Abita Abbey Ale Review

Brewery: Abita Brewing Co. | Beer: Abbey Ale
Style: Dubbel | ABV: 8.0% | IBUs: 32
Serving Method: 22 oz. bottle poured into tulip glass

Abita's Big Beer series is the company's showcase for bigger (duh) and more artisanal beers. Earlier this year I reviewed Andygator,and now with Abbey Ale, we can complete the set. Abbey Ale is a Dubbel and is actually the first example of the style to be featured on PintLog.

Traditionally a Trappist style, the Dubbel sits above the Enkel (now generally known as "Blond") and below the Tripel in the typical Trappist lineupThe BJCP guidelines sum up the style as "a deep reddish, moderately strong, malty, complex Belgian ale."

Abbey has slightly beefier stats that a typical example of the style, but they're not beefy enough to give me concern. As a nice little bonus, for each bottle sold a 25 cent donation is made to St. Joseph's Abbey down the road in Saint Benedict. Here's how Abita describe Abbey:

Dark amber in color, the aroma of caramel, fruits and cloves invites you to contemplate the creamy head of this "Dubbel." Abita Abbey Ale is a malty brew, top-fermented and bottle aged to rapturous perfection.

Let's get started and see if this brew is a saint or a sinner.

Appearance: A moderately hazy deep reddish-brown body topped by a very generous cap of pillowy off-white head that sticks around a long time and leaves great lacing.

Aroma: A sweet and rich mix of dark fruit, molasses, caramel, slight nuttiness, dark bread, and mild spiciness.

Taste: Up front, sweet and toasty malt with a caramel and burnt-sugar character that turns chocolaty towards the end. Accompanying the malt are mild, herbal hops and plenty of Belgian yeast with an earthy clove character. Mild alcohol towards the end segueing into a yeasty and raisiny aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: A thick body with smooth carbonation and a dryish finish.

Drinkability: With the full body, bold flavor profile, and moderately-high alcohol content, this comes close to sipper territory.

Verdict: It may have a hard time competing with the Belgian originals, but Abita have brewed up a pretty damn decent Dubbel here. Just watch out for the well-hidden alcohol punch.

Grade: B

Abita Andygator Review

Brewery: Abita Brewing Co. | Beer: Andygator
Style: Doppelbock | ABV: 8.0% | IBUs: 25
Serving Method: 22 oz. bottle poured into Pilsener glass

So far, the Abita brews reviewed here on PintLog have been from the Harvest series—mildish beers spotlighting a fresh Louisianan ingredient. While they've been pleasant enough, I decided to skip to something with a little more bite. Enter their Big Beer series, two eight percent beers with a more artisanal slant than the rest of their beers.

First up is Andygator, what Abita describe as a Helles Doppelbock. It's built with pale malt, hopped with German Perles, and brought alive by German lager yeast. Here's how they describe the finished product:

Unlike other high-gravity brews, Andygator is fermented to a dry finish with a slightly sweet flavor and subtle fruit aroma.

Just as a side note, it's worth noting that Andygator is presented in an absolutely gorgeous bottle—one of the nicest I've ever seen. Let's see if the contents are equally impressive.

Appearance: A crystal-clear, golden body with a large and sudsy off-white head that burns out quickly and leaves little lace.

Aroma: A rich and grainy malt body accompanied by a nice dose of earthy hops and some fruitiness. Somewhat Doppelbock-like, but clearly something different.

Taste: Not much to report over what was represented in the nose; dry, earthy hops over a sweet cereal-like malt backbone with lots of dark fruit and nutty notes in the mix. The aftertaste is grainy with just a hint of booze.

Mouthfeel: A smooth, medium body with good carbonation and a dry finish.

Drinkability: Perfectly quaffable, just watch the eight percent alcohol content.

Verdict: Basically a souped-up Helles, Andygator may not be a true Doppelbock, but it is a serviceable and solid enough brew. An interesting hybrid style, I'd like to see some other brewers have a shot at it.

Grade: B-

Abita Satsuma Harvest Wit Review

Brewery: Abita Brewing Co. | Beer: Satsuma Harvest Wit
Style: Witbier | ABV: 5.1% | IBUs: 17
Serving Method: 12 oz. bottle poured into pint glass

For my first review of an Abita product, I decided to go with something a little oddball, their Strawberry Harvest Lager. Well, it was interesting enough that when I saw another of their Harvest series, I went for it.

