Michelob Celebrate Vanilla Oak

Brewed by Anheuser-Busch InBev
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
St. Louis, Missouri USA

All alcohol in the nose. Light amber color with a small head. Initial vanilla going into a slight alcohol burn and finishing with a imitation vanilla flavor that lasts with a slight amount of alcohol still coming though. Weak palate.

Pours a clear copper with a fizzy tan head that dissipates in a flash. The aroma is sort of a tainted sweetness, like a spiced pale lager scent. As the beer warmed the scent matured giving off vanilla and oak scents that became far more pleasant than my first impression. Slight bitter taste at first that becomes sweet vanilla. Like the scent the vanilla and even some oak hints come out as the beer warms up. Vanilla seems a bit overstated. Thick and creamy in the mouth, and warming. You can detect a heavy carbonation in the mouth which runs counter to the sweet smoothness evident elsewhere. Interesting, but inconsistent brew.

Though this brew has a fully vanilla wafer cookie nose and flavor, it seems contrived. The vanilla does not mix with the rest of the beer. It kind of sits on top feeeling sickly sweet. It definitely hides its 10% character well. Over all, this brew would have benefited from some hop character and less vanilla. Overly agressive and not refined. A weak thin tan head only makes it worse.

nice amber-brown body with reddish orange-amber highlight, minimal lacing, small light tan head that dissipates quickly, random medium-sized bubbles; wood, vanilla, cola--primarily; feels nice, subtle yet nothing really, alive yet subdued, medium carbonation, slightly syrupy; sigh, this beer does hurt a bit... negatron on the bitterness, it’s just not my bitterness, and i like bitter and i love IPAs! so what gives? it’s artificial, generic, it lost its soul to big money corpor... anyway. too sweet, cola-like, better as it is warmed though, gets chewy a... and, well, do yourself a favor and buy a well-known and highly rated micro: :o) UPDATE: downrated overall impression.

Pours amber with an orange tint an an off white head. Quite sparkling. Aroma is maple syrup, alcohol, caramel, toasted bread, a hint of bourbon, and a good amount of vanilla. I have to say I love it. The flavor is sweet vanilla malt. There is a huge vanilla taste to this beer. Malty and smooth with some toasted notes to compliment the vanilla. I like vanilla and this has mad crazy vanilla. Gets sweeter as you go, and too much to drink more than a glass of per sitting. Ok I don’t really love it, but the huge vanilla taste was a thrill for me. A bit thin in the body.

Really not too bad in spite of our prejudice. This is the 2005 version. Called on the label a "dark" beer and I guess it’s darker than a pilsner, buttttt... Aroma is vanilla and a hint of spice and malt. Flavor is a little too sweet and too vanilla, but there’s a real nice bourbon characteristic that comes thru in the finish. Can’t sense the booze at all. Not a session beer.

Bottle...or suppository...you be the judge. This one poured a crimson-orange color with a off white head. The alluring aroma of circus peanuts hits when I realize...it’s not JSUT orange marshmallow circus peanuts...but as if someone doused the dreaded things in vanilla extract! The flavor also holds simliar elements: vanilla extract coupled with Splenda malts and other artifical flavors...and wood chips. Soft mouthfeel...somewhat creamy mid-way with a terrific medicinal finish. Oddly enough it tastes very similar to that awful Winter Cask stuff that AB also does. Honestly, I’d rather just drink a bud-light if I had to choose. For those counting...this was #500

7 oz Bottle (2005?). Strong vanilla aroma, sweet like frosting. Cloudy, murky brown with no head. Tastes like vanilla-flavored water, intensely vanilla with no sense of balance. Sugary, sort of disgusting. Nearly uncarbonated, thin and offensive.