaeva you ask? Well the answer is quite simple, Pinus longaeva is the scientific name for the Great Basin Bristlecone Pine, which is a tree found only in California, Utah and Nevada, and boasts the distinction of having the oldest non-clonal organism specimen on earth, at 4,842 years (thank you wikipedia...). But more relevant for this blog, it is the tree featured on this years "Our Special Ale" from Anchor Steam brewery in San Francisco.

Yes, I know my last post was on Anchor Steam, and this is starting to look like favoritism, but I assure you it is much less nefarious than that. I simply write when I have time, and I happen to have had time when I was drinking this beer.

Each year, many breweries put out special holiday brews, and Anchor Steam is no exception. It is impressive that this year's brew is their 37th edition, and as with every other year, it is a new recipe made exclusively for 2011, with a new tree featured on the label. Inspired by a display I saw on my tour of their brewery, and giving in to my collector nature, I will be saving a bottle of this beer each year to start my own chronological collection. Enough of the nonsense, and on to the review.

Appearance - The best way to describe this beer, is the darkest brown you can imagine without being called black. Even when poured in a clear pint glass and held up to eye level, the beer is translucent, with only a hint of root beer coloring.

Smell - One of my favorite ways to smell a beer is to have my nose by the cap so that as I open the beer I get the first whiff of smell as opposed to a more oxygenated version. For this initial smell I would describe this beer's scent as fairly typical of a holiday beer having clove, spice and cinnamon notes, but fairly unexpected was a nice hint of pine.

Taste - Roasty malt and clove, with a hint of pine, and as mentioned in smell, the usual spices to be expected from a a seasonal winter.

Mouthfeel - I would definitely call this a creamy medium body, with low to medium carbonation. On initial pour, there is a good amount of light caramel colored head, but this dissipates to provide just a smooth topping to each sip as you drink the beer.

Overall: If I was having a party at my house for Christmas, it would be great to have a pony keg on tap for all to enjoy. As it is, after the one bottle I plan to save and the one I drank, I have four remaining, and I will be enjoying these all to myself.

Happy holidays to all!