Abita Christmas Ale

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

Pours a clear amber red color with a foamy head that slowly dissipates. Sweet malty aroma of brown sugar, berries and light hops. Sweet flavor as well. A bit of fruit and malt and not much else. Thin palate. Not bad, but easily forgettable.

<b>2008 bottling; Sampled November 2008</b>
A vigorous pour produces a three-finger thick, light tan colored head in my 25cl tulip glass. The beer is a clear, dark red / cherry color that shows a brilliantly clear, amber tinged, ruby hue when held up to the light. The aroma smells of toffee, brown sugar, some light cherry notes, toasted hazelnut, toasted whole grain and a definite sweetness that accentuates a fruity note here.

The taste is pretty dry, this accentuates both a soft tartness as well as the toasted, slight roasted grain profile. The beer finishes with both a roast grain bitterness as well as a light hop bitterness. The is a touch of sweetness here, with notes of caramel and perhaps a touch of toffee being noticeable towards the middle of each sip. A touch of raisin is noticeable at times, but is pretty subtle. The flavor is predominantly comprised of nutty and toasted notes. At times there seems to be a soft spice character to this beer (perhaps a hint of nutmeg / cardamom towards the finish), nothing definite though and it could just be my imagination. Light bodied and quaffable, thought the dark malt notes seem to contribute a certain harshness that can get in the way of this.

Not bad, though not very interesting either, tastes like a decent brown ale. The aroma is definitely the best part of this beer.

Purchased: Plaza Liquors, Tucson AZ

2008. clear rusty amber under a large sudsy off-white head. malty aroma of toffee. sweet toffee malt flavors with some peachy hops. light body. pretty mild stuff. its ok.

Bottle. Pours a brown with coppery highlights and a smallish and bubbly tan head. Aromas are of spice and wet cardboard... on second approach the cardboard is gone and replaced with toffee-like malt. Flavor is highly spiced with mixed water and toffee malt... and comes off as artificial and sugary and watered down. I could do without another of these, thanks.

Blechhhh. No aroma hardly at all. Decent lacing from the off white head. But there is just no flavor here, definitely no flavor making it a Christmas beer. Awfully light and delicate. Glad I only bought 1.

Malty sweet mess. It has a sugary mouthfeel, and the hops are not present. However, a second fermentation would greatly help this beer. It has potential - just not in this state.

28-Aug-08 (12-oz bottle: Purchased 27-Aug-08 for $1.59 at the Pizza Port Bottle Shop in Carlsbad, CA) Slightly fresher this time around, but presumably properly cared for. There’s just not much here to talk about. It’s dry, malty and lightly roasty, but more in a toasted bread way. Minimally hoppy in the entry, but some crisp, tea-like flavors in the finish. Light-medium in body, moderately carbonated. Dry and toasty nose. Clear amber body with a small, off-white head that settles to a thin ring. Really, this comes across as a flavorful amber ale and that’s all. Enjoyable but simple, not special enough to be anyone’s Christmas beer.

15-Sep-06 (12 oz bottle: Chevy Chase Wine & Spirits in Washington, DC) Admittedly, this is a fairly "mature" bottle, so it’s probably not the same beer it was when it was fresh, but since I liked aged dark beers, this could be good news. Lots of cocoa powder in the nose with a moderate earthiness. A bit sweet-smelling, but aromatic enough and certainly not bad. The flavor features that sweet, milk chocolate maltiness and some earth, but little in the way of hops or bitterness. Though the malt is tasty, it seems a bit thin, especially in the finish. Spices are fairly light as well, almost negligible actually. Body is a bit on the light side for a dark holiday ale. Red-amber in color and somewhat hazy in appearance. Pouring the beer yielded about half an inch of light-beige head that gradually settled to a wide ring. Certainly a drinkable beer, but lacks character and ends up being not very interesting. (6, 3, 6, 2, 13 = 3.0)

Bottle thanks to unclemike. Pours a dark mahogany color with a light brown head of medium size. The aroma is full of caramel, hops and some spices. The flavors is nice; a semi-bitter hop bite, some rich caramel malts, candies, and a bit of spices. Maybe a gingerbread cookie in there. Not bad.