Sip Into Something Seductively Red from Abita
Written: Apr 26 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Sweet malty flavor with some unexpected complexity
Cons: Not widely available
The Bottom Line: I'm not usually impressed by red and amber ales, but Abita Red brings more complexity and a more robust flavor profile to the table. I'll have another...
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| mrkstvns's Full Review: Abita Red Ale |
Continuing my explorations into the wilds of the Abita product line, I picked up a six of Abita Red Ale the other day. Glad I did. The beer is more complex and flavorful than renditions I've had from other breweries, and its one of the few reds that actually makes me want to pop open a second bottle. Here's why I think I'll have another...
What I Expect in a a Beer Labeled "Red Ale"
The term "red ale" was popularized by marketing people at Coors Brewing Company in the late 1980s and early 1990s timeframe as a description for their George Killian's Irish Red. Outside the vivid imaginations of these marketing people, there is no fundamental difference between red ales and the more accepted "amber ale" classification used by most beer judges and beer writers in the United States. In turn, "amber ales" are basically pale ales and by extension, so are red ales. And it is so...
Understanding red ales is even easier than understanding amber ales because some breweries do make vienna or maerzen style lagers that they market as merely "amber." Not so with red ales -- I'm unaware of any craft brewers marketing red ales that are really amber lagers. So let's look at what "red ale" represents in the U.S. craft brewing scene...
If you've been drinking many craft-brewed beers, you know red ales, amber ