Abita Christmas Ale

Brewed by Abita Brewing Company
Style: Amber Ale
Covington, Louisiana USA

Bottle (12oz). Slightly hazy ruby with a large fizzy-foamy off-white head (3+). Dry, mildly roasted malt, somewhat vegetal, moreso as it warms. Taste is VERY dry, moderate dry cocoa roast, also much more bitter than I expected, hardly any malt sweetness at all, seems a tad boozier than 6%+. Watery, extremely astringent dry tightly carbonated mouthfeel, long, long dry generic sharply bitter linger and aftertaste. I’m not sure this is a classic amber, but I sure appreciated the aggressive bitterness - no shy wimp of an amber this.

A reddish tinge. Above average carbonation. Initially yeast and then malt, spice in background. Mediumm mouthfeel, with a bit of water.

Bottle; not sure when I picked this up. Pours an amber/auburn color with not much off white head. Aroma was malty, with musty toffee and only the smallest hint of spice. Pretty uneven flavor; initially it wasn’t very good, but the finish was pretty solid. Malty with only moderate spicing and hopping in the finish. Decent flavors of caramel/toffee with something akin to brown sugar. Another forgettable beer from Abita.

bottle - Pours slightly hazy amber with a thin head. It smells of malt and a touch of spice. The flavor is mostly sweet with mild spice and some light hops that lead to an easy going dry finish. It’s alright, but generally unremarkable.

Bottle. Pours a cloudy dark amber color wtih a medium frothy off white head. The aroma is malt with a nuts and caramel. Decent lacing on the glass. The taste is roasted malt and brown sugar. Not too much going on with this one.

12oz. bottle, Christmas 2007 release. Dark malt aroma, lightly roasty with notes of caramel, spice, earth and hints of tree bark, cocoa and floral perfume. Mostly clear dark copper color, head is thin and slight. Flavor is similarly malty and spicy, roasty and sweet, but with a dirty, grainy background and an ashy, metallic bitterness underneath. Indistinct fruity, tangy, dark caramel finish. Effervescent, somewhat watery palate, body is medium. Doesn’t seem very festive.

Why did Abita feel they had to brew an IPA? There’s too many of those kinds of beer on the shelves. I’m a malt head and I’m proud of it. I don’t hate hops, but I can’t stand it when a beer is just over-hopped to the point of it being undrinkable.

Found this in my local distributor on sale for a good price. Brought it home and was suprised. Good overall flavor with some caramel and spice. Very rich for a basic amber. Finishes with a little malt and brown sugar.