Abita Andygator

Brewed by Abita Brewing Company
Style: Heller Bock
Covington, Louisiana USA

Bomber. Poured crystal-clear lighter golden with a medium cap of stark white head. The aroma picked up honey and lightly-toasted bready notes, with some corn and warm boozage above.. smelled cheap and strong. The flavor was along those same lines.. syrupy sweet core of corn, honey, and lesser bready character with earth and vanilla around.. very sweet and very strong.. no real flaws, but not very good. Heavier-bodied and quite carbonated on the palate.. sweet as mentioned, leaving warmth well after the finish.

650mL bottle. Pours clear yellow with thin white laced head. Slightly sweet aroma. Test is sweet, bock like, body is far too thin.

Not good, but not terrible either. Too thin, with a fruity candy sweetness throughout the flavor. Minor alcohol and metal flavor. Unbalanced and lacking complexity. No hops or spices were added.

Pour into a pint glass leaves 3/4 light tan head and 1/4 golden beer. Patience is required to wait for that foam to dissipate. Bunches of visible carbonation. A faint fruity aroma with some grain and malt. Flavor is metallic, grainy, funky and frankly, not very good. This is only slightly better than any number of malt liquors out there. A 22 oz bottle. Hopefully I didn’t pay very much for it.

Straw to gold color and crystal clear. Nice three-finger head; leaves some spotty lace. Strong earthy aroma, like a French Biere de Garde. Thinner than most doppelbocks, but the brew has the classic malty (quite dry) presence with a warming alcohol burn in the swallow. There is a light hop touch to the back end of the taste. Not much of an aftertaste. The earthiness is not present in the taste. Overall, an easy, if light, introduction to the world of bocks.

Bottle. Beautiful golden color with a bright white head. Nice lacing. Fruit and spice nose. Honey and melon rind jump out at me. Sweet malt and yeast in the mouth. A fair amount of alcohol is present but the finish is really dry. I’m pretty impressed with how the alcohol builds the flavor in the mouth and then fades into the background. Some yeast fruitiness jumps out midway through the taste as well. The hops are present but provide just the right balance. I’m surprised by the poor ratings of this beer. I may be way off, but I really enjoyed this beer.

A pretty boring beer. Tastes pretty good and the high ABV is nice but very present. Nothing to note here. Lacking character and direction.

Bottle… Clear yellow lager with a mid-sized, fluffy, white head. Excellent retention. Grainy, acidic, grapefruit and lemon peel aroma. Medium to full-bodied and lightly creamy with lively carbonation. Well-balanced. Mildly bitter with slight honey sweetness and a suggestion of tanginess – also, sort of boring and grainy. Finishes gently acidic, delicately bitter and dry.