5 Rabbit Ki'Chun

Brewed By: 5 Rabbit Cerveceria in Bedford Park, IL  

Purchased: 750ml bottle bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2014

Style/ABV: Spice/Herb/Vegetable Beer, 9.5%

Reported IBUs: 28

5 Rabbit has been flying under the radar for too damn long. I don't see any hype or love for these guys, despite the fact that they are making some tasty brews. This review is more than just a tick, and I have a few more of their beers in my queue. About 5 Rabbit Cerveceria: 

5 Rabbit Cerveceria is an Illinois-based craft brewery launched in 2011. The brewery has a unique perspective, focusing on Latin-themed craft beer. The company is lead by CEO Andrés Araya, Creative Director Randy Mosher, and brewmaster (and former Goose Island employee) John J. Hall. For more info about the brewery, check out their Facebook or their website. 

The Ki'Chun is a Belgian Style Amber Ale brewed with Chanterelle mushrooms. The bottle reads: "Ki’Chun is a Mayan name meaning “tasty start,” which refers to the new baktun, or time cycle for which this beer was first brewed. Chanterelles bring an ethereal apricot perfume, blending perfectly with the Vienna and melanoidin malts plus toasted oats, amplified by the exotic fruitiness of New Zealand Rakau hops. Dark Thai palm sugar lightens the body a bit and makes this 9.5% alc/vol beer dangerously drinkable. A Belgian yeast strain offers further aromatic complexity."

This one features Vienna, Melanoidin, and Honey malts; New Zealand Rakau hops; and Toasted Oats, Dark Thai Palm Sugar, and fresh and dried Chanterelle Mushrooms. Let's glass this exotic beer up and see what we got.

5 Rabbit Ki'Chun

This pours into an Amber body with some nice orange/gold/bronze tones. The body looks colored with those Vienna malts. The beer produces two fingers of bready head. From the onset, this looks like a Marzen or Vienna, and doesn't conjure up images of Belgian lore. The head even settles into a centimeter of toast-like covering, typical of your Oktoberfest. You could pour me this in the Fall and I'd be happy.

The aroma here is interesting...and by interesting, I mean weird. And by weird, I mean earthy. And by earthy, I mean I'm smelling something that reminds me of dog food on the aroma. I'm also getting a lot of apples, apple juice, raisin, apricot, and caramel-malty sweetness. The earthy, dog food note is also kind of spicy and funky, and I have to guess it is the work of the mushrooms. There's some tingly spice in here, cinnamon maybe. And that earthy note - it smells like the forest/woods. Like, if you stand in a field in front of the forest and smell that aroma. Super interesting...there's some hints of nondescript citrus and tea, wet leaves....but it keeps going back to that earthy dog food note. 

The weirdness carries through into the taste, and I like it. This is a malt-forward beer, Amber indeed. There's big biscuit and toast character in here, with that earthy and substantial "dog food" character showing up between big caramel malts, apple sweetness, and perfume apricot. There's a lot of sweetness in this one, almost like a Tripel or Dubbel. I am tasting some candy sugar, with hints of dark fruits, raisins, figs, and other Belgian Dubbel/Tripel trappings. This one also imparts some nuttiness, kind of like a Brown Ale. Very malty, then caramel, then apple/apricot/raisin/dark fruit sweetness. It's like a Dubbel meets and Amber or something.

The bottle doesn't lie: the 9.5% here is totally blunted. This is full-bodied in terms of mouthfeel, with an emphasis on sweet malts. There's some carbonation, spice, and fruitiness which helps move things along. Palate depth is good, with lingering candy sugar kisses. Complexity is so-so. I mean, I don't really know how you stylize this. I assume you don't. Up front: big bready malts, caramel, biscuit, toast; the mids roll into that mushroom note, dog food, cinnamon spice, apricot perfume, apple, raisins, dark fruits; the back end grows with lingering toast, dark fruits, more spice, candy sugar...the finish is candy sugar. I think my biggest knock on this is that it is very sweet.

Rating: Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Average here...if this wasn't so sweet, I think I would like it even more. But sweet beers aren't bad...this just isn't something I'd drink by the 6-pack on the up and up. This sweet, malty beer has a time and a place...probably paired with a sweeter main course. I'm going to pair this with some artichoke pasta tonight, but 5 Rabbit recommends throwing this at some lobster or foie gras. I could see the sweet notes in this beer working with lobster or crab. Yum.

Random Thought: I watched my first episode of Brew Dogs and basically I think it was just okay. Not great, not bad...just okay. I'll have to report back after watching a few more.