Michelob Celebrate Vanilla Oak
Anheuser-Busch

Michelob Celebrate Vanilla OakMichelob Celebrate Vanilla Oak
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From:
Anheuser-Busch
 
Missouri, United States
Style:
American Lager
ABV:
10%
Score:
68
Avg:
2.82 | pDev: 25.89%
Reviews:
99
Ratings:
110
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Mar 30, 2015
Added:
Nov 20, 2005
Wants:
  5
Gots:
  1
Hand-crafted by A-B master brewers with real vanilla beans and aged on bourbon barrel oak. Richly aromatic with distinct vanilla & oak flavors. Available as a single 24oz bottle or as a gift set with two imported 13.5oz Ritzenhoff Crystal snifters and a 24oz bottle.
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Rated: 2.32 by markgugs from New Jersey

Mar 30, 2015
 
Rated: 1.64 by grahamboudreaux from Tennessee

Dec 14, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by Copperhead from Missouri

Oct 04, 2013
 
Rated: 3 by ConfluenceBrew from Iowa

Sep 27, 2013
 
Rated: 3.25 by Jason from Massachusetts

Jan 12, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by iemailjack from Florida

Jan 08, 2013
 
Rated: 3 by SLeffler27 from New York

Nov 18, 2012
 
Rated: 2.75 by t0rin0 from California

Nov 08, 2012
 
Rated: 2.25 by bzach from Indiana

Oct 16, 2012
Photo of darktower
Reviewed by darktower from Pennsylvania

3.74/5  rDev +32.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Out of the three "Celebrate" beers I've had (Cherry, Chocolate and Vanilla), this was definitely the best. It was a unique flavor that's hard to describe. I'd say it was akin to sugar laced with vanilla bean flavor. I actually enjoyed it. It wasn't something I'd drink over and over again but at the time, it was...different.
Oct 02, 2012
Photo of Knapp85
Reviewed by Knapp85 from Pennsylvania

3.32/5  rDev +17.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
The poured out of this torpedo like looking bottle with a twist off cap... Ok. The beer poured out as a deep brown color with a light brown head on top. The beer smelled of lager yeast and heavy sweet aromas of vanilla. The taste of the beer was decent in my opinion. I felt that the beer was at it's best when it was on the warmer side. The flavors of vanilla dominate just about everything else in the brew. Not able to pick up much oak at all here. The mouthfeel was a little thin, but drinkable to me. Overall I felt that this was decent but nothing spectacular.
Mar 27, 2012
 
Rated: 3.5 by SnaxStL from Missouri

Dec 27, 2011
Photo of mikesgroove
Reviewed by mikesgroove from South Carolina

2.63/5  rDev -6.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2
reviewed from notes, i was given this one as a xmas present from a co worker, poured into a snifter.

dark pour with a light brownish color to the sides that can best be described as light hazelnut in color shining through. smooth light tan head faded almost instantly and left a bare topped liquid in its wake.

aroma is vanilla, sweet, artificial and so strong it starts to make you a bit sick. hints of hot alcohol, bourbon, notes of leather as well, but the sweetness is so overpowering it is nearly impossible to get past. the flavor was even worse, it seemed like all this was was a one sided sweet monster, huge notes of vanilla and hot alcohol made me wince with every sip, it was just straight wrong. finish was sweet, full of alcohol and again just not at all where i wanted to go with this.

overall never again, the thought was there, but wow, just not cool at all.
Feb 23, 2011
 
Rated: 2.25 by harpus from Alabama

Sep 04, 2010
Photo of armock
Reviewed by armock from New York

3.47/5  rDev +23%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
From notes a 2006 bottle tasted at a Christmas beer dinner party in 2008.

A - Poured a hazy orangish color with a thin white head that faded quickly to a ring

S - The vanilla scents from the oak are the strongest and predominant scent

T - Was actually pretty good a lot of vanilla flavor with some bourbon taste getting through

M - This beer has a medium body with medium carbonation to it

D - These Celebrate bottles were a big surprise to me I expected absolute crap but they turned out to be pretty good if you find one of these or get offered some to try take the chance on it
May 19, 2010
Photo of hustlesworth
Reviewed by hustlesworth from Ohio

2.39/5  rDev -15.2%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 2 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5
2005 vintage

A- murky brown color with a creamy beige head that dissipates quickly but leaving a decent amount of lace

S- very sweet vanilla and high end bourbon like knob creek. milk chocolate, maple syrup, fruit cake, and a whiff of alcohol. oak aromas stand out as well.

T- sweet and candy-like, so similar to those goetz caramel chews with the cream center. nearly a mirror of the smell. full of vanilla and woodsy flavor yet ver bland and watery on the back side. how can that be? such a big beer exhibiting characteristics of its weaker cousins. as if the cost of vanilla was so high that the budget couldn't permit any hops. the notion also arises that this could be another beer brewed for the masses... but if that is so, then why even bother going all fancy and brewing a big beer in the first place knowing that your standard BMC drinkers would scoff at this attempt anyway? i don't intend to slam here, but any hard core michelob fan wouldn't like this beer and certainly wouldn't grab a bottle to ring in the new year and think 'damn i wish i could get a 6-er of this stuff!' it seems as if delusions of grandeur have spawned a failed attempt. alcohol flavors pull through as well and i'm wondering how much sugar was added for the yeast to snack on. finishes sweet and vanilla with some woodsy flavor and floral alcohol bitterness.

