Profiled by Ken Carman
I used to hang out at the old downtown Abita Springs brewery back before they had a big production facility down the road. I have found Abita has been a mixed bag since then: getting better then back to boring. One year they had a Christmas ales to die for at about 14%. But we have found that rare.
This, unfortunately, was on the boring side oif the equation. Word of advice: a 22 oz one off, barrel aged, brew should be exceptional. This was not.
Up front: bourbon nose, a tad sweet, not much else. Maple, if even there, faint. What pecan?
Pillow head that fades fast, very lite brown, hazy, perhaps from pecan oils? Just a guess. Could also be the barrel aging, I suppose. Depends on the barrel, storage temps, tec.
Taste: bourbon up front, wood: a lite brown ale, almost no pecan, close to no maple. Bourbon wood dominates, but that’s not saying much because there’s not much here. Kind of like they took their amber and barrel aged it.
An OK quaff, but boring. Plus, there is a balance issue here. This is a beer that has wood, but probably wouldn’t GIVE wood to anyone.
Bad joke.
It’s like they went for the wood, but missed everything else but a very, very light brown ale. Carbonation light but fine. Just about right. Not a lot of mouthfeel except a slight slickness from bourbon esters, perhaps.
73/83 on RB. 83 on BA.
3.8
Welcome to the PGA beer rating system: one beer “Don’t bother.” Two: Eh, if someone gives it to you, drink. Three: very good, go ahead and seek it out, but be aware there is at least one problem. Four: seek it out. Five: pretty much “perfecto.”
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