5th Anniversary Ale
Crabtree Brewing Company

 

 

Remember when this came out and was very skeptical. The crabtree 6 packs are not bad but non are mind blowing. Suddenly Crabtree went from a gentle cruise to 150 in one second flat.

This was very well done and an excellent accomplishment. A massive shift from the six packs.

I kind of feel like all Crabtree stuff has a certain taste, and a taste that is pleasant. This beer has it come through. But it works out.

Appearance is a deep, hazy, reddish brown. Has some murk from the yeast. A fine bubble with a light brown head with a tone of the same rusty red in it.

Smells awesome. Cherries, oak and wood, earthiness... get a little yeast and orange. Has a winey sweet smell. Really nice.

Tastes awesome. Immediate sweetness from raisins and wine. Then comes the coriander, and earthy woodiness. More wine and then the vanilla tones and the oak. It has a tannin to it at the end with a pinch of hop bitterness and a great dryness. Slightly boozy. Just wow, really well done. The sweetness is really pleasant and really nice. It's definitely a dessert beer, but the sweetness with the malt is thankfully not cloying whatsoever. Balanced through and through.

A bit of tartness when it warms up...

Mouthfeel is pretty spot on, strings through a medium pillowy body with a perfect dryness on the end. Flavors and mouthfeel match up. It's what I would expect.

Overall, this is as mentioned, an amazing accomplishment. Crabtree really took off, I feel, after this beer. Beers like Stephanie's Oatmeal Cookie Raisin beer, or Woody B. Barley Wine. Even their saisons! If you still happen upon it, buy it.

 

crabtrees big beers are always awesome, and i thought these were all drank up, but i was lucky enough to find a bottle at falling rock taproom. had to do it. the pour was thin and cola brown, with a few tan bubbles on top but not much head to speak of. great nose, quite sour really, although im not sure that was the aim. corriander is supposed to be here, but im not picking up much, more orange peel, raisin sweetness, and wine tannins. the flavor isnt sour at all, despite the nose, its actually a bit sweet from the raisins. the orange peel is bitter and lends even more acid. i reckon some age has done this beer a lot of good. the alcohol is tame, and the fruit flavors have really united beautifully. i love the wine barrel here, it makes the chemistry of this much better, with the acid cutting the sugar, and the mouthfeel is magnificently dry for a sweeter tasting beer. still enough carbonation in here, and although i shared this bottle with two others, i would have been more than happy to put it down myself. lets hope this makes a comeback into the regular crabtree rotation. tasty stuff that i thought id missed forever.

 

 

 

A: pours a clear orange red with a finger of beige head that fades into a thin layer with no lacing.

S: candy sugar and lots of sour and funky aromas. There are red wine notes as well.

T: sweet red wine and candy sugar up front with sour, tart, and slightly funky flavors. There are some oak notes as well.

M: medium-light body with medium carbonation, this beer is pretty light and crisp.

O: a good beer, overall. I really like the red wine characters.

 

Thanks to schmittymack for sharing this bottle with me in the backyard a couple weeks back. Upon removing the cage, the cork flew out, nearly taking Dan's eye (which would have been worse than the chili nose burn, but I digress...)

Poured a nice reddish brown color with a white head. Aromas of red wine, oak and spice. On the palate, this one was medium bodied, lightly tart and vinuous, with flavors of dark red wine and oak. Very good.

bottle from beertopia in omaha.

cork is in the air as soon as the cage is pulled, without even touching it! pours dark amber with about 4 fingers of a big head and leaves a lacing all over the glass.
Smells tart vinagery with the typical vanilla oakiness and some sour cherry. Smells great!
taste is a bit different. The tartness is not there as much as the nose would let on, but it is there. There is a lot of the oak presence also. This is pretty complex, a lot going on here. Raisins, oak, cherries, vanilla, the list continues. They meld nicely, leaving a dry finish but there is just something that doesnt make this a great beer. It is good, but something seems to hold it back. I want this to be a lot more tart than it is.

Corked and caged 750 shared with Emmasdad, his wife, any my girlfriend at dinner/tasting tonight. Poured a nice amber color with aroma of chocolate and wine. Taste was chocolate, tart cherries, and wine with a dry, no hop bitterness finish. Definitely the best brew I've had from Crabtree. Hope they can keep it up as I tend to shy away from most of their other offerings.

750ml bottle, corked and caged. Pours a hazy amber brown with a medium creamy off white head that retains well and laces the glass.

The aroma is molasses, chocolate, sweet vinous, slightly tart, fruits (cherry), raisins and some wood notes.

The flavor is sweet chocolate, dark fruits, and slightly tart cherries with vinous winey alcohol leading to a dry finish. As it warms, some off notes some out in the flavor that detract some. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with smooth carbonation.

Overall...wow! This is an excellent, well balanced, complex and flavorful beer. Better by far than anything I've ever had by Crabtree. This beer proves why you should buy new beers to give them a shot even if you aren't too excited by them.

Crabtree's 5th Anniversary, 750ml. Brewed with caramelized raisins, orange zest, coriander and aged for a year in wine barrels. From what I understand, only 60 cases worth were bottled.

Pours a red tinged brown with a two finger worth of head that fades to a solid layer of foam. The resulting lace is impressive, leaving a thick webbing behind.

Smell; very vinous in the nose as to be expected from spending a year in barrels. Caramel malts are there, as are the orange peel and coriander, but the wine barrels really keep them in the background. The alcohol gives an interesting spiciness to aroma.

Taste; as with the smell the wine barrels are the dominate element here. However the malts are a little more present, providing a little brown sugar sweetness to offset the drying from the barrels a touch. The spices blend pretty nicely with the alcohol, which is noticeable at first, but oddly fades into the background as it warms while the sweeter qualities come out a little more. Approaches full bodied in feel, with a little bit of an oily feel in the finish.

Overall; really solid beer here. The alcohol is noticeable right out of the gates, and it's pretty wine forward, but I like it. If you like red wine I think you could really like this one, if not, then I could see this becoming a chore to drink. Definitely the best beer I've had from Crabtree so far. Glad I have another, can't wait to see what happens to this with some time on it.