Like the old commercial....Where's the fruit??
Written: May 18 '00 (Updated May 19 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Slightly sweet and tart
Cons: Title is a misnomer, price
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| Volman's Full Review: Abita Purple Haze |
After almost 4 years in college, I have acquired quite a taste for the lower priced beers. In effect, I want as much bang as I can get for my buck. So, without a whole lot of money to spend, Natural Light seems to be the most common choice here at school. And the fact that I go to school in Knoxville means that anything more than big domestic brands are often hard to find. So, when I do get the chance to go home to Atlanta and splurge a little, I often look for beers which are not available to me in Knoxville. The last time I visited home, I noticed a purple labelled bottle on the shelf which I had never before seen. The name of it was Abita Purple Haze, and just the name of this beer oozed coolness. I mean, a Jimi Hendrix song combined with a name like Abita? This was one beer that I just had to try. And, while not terrible, I must admit that this beer was somewhat of a disappointment.
With a name like Purple Haze, I was expecting something a little psychedelic, or at least a little out of the ordinary. Obviously, I wasn't going into it thinking I was going to be tripping after a bottle or two, but there had to be some reason that this beer carried the title it did. My first disappointment came with my first sip, and the knowledge that there really was nothing that uncommon about this beer. It tasted fine, and that was all. It wasn't anything atrocious like Natural Light, but it surely didn't overwhelm me with style. For a 6-pack that costs almost $7 dollars, surely we could get something a little better than an interesting title wasted on an ordinary beer.
I don't know of many beers that add raspberries during fermentation, and this should be one main clue as to why the beer is nothing out of the ordinary. You really cannot taste the raspberries at all. I figured that maybe it was just me, so I had a few of my family members try the beer and we all came to the same conclusion. Only one person out of six even claimed that he could taste a hint of raspberries. The rest of us were clueless. So, we took it a step further and poured a bottle into a clear glass to see if we could even figure out the "purple." Once again, it was a no go. I guess if you held it up to a purple tinted window, it might look purple, but no hint of this was seen in regular light.
Now, I don't mean to totally down this beer. It did have some appealing qualities. The beer was slightly sweet, which while probably something to do with the raspberries, still carried not a hint of fruity flavor. The company claims that it has a fruity taste and smell. Well, we sure couldn't find it. Purple Haze is also quite crisp and tart, which in my opinion of beers, is certainly a bonus. I really did like the flavor of the beer, but figured that I could probably have done better with a cheaper beer. And while the beer was a little lighter than most beers I consume, it was light in an appealing way that I have rarely seen. I guess it was more of a middle ground beer, as in it wasn't too light or too dark, and that was certainly one of the stronger points to this beer.
If Abita had only added more of the raspberry flavoring, then this certainly could have been a wonderful beer. I am usually not a fan of fruity flavored beers, but with a beer like Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat, you can at least taste the cherry flavoring. As with Sam Adams, I would prefer to have a little more raspberry flavoring if that is what Abita wants to claim in their marketing. I guess that is probably the main thing that turned me off to this beer. I felt swindled after not getting what I thought I was paying for. This beer under any other name might have been received a little better.
Abita Purple Haze makes you think of Jimi Hendrix, and that is exactly what the company wants you to think. They can offer up an ordinary beer, with a great name, and still have it selling off the shelves. Even Abita themselves will tell you that Purple Haze is their top-selling beer along with Turbo Dog. Could this also be just another decent beer with an extraordinary name? I guess I'll have to read about Turbo Dog somewhere else, because I sure won't be paying Abita's prices again. Abita Purple Haze is certainly what I consider to be a middle class beer, with an upper class title. I wouldn't recommend this beer to anyone at this price, but if you find it cheaper then it just might be a decent buy. However, don't be fooled by the title, as Purple Haze is nothing like what the title would have the buyer believe.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
Volman
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Location: Straight from the Dec (Decatur/Atlanta), now in Knoxville, TN
Reviews written: 56
Trusted by: 50 members
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