Munich Lager, or so They Claim
Written: May 20 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Easy to drink; Refreshing
Cons: Not a Munich lager, like the company claims; No distinction
The Bottom Line: An acceptable beer, easy to drink and agreeable, but with no real distinction and lacking in character.
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| Bryan_Carey's Full Review: Abita Amber |
Abita Brewing Company is a regional craft- brewing operation located in Abita Springs, Louisiana, just a short distance from New Orleans. Known for its clean- tasting natural spring water, Abita Springs seems like the natural place to open a brewery.
Abita Brewing has been going strong now for about 18 years, producing about five year- round products and a few seasonal products. One of the flagship products is also the subject of this review. It’s Abita Amber, a medium- bodied beer brewed year- round and suitable for many occasions.
Basic Characteristics of This Beer:
This beer pours to an orange/reddish hue with a head of foam that is hearty but doesn’t last very long. The body of the beer is very bubbly, with large, soda pop- style pockets of carbonation rising from the bottom of the glass to the top, releasing an aroma that is both caramel- like and a little fruity.
Tasting this beer produces some sensations that are common for amber- style brews. For one, the flavor is one of caramelized malt, with some toasted notes and a little bit of burntness in the initial moments. The finish of the beer, however, is a tad watery and I can detect some other flavor, too. It almost seems a little bit lemony as each swig is completed.
Abita makes this beer using Perle Hops, crystal malt, and lager yeast, among other things. The final product has an alcohol level of 5 percent by volume.
Food Compatibility:
The main flavor profile here is the caramelized malt, and the overall taste is on the sweet side. This makes Abita Amber a little more difficult to match with specific foods. Ordinarily, a sweeter beer can be paired with sweet foods, but that isn’t the case, in this instance. I drank mine with a hamburger that had already been cooked in beer, so it seemed to match up with that. But besides beef and maybe some salty snacks, I really cannot think of any other food that would match up well with this beer.
Final Thoughts:
Abita Brewing Company is one of those regional craft brewers whose products seem to pop up wherever I go. The company is based in Louisiana, but its beer is distributed throughout many eastern U.S. states. Most anyplace I visit, if it has a large number of craft beers available, will usually carry at least one of Abita’s products. Abita Amber is one of the more common ones to find in bars and restaurants because it is the company’s biggest seller.
According to the Abita web site, this beer is officially classified as a Munich Lager style of brew. I have tasted other Munich lagers in the past, and I cannot figure out how Abita could think this beer is worthy of this title. It is much weaker and lighter than other Munich lagers. It seems like it should just be classified with the generic “amber” label- a very generalized heading that can mean almost anything.
This beer is sweet and easy- drinking, and worthy of at least some respect. There is a fair amount of complexity, with some interesting flavors present, and it does taste better than the majority of what you see on a typical grocery- store shelf. I like the bubbly nature, which helps add to the refreshment factor. But there isn’t really enough body or character here to count this beer as a classic.
Abita products are priced in the middle- range among craft malt beverages. A six- pack usually sells for about $6.49- just a little over one dollar per bottle. And they are easy to find in the Midwest and Southern United States. I have tried just about everything produced by this brewery at one time or another in the past. Only recently did I start to resample some of Abita’s products and compose reviews on them.
To summarize, Abita Amber is the type of beer that most people will find acceptable, but not exciting. It’s the type of beer that most of us would enthusiastically choose over a bottle of Coors without hesitation. But most of us would then stand there with the bottle in our hands and wish we were drinking something better. It’s a decent, drinkable effort on the part of Abita, but it’s not nearly as good or as memorable as an authentic Munich lager.
Recommended:
Yes
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