Abita Turbodog

Pours a DARK brown/amber with a nice thick tan head that doesn’t last. No lacing on mine. Aroma is a bit odd, chocolate and anise (licorice). Flavor is fairly bold, but the chocolate tastes a bit burnt, some coffee and a bit of tobacco. Palate is thin, fizzy on the lips, and isn’t particularly smooth. Not a bad beer, but not one of my favorite Browns.

12oz bottle. Aka as the Turbush Dog. Pours a mahogany reddish brown with a one finger tan head and decent lacing. Nose is light chocolate, black licorice and caramel. Taste is mild chocolate, some coffee notes and roasted barley. Light-to-medium mouth feel. This was actually better than I expected.

Technically, Turbo Dog is a dark brown ale, though I would liken it more to a blend or blurring of the lines between a brown ale and a black ale/lager. Either way, it’s a good beer, and a beer style I would say is even harder to find than its counterpart, black ales. Semantics aside, Turbo Dog is yet another fine beer from Abita Brewing in Abita Springs, Louisiana. Like a good dog, Turbo has been sitting quietly on my shelf, watching me go about and do my business. It wasn’t until john at my local Hurricane got it in on tap that I was able to take Turbo Dog out for a walk after months of neglect. Smooth chocolate and espresso notes mingle with sweet caramel malty notes in the nose. A thick head at least a finger thick leaves a gently film along the sides of my glass along with blanketing the top of my brew. Dark brown-black with amber hues glinting where the light peeks through the sides of the glass. Mild and with a not-too-thick body, a balanced palate of chocolate and espresso greet my tastebuds while some lemon zest lingers in the aftertaste. Mild malt sweetness permeates the overall beer presence with chocolate, espresso, and caramel esters, finishing with a mild lemon bite and dry flourish. Roasty, toasty, and a wee bit sweet with that bittering hop presence; Turbo Dog rocks my dark brown ale world. Very impressive. With a freshness date on the back of the 6 pack bottles, one can always be sure that they are buying fresh beer goodness. I haven’t had Turbo Dog bottled yet, but on draft the Dog was excellent.

bottle BB 9/28/8 from kramer... very dark mahogany brown color with a small tan head. kinda smells like malt powder... cinnamon, sweet chocolate malt and toasted nuts. the flavor is the same... lots of chocolate, toffee, a little woody/wet cardboard, some spiciness and toasted nuts with a dry almost tart finish. medium body. medium carbonation starts a little prickly but eventually ends up creamy.

Decent. Close to a porter with flavors of chocolate and roasted malts. Not especially nutty for a brown ale. Creamy and a little bit too sweet. A little weak and boring, but pretty drinkable.