Something old and something new - Abita Turbodog and Spring IPA

Before my taste for beer evolved, I consumed it primarily for the relaxing affects, not much for the taste. This meant that I was more than happy to have only one kind of beer, that being of the domestic light variety. Thankfully for me, my tastes have grown up and long gone are the days of Bud Lights. Don't get me wrong, having one or two while watching a game is ok, just not if the object is to appreciate beer for the taste.

Even though my beer tastes were wanting years ago, I always had an interest in good food. The bookshelves at our house were and are filled with volumes of great cookbooks. It was from one of these that I came upon what would become one of my favorite beers. One night several years ago (before kids) Margaret and I found a fried chicken recipe from a cookbook we had written by Emeril Lagasse. You know, that bam guy who made his name at Commander's Palace, which is still my favorite New Orleans restaurant. The recipe called for the use of Abita Turbodog beer. As you could imagine, I had never had this beer before and much to my surprise, it was black as night. Back then, I just assumed that every dark beer tasted the same, and that flavor was that of Guinness.

We used the beer for the recipe, but I don't recall just drinking what was not used. I was still not interested in trying new beers. It was not until a few years later that I had Turbodog and realized how much it was not like Guinness and how much I liked it. It is now my favorite Abita beer. For those who are unfamiliar, here is a review.

Appearance: Beer poured a dark brown to black color with a thin tan head. That must have been a pour error on my part. The last one I had last week had a much better head. Some carbonation could be detected and the thin head did provide some nice lacing.

Smell: A malty and toffee aroma was noted with this beer.

Taste/Mouthfeel: Chocolatey malt flavor with some nuttiness was what I picked up. The beer has a heavy side of medium mouthfeel, but nothing like a stout.

Overall: As I mentioned above, this is my favorite Abita beer. The combination of malt and nuttiness combined with a real mildness makes this one easy to drink. It also makes a good session beer as it is not too heavy and the ABV is reasonable at 5.6%. I only regret that I did not give this one a shot all those years ago. It is much better by itself than in a fried chicken recipe.

My title does mention something new. While I was in New Orleans this weekend for a race, Margaret and I had dinner with her cousin Philip. You may remember him from such blogs as this one http://thebishopscollar.blogspot.com/2012/06/it-is-not-always-about-beer.html.

At dinner, the beer menu featured Abita's seasonal, which this season is a Spring IPA. You are likely aware that I am not usually a fan of IPAs due to the excessive (in my opinion) hoppiness. However this one was not the hop-bomb that some tend to be. It had the citrus flavor and spiciness that one would expect, but it did not give me cottonmouth.

Apologies for the picture quality. I also was not provided with a glass, which takes away one of the most important qualities to critique in a beer, that being appearance. 

Sometimes I forget about Abita Brewing Company. They are the oldest craft brewery in Louisiana and have been putting out good beers for a long time. It is nice to see they are still putting out quality product, even an IPA that I can tolerate. For more info on their beers, please see Abita

Cheers!