This time, it's their Satsuma Harvest Wit, a Witbier brewed with (you guess it) Satsumas. As with the other beers in the series, the star ingredient here is sourced from Louisiana. As for the beer underneath, the backbone is built from wheat, oats, and "the finest barley." Here's how Abita describe the resulting brew:

Pale and cloudy, like the haze on a hot summer day, this white beer has a sweet and subtle citrus flavor with a touch of spice that is cool and refreshing.

Sounds pretty appetizing, let's check it out.

Appearance: A nicely hazy golden body capped with a finger and a half of creamy, off-white head that features good retention and lacing. On point for the Witbier style.

Aroma: It certainly smells like a Wit too with lots of yeasty, doughy and bready notes. There's not that much in the way of citrus, but maybe it will be more prominent in the flavor profile.

Taste: Classic Wit flavors of bready, doughy wheat malt dominate, though it's missing a lot of the spice found in the Beligian originals. In the absence of spices, the citrus character that is usually derived from orange peel is amped up and somewhat jucier. The citrus flavor may be somewhat subtle, but it's there, especially towards the end. The aftertaste is bready with a trace of juicy citrus.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with good carbonation and a dry finish.

Drinkability: Certainly a quaffable and nicely refreshing brew.

Verdict: Satsuma Harvest Wit is a serviceable Wit with a nice splash of citrus, just don't go in expecting a brew that's infused with bold orange juice.

Grade: B

Note: While this review is being published in January, the tasting notes contained within were taken when the beer was fresh last July.

Abita Strawberry Harvest Lager Review

Brewery: Abita Brewing Co. | Beer: Strawberry Harvest Lager
Style: Fruit Beer | ABV: 4.2% | IBUs: 13
Serving Method: 12 oz. bottle poured into Pilsener glass

I love to try local beer, and luckily for me the state of Texas is (despite what one might guess) rather fertile ground for great craft beer. But what about the surrounding states? Is there good beer flowing in the states around Texas as well?

To answer that, I set out to pick up a beer from New Orleans-area based Abita. Years ago, a friend and I worked our way through a mixed Abita twelve-pack. From what I remember we were pretty impressed, but that was before I really knew anything about beer, so I figured it was well past time to try some more Abita.

Now, usually when I pick up my first beer from a brewery, I like to pick either their flagship beer or their take on one of my favorite styles. This time, however, I decided to switch things up a bit. Despite a very full stable of beers available here in Houston, it was the Strawberry Harvest Lager that first caught my eye. Read into that what you may...

Strawberry Harvest Lager is a Fruit Beer based on what Abita calls a wheat lager base. Here's how they describe the beer on its label:

Ripe, red Louisiana strawberries are harvested at the peak of the season in the early morning chill. The scent of the juicy red Ponchatoula berries fills the air as they're picked and pressed for Abita Strawberry Harvest Lager. The end result us a light, crisp lager with just a hint of strawberry sweetness.

It sounds a little storybook to me, but it's what actually ended up in the bottle that really matters.

Appearance: A pale golden, slightly hazy body with a sudsy finger of near-white head that recedes rapidly and leaves little lacing.

Aroma: Quite simply, strawberry shortcake. Much closer to real strawberries than strawberry candy. The malt base is firmly in the pale malt range and seems a little sweet (though that may be the strawberries mixing in). I have to say, this is intriguing and alluring.

Taste: Still lots of fresh strawberries, though more muted than in the nose. The Lager comes through much clearer here than in the nose, but unfortunately it's a little grainy and average. The two flavors just don't mesh that well, I can't help but think that these strawberry flavors could have found a better housemate than a boring Lager. The aftertaste is pretty short, and tastes of strawberries and grain.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light bodied with good carbonation. The finish dries up a bit.

Drinkability: Decent, providing you like strawberries.

Verdict: In all honesty, I have to say I like this. It reminds of me of Sam Adams Cherry Wheat in a way: it's a fruit dominated beer that just seems a little wrong, but you can't help but like it. This is miles ahead of Cherry Wheat, but still not a great beer. Worth a try if you're a strawberry fan, but rather forgettable.

Grade: B-