MF- full and soft up front becoming thin and watery on the way down. carbonation is on the low side of medium.

D- it blows my mind that when setting out to brew a beer of this caliber that the final result is so much like a high alcohol vanilla infused mich light. these guys have to, HAVE TO be able to brew something that could compete with great american craft or foreign brewers. so why not do it? maybe someday we will all get a big surprise, but until then i remain a skeptic. thanks to my man flea market rich the wizard for giving me this bottle. hell of a try buddy.
Apr 27, 2010
Photo of sweemzander
Reviewed by sweemzander from Illinois

2.05/5  rDev -27.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2
750mL screw top wine bottle. No bottled date, but says its 2005. Thank you to BeerFMAndy for sharing this with me.

(A)- Pours a cloudy reddish to orange amber color that produced a quickly dissipating tan head.

(S)- Musky caramel & butterscotch aromas with hints of toffee. Very sweet & sugary smelling.

(T)- Extremely sugary candied butterscotch & caramel. Kinda watery sugar taste. Kinda has a fig & raisin-like, but just plain sugary.

(M)- Has a good carbonation level, but its really just like flavored sugar water to me.

(D)- Way too sugary sweet for me. You might as well just eat a spoonful of sugar instead. Couldnt really drink more than a few sips.
Nov 27, 2009
Photo of BeerFMAndy
Reviewed by BeerFMAndy from Wisconsin

2.34/5  rDev -17%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2
24 oz screw-top bottle split and poured into a KBS glass. 10% ABV, 2005 Vintage.

Received in a trade with Seldomsthristy and shared with Sweemzander.

A - Pours a totally hazed (scary) dirty apricot color with a large toffee head. Loose bubbles lead to little retention and specks of lacing. Just a ring is left.

S - There is a small bit of oak in the aroma but its totally lost in a light, sweet vanilla, toffee and butterscotch, and pungent fruity aroma. Fruity like a sugary fruit punch soda. It's got a really funky old ale-like aged nose. The aroma is all over the place but not in a good way. It needs to keep its ADD in check.

T - Lots of sugar with a fruit punch flavor blend with a toffee and butterscotch attributes at the same time. A little bit of the vanilla bean comes through in waves but none of the oak is noticeable. Just way too sweet. As if the 10% ABV came from sugar additions as opposed to malt.

M - Overly sweet with a rich and fuller-bodied feel. Smooth with a decent carbonation finish for it's age.

D - Drain pour. Not worth drinking unless you're an alcoholic humming bird. If I had to consume it, I wouldn't cry but the sugar is overly cloying.
Nov 22, 2009
Photo of rye726
Reviewed by rye726 from Colorado

1.5/5  rDev -46.8%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1 | overall: 1
'05 750(Twist Off)

Not super impressed by this one. Not even sure where this bottle came from. Pours an orangish brown with a thin tan head. Nose has lots of vanilla and alcohol as well as sugary malts and very faint oak. The taste has a consistent cloying sweetness, vanilla and faint bourbon oak. Thick, syrupy body is under carbonated and has a boozy bite. It goes downhill form there.
May 01, 2009
Photo of Atlas1
Reviewed by Atlas1 from Texas

2.87/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2
This is a 7-oz. bottle that has the 3-13-05 on it. My little Michelob Oak-aged Dark Vanilla is officially four years old. I picked this up at Whip-In in Austin about a month ago.

Poured into a snifter, the Celebrate is a dirty apricot color. When held up to the window, it actually shows off some pretty colors, but at eye level with no natural light shining through, it's rather dull looking. Not much head or lace (but after four years, I wasn't expecting much). The nose is a faded vanilla scent. Boozy, but probably not as strong as it was when first released. Mixed fruit medley includes apples and cherries, but it's overtaken by that dull vanilla/molasses aroma. I'm not a fan of this smell, but it seems that it might have been interesting some years ago. The taste is syrupy sweet vanilla with a hint of fruit and spices. There is a boozy tanginess that lingers in the back off the mouth. Some carbonation is still detectable, but not much, leaving the mouthfeel thin and watery (again, somewhat to be expected considering how old the beer is).

Not really what I would call a drinkable beer, this is more of a novelty beverage. I like the concept, and it's good to see Michelob trying to break some of their big beer mold, but after four years a 10% ABV beer should, in my opinion, hold up better than this. This one does not. Still, I'm glad I tried it, and would consider trying it again if it was fresh.
Mar 30, 2009
Michelob Celebrate Vanilla Oak from Anheuser-Busch
Beer rating: 68 out of 100 with 110 ratings