5 Vulture - 5 Rabbit Cerveceria

    5 Vulture is a dark Chile Beer brewed by 5 Rabbit Cerveceria in Chicago, Illinois. Being a new resident of Chicago, I've been making an effort to find local beers to review. I was actually attracted to this beer based on its description first, and then later I noticed it was from here!

    Vulture pours a deep, dark brown with ruby highlights. A mocha head tops the beer, and slowly fades into a thick layer of bubbles which leaves massive lacing.

    The Chile Beer smells of toasted sugars, as well as a strong amount of roasted chile. Caramel and toffee malts make up the remainder of the beer's aroma.

    5 Vulture is light to medium bodied with a similar level of carbonation. At first I expected a sort of Porter-like body, but really the beer is more similar to an Amber Ale when it comes to mouthfeel. The beer has an alcohol content of 6.4% ABV.

How often do you see these guys are your local watering hole?

    5 Rabbit's Chile Beer is much more mild in flavor than you might imagine. Caramel malts and toasted sugar sweetness first meet your tongue, before the strangely interesting roasted chile flavor makes itself known. When I picked up this beer, I was really hoping for a chocolatey, roasty porter with a chile kick at the end. Instead, the chile is less of a star, and more of a supporting character. The vegetable flavor adds an interesting twist on what would otherwise be a very average brew. There really isn't any spice from the chile though, which I find disappointing.

    You know, as far as animals with the most appealing diets go, vultures really get the short end of the stick. I mean, sure, we all eat things after they are dead, but vultures take this to an extreme. I can only imagine that they need a nice beer after their meal, if nothing else, to get the taste of rotten impala out of their mouths. I'd recommend something a bit higher in alcohol than this beer, however.

    While the inclusion of chiles definitely adds a twist to this beer, I don't really feel like it's enough to make me search it out. If there had been more of a chile spice, the beer would stick out more in my mind. I can't say that there is anything unpleasant about the beer, but it will fade from my memory without something to help it stick out.

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