Another Abita

Oh my goodness I like this ale. Wow. What a find! As I wrote recently, the good folks at Abita have been growing more adventurous in the last few years, with overall good success. The beer pours dark and hazy, but not at all opaque. It really set up a nice head, which later disappeared. There was not too much lacing left, which was the only disappointment this beer gave me. The aroma is subtle, mostly grain. Tasted cold, there is grain and sweetness and kind of a chocolate flavor. It is difficult to describe, but not at all difficult to taste.

I like to approach beers for this little blog in a certain way. I pour, I look, I smell, I wait, and then I taste. I showed this one to the wife after I had poured, looked, and smelled, and she asked for a taste. She took two LARGE gulps and her eyes rolled back in her head. "This is a GOOD beer" she sighed. So much for my careful tasting regimen. But to be honest, it is so good I was gulping it too. Right now, my corn is roasting on one grill, the rain is putting out the coals that were to cook our steaks, and I could care less. I have this beer and a dry place in which to drink it. I was going to say sip, but God hates lies. I should say this is not exactly a dubblel, and it lacks certain characteristics from the yeast of most real Belgium dubbles I have tried, but I would be wasting your time and I will waste it no more.

Highly and enthusiastically recommended.

Sweet!

Another brown ale here, this one brewed in Atlanta. And we have a winner! Well, not world class by any means, but very pleasant and likable. It pours a clear mahogany color, not much head to speak of. As the beer warms a bit you get a bit of malty and nutty aroma. This is a very smooth beer, not very complex, but tasty. The wife likes it, which is always a plus dontchaknow. I prefer it in comparison to my memory of the Pete's. This is more of a subtle nut brown, despite the darker color. No aftertaste really, so you could pound this beer. But don't cause, well we are too grown up for that around here. Right?

This has my hearty endorsement as a nice, sturdy beer. Not a classic, but reasonably priced and easy drinking flavor. Git some!

Wicked

This beer is a dark amber, slightly copper pour, lighter than in the photo. It is lightly carbonated, and tastes a bit thin if you drink it too cold, I mean at lager temperatures. You can smell the malt and nice hops in the aroma. There is not much citrus, which is a good thing as far as I am concerned. The taste is mild and pleasant, on the malty side. It gets rounder as it warms. This is not in the same league as the wonderful brown ales of England, but it is a fine American Brown that rejects intense hoppiness. You could drink several of these and enjoy them. Overall, this is a pleasant, if nondescript beer. Maybe a good brew to use to introduce someone used to light American lagers to more flavorful ales. It is unlikely to upset anyone, or impress them either. So mark it down as an acceptable, though safe choice.

Newcastle

This can be a wonderful beer, really. It can be mellow, complex, with nutty flavors. Or it can be skunked like the one I am drinking right now. The light ruins the beer and makes it sharp, sour, and one dimensional. The last one I had was nectar, this one sucks. And I bought them from the same place.

See, a clear bottle depends either on intense pasteurization like Miller does or exquisite shipping and handling. To use a clear bottle, you must protect the bottles during the entire shipping process. This one was ruined.

Or you can avoid this all and have it on tap, or the new mini keg I have seen advertised. Once I see that for sale, it is bought. But for this skunked beer, if I was not so cheap I would toss it.