I discovered a new Christmas time beer just on the way home from work Friday. I stopped for some last minute food needs at Maraiano’s in Westchester, and of course peeked at what’s on tap at their little bar in the liquor department. They had up a 5 Rabbit handle with something written on at I couldn’t quite read. The server was able to piece together that the name was “Lupita & the 3 Kings.” That sounds as much like a new Christmas as makes no never mind. So I get do at least half of my planned “12 Beers of Christmas.”
Once I got home I was able to look up the beer on 5 Rabbit’s web site. I found they described it as a Belgian-style quadrupel, brewed with cherries, candied pineapple, cinnamon and orange peel, clocking in at 10% abv.
The tapped beer offered a reddish body with a thin layer of foam. Redder than a Belgian beer, and the first impression I had was the banana esters of a dunkelweiss. But the smell swelled to a nice fruit cocktail note. The overall result is big and malty with a fruit palate, a sweet edge, yeast esters and a bit of hop spice.
The taste of fruit is intended, of course, as 5 Rabbit says it’s based on the traditional Rosca de Reyes, or “King Cake,” a round pastry cake topped with cherries, figs, or other candied fruit, and served on January 6, the Epiphany, or “Kings’ Day,” marking the visit of the Three Kings who “of Orient were” to baby Jesus. The cake is served with a small baby Jesus figure or other trinket embedded in it for a lucky child (or grownup) to find. “Lupita” is another “new Christmas tradition,” a bit like the Elf on a Shelf: a figure of a little girl who appears in homes on December 12, the Feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe, and inspired kids to be good until King’s Day. Or maybe I went overboard on my Google searching, and they just meant “Lupito” as the nickname for “Guadalupe.”
However its name is meant, this is a nice Christmas beer, with alcohol warming coming right at the end. It’s available on draft at various pouring establishments, and in 22 oz. bottles at retail.
