5 Vulture Oaxacan-Style Ale

My first encounter with Chicago's 5 Rabbit Cerveceria was a couple years ago at the Great Taste of the Midwest when I sampled their 5 Lizard Latin-style witbier which was great, especially on that hot day. 5 Rabbit was an Aztec deity who sybolized excess and over-indulgence and so the brewery aims to infuse Latin flavors into their craft beers.

5 Vulture is billed as an Oaxacan-style dark ale with piloncillo sugar and chile ancho. I'm not quite sure what makes this brew Oaxacan-style. Perhaps piloncillo sugar and anchos are more commonly used in Oaxacan cooking than in other areas of Mexico.

Regardless, the beer pours a nice dark amber. Head was minimal and what there was of it dissipated pretty quickly. It smelled very sweet. Part of the aroma was the roasted malt but I think most of it came from the piloncillo which gave it a prominent caramel scent along with some plum. You could also catch a hint of the smoky chiles.

This stuff is smooth. I'm not familiar with piloncillo sugar but the Interwebs say it's unrefined. The beer has a prominent caramel flavor along with a peach-like sweetness. There are lots of smoky undertones here which surely come from the combination of the sugar and the chiles. This is one of those brews where the flavors hit you all at once instead of revealing themselves as the liquid goes farther back in on your tongue. Hops here are moderate as they impart some bitterness to contrast all the sweetness but they don't add much flavor. For such a full-bodied beer, it doesn't taste thick. The non-smoky chile flavor is present in the finish and aftertaste, but only just. Here they give a faint pepper heat. By the time you've quaffed the bottle, your tongue tingles slightly but isn't burning in pain.

With the full body and an ABV of 6.4%, 5 Vulture is not ideal for 90 degree summer days. Having said this, I absolutely loved this beer and can see me with a snifterful come the autumn. The palimpsest of smoky sweetness and faint capsaicin burn that lingers make for a perfect autumnal warmer.

Junk food pairing: Some tortilla chips. The salt contrasts nicely with the sweetness and enhances the smokiness and chile flavors.