Abita Brewing Company

Company

New Orleans is the home of beads, mixed fruity drinks, unadulterated partying, and red beans and rice.  Rarely does one think of beer, or at least craft beer.  However, the New Orleans area is home to one of America’s older craft breweries, Abita Brewing Company, which started in 1986 in the town of Abita Springs about one hour north of the Crescent City.   The brewery sought to make use of the artesian springs that flow through the area, and most of their beers have a mild, clean taste.  Now, Abita’s Beers are fairly accessible in most markets (47 States to be exact), and they enjoy a cult following from displaced New Orleanians and Cajun-philes.  Despite its national presence, being in such a delicate ecosystem, (the Mississippi Delta) especially one that has suffered much over the past ten years, Abita takes very seriously its green responsibilities and strives to give back to its community.

Regarding environmentally friendly practices, Abita was the first brewery (New Belgium was the second) in North America to install the Steinecker Merlin brew kettle, an energy efficient system that not only reduces boiling time and CO2 emissions but also uses up to 70% less energy than traditional brewing methods.  Recently, Abita has developed a new cardboard packaging (right) that reduces waste by up to 47%.  In addition, the bottles used less glass than traditional long-necks.

What is notable about Abita, is the strong identity it has with its region, and the proactive measures it has taken to assist the community when disaster strikes.  In 2005, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina hit, Abita brewed a Restoration Pale Ale, and $1 from every six pack went into a restoration fund to help rebuild the city.  Recently, in August 2010, less than 60 days after the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, Abita released the SOS Pilsner in 22 oz. bottles; 75 cents from each of those bottles goes to a charitable fund to assist in restoring the gulf environment.  To date, Abita has raised $350,000 with that initiative.  Finally, Abita released an Abbey Ale in 22 oz. bottles, and 25 cents of each bottle goes towards a local seminary college in the area for assistance with its public works.  Through these initiatives, Abita has raised over $900,000.

Beer

Despite its admirable efforts, I generally do not prefer Abita beers, as I find they all taste somewhat similar. Recently, though, they’ve expanded their repertoire to include a doppelbock and a dubbel among other seasonal selections (although recently they’ve taken a bit of flack from some long-time fans as they’ve removed their Spring Red in favor of a Spring IPA, and their standard Wheat in favor of a Lemon Wheat). The one beer I truly liked from them was their 20th Anniversary Pilsner, which, unfortunately has been retired. However, I decided to give one of their other standard beers, the Turbo Dog (right), a dark brown ale, another shot. It should be noted that in 2005, Stuff Magazine rated this the best beer in the US.

The ale pours a bit thin for its color, which is a practically black, although if you hold up to the light there’s a slight reddish undertone. It smells faintly sweet and malty, but with no overwhelming scents. It has mild to medium carbonation and is surprisingly light in mouthfeel.   On first gulp, Turbo Dog tastes sweet up front, with hints of caramel and toffee.  The mildly bitter finish lingered a bit. Ultimately, though, its a pretty smooth ale, and as it warms, the caramel becomes more pronounced, although not overpowering.

Overall, this was much better, and a bit more complex, than I remembered.  The best beer in America, surely not, but I don’t think I am wrong in saying that this beer is likely one of the better, accessible (i.e., easy to find and relatively inexpensive) brown ales out there.  It might make its way back into my rotation.

Ratebeer: 3.21/5

BeerAdvocate: 3.66/5