5 Rabbit Cerveceria
Chicago, IL
Oaxacan-Style Dark Ale brewed with piloncillo sugar and chile ancho. 5 Vulture is a deep amber-colored ale with complex caramel aromas with toasted sugar notes and a long, elegant spicy finish. Roasted ancho chile is used to add depth and complexity, without adding heat or strong chile flavors.
ABV: 6.4
ABW: 5.12
COLOR: 18
BITTERNESS: 20
ORIGINAL GRAVITY: N/A
AVAILABLE: IL, OH, PA
Dark copper-red in color, 5 Vulture doesn’t hit you over the head with its peppers. Instead, it waits until you’ve almost written the spiciness off and then it gently sneaks the ancho peppers in. Not hot, not vegetable peppery, just slightly spicy—almost no more than a lingering tingle on the tongue and a mildly astringent presence after you’ve taken the sip. The predominant flavors are caramel, toasted sugar and a hint of earthiness, mirroring the aromas that first meet the nose. One worth seeking, even if you don’t normally like chili beers.
Hurray! A chili beer you actually want to drink and not just dare to drink. Despite being somewhat confused by the name, I’m impressed with this dark, complex beer. The aroma is tempting enough, with its chocolate fudge and peppery spice notes, but the taste then delivers even more. Firm chocolate, caramel and coffee flavors provide the bedrock as the taste slips on to the sweet side of bittersweet, and then the burning chili character emerges. After a warming swallow, chili and chocolate linger, the heat building nicely the more you sip.
Lisa Morrison, aka The Beer Goddess, writes about beer whenever and wherever she can and also gets to talk about it on a weekly radio show in her hometown of Portland, OR.
Author of the Good Bottled Beer Guide and The Book of Beer Knowledge, Jeff Evans is an eight-time editor of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide. More of his writing can be found at www.insidebeer.com.
