Abita Amber

I ordered a glass of Abita Amber while out to dinner at Me’lange in New Orleans. The beer pours a golden color with a frothy white colored head. The aroma consists of lemon, caramel, and toffee. The taste is very caramel forward with some toffee and a light lemon hop flavor. A grassy finish balances out the sweetness of the beer. The alcohol content is 4.5% ABV. While this isn’t a beer to seek out, it is a great beer to drink while in New Orleans since it is local. It is a solid tasting beer, but it won’t knock your socks off your feet.

Abita Turbodog

Another beer I ordered while at the Abita Brewpub in Abita Springs, LA was Turbodog. The beer pours a dark brown color with a frothy beige head that leaves a film on the glass. The aroma consists of caramel, toasted malts, and strong coffee. The taste is bold with coffee before settling in with some chocolate and a strong toasted malt presence. There is a dry roasted finish as well. The alcohol content is 5.6% ABV. This was a very well done English Brown Ale that had a great coffee presence, tying the chocolate and malt flavors all together nicely.

Abita Andygator

On my recent trip to New Orleans, I ordered a glass of Abita Andygator while at the Abita Brewpub in Abita Springs. The beer pours a golden color with a thin bubbly white colored head. The aroma consists of alcohol, caramel, grass, toffee, and malts. The taste is sweet with an earthy spice, grass, and pepper. Caramel and toffee construct a sweet base, while a slight alcohol burn appears on finish. The alcohol content is 8.0% ABV. This beer was sweet but well balanced overall and had nice alcohol burn on the finish that really tied the beer together.

Abita 25th Anniversary Vanilla Double Dog

I picked up a bottle of Abita 25th Anniversary Vanilla Double Dog from Al’s of Hampden. The beer pours a dark brown color with a lofty and frothy beige-colored head that leaves some lacing on the glass. The aroma consists of dry roasted malts, chocolate, vanilla, and caramel. The taste is smooth and dry with plenty of roasted malts up front. There are coffee, chocolate, and vanilla accents with a caramel finish. The after taste leaves some dry grassy hops and brings back a toast flavor. The alcohol content is 7.0% ABV. If I had one criticism of this beer, it would be that it is too heavily carbed. The mouth feel is a little too bubbly and gets in the way of fully enjoying the great flavors in the beer, although they still are very well detectable. Overall, I liked the beer and would get a bottle of it again.

Abita Save Our Shores (S.O.S.)

I picked up a bottle of Abita Save Our Shore (S.O.S.) from Bass Rail in Campbelltown. Save Our Shore was brewed to raise awareness and funds for the Gulf Coast, donating 75 cents on each bottle to rescue and restoration of the environment, industry, and individuals fighting to survive the oil spill. The beer pours a golden color with a frothy white head that leaves a good lacing on the glass. The aroma is sweet and malty with hints of butter and sour hops. This aroma was a very pleasant one, especially for a pilsner. The taste is smooth and sweet with lots of pilsner malts and a light sour hops finish. The hops linger into a bitter finish and the after taste is malty and sweet. The alcohol content is 7.0% ABV. The Save Our Shore was one of the better pilsners that I have actually had, and the malty sweetness and hop bitterness were perfectly balanced.

Abita Abbey Ale

I picked up a bottle Abita Abbey Ale from Barley's and Hops in Pittsburgh on my last visit. The beer pours a reddish amber ale with a lofty, foamy, and creamy colored head. The aroma consists of sweet malts, yeast, and alcohol. The taste is sweet that comes from a caramel flavor. There are lots of malts and it is very very bready. Underneath the caramel, there is banana, green apple some dark fruits and cloves. The alcohol content is 8.0% ABV. This was a delicious Abbey Ale and I really enjoyed it. The sweetness was there, but not too overpowering. The clove and alcohol toned down the sweetness on the finish, and made drinking this beer a very pleasurable experience.