Michelob Celebrate Vanilla Oak

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

2005 Drank 8/2/06 Aroma: Nice scent of sugary molasses, alcohol, with a hint a vanilla and dark woods. Appearance: Hazy amber brown with a decent head of off white bubbles, but not as nice a head as I usally prefer. Screw off cap and shrunk wrap bottle were a little less than top notch and had me worried about the contents. Flavor: Poweful alchohol (at 10% I would expect no less really) with some malty sweetness, caramel, and vanilla. There was an unpleasant metallic taste that effected the other flavors. Palate: Dry as I would expect but not as dry as it could be. Finished fairly quickly. Left a sweet taste over time. Overall: I had a hard time placing what this beer reminded me of but I think it somewhat resembles Anchor Steam. Although in saying that I will also say I much prefer Anchor Steam to this brew. There was the metallic flavor that damaged my enjoyment of this brew but after I rated it and saw a 3 I realized it was right where it needed to be.

Not as bad as it could have been, that’s what I say. The pour was dark with a good head. The aroma was definitely of vanilla and coffee. The taste was very watery and thin which was the one major letdown for this beer. The flavor wasn’t that bad, but the mouthfeel detracted from it so much that it made it less enjoyable. I’m actually glad companies like Michelob are trying to broaden their horizons--maybe a few more people come over to the "good" side because of a beer like this...

10/5/07 From the bottle. Aroma is complex and clashes a little with notes of alcohol, candilike sweetness, vanilla and dark dried fruit. Appearance is clear reddish tan with no head. Flavor is sweet vanilla malt forward with some raisiny character and light alcohol. Mouthfeel is full bodied, slightly creamy with a medium carb feel. Overall, this is a bit strange, but could probably get pretty good with some aging.

In the torpedo and in the wine bottle. I get these yearly and have tried them aged and fresh. It has a amber glow with a quickly dissolving thin head. It has an overwhelming vanilla aroma and flavor. It is too sweet to drink more then 2 glasses . If you can imagine a super sweet barley wine this is it. I took one to a wine tasting . It was interesting watching wine drinkers try to decipher what kind of “wine” this was.

Hmmm... strange but I can appreciate that vanilla is lacing a primarily hop aroma. EKGs? Nice color -- copper with a thin layer of fine cream colored foam. Lightly sweet, easy edged -- a lot easier drinking than I would have hoped./imagined. Slightly foaming on the tongue but medium to medium low effervescence. Like a thin version of Rogue or Sam Adams lager. Lightly spicy finish -- hop or alcohol. I wanted more complexity for the money. It’s not just subtle -- there’s not much here. I really wanted to like this one and bury the Anheuser-Busch critics. This just isn’t there yet -- I want a lot more beer in my beer, especially if it’s touted as something special.

Bottle from the Celebrate Gift Set. Poured into the snifter that came with the set. Orange-amber pour with only spotty bubbles around the edge. Nose is vanilla, alcohol notes, wood, caramel, sweet malts and candy. Taste is pretty much following the aroma - malty and sweet with vanilla, wood, bourbon notes, light candyish hints and soft alcohol. Body is light and slick with only mild carbonation. Finishes with more candyish notes, sweet malts, light grassy notes, wood, and vanilla. Not that bad, actually!

This one starts out OK. The pour is hazy ruby copper with aroma of grainy pale malt, some caramel, big vanilla. The taste is sweet, with a lot of caramel malt, heavy vanilla, some oaky bourbony hints. It gets hotter and loses complexity toward the end. Not bad, but not worth the high price.

Aroma is oaken with caramel and some vanilla cola. The alcohol is quite present in the aroma and the taste. The appearance is copper with a thin head. The taste has vanilla, brown sugar, malt, and slightly smoky. The palate is not as full as I had hoped but it is the acidic taste in the back of my throat that seems to hurt this beer. But, overall it’s worth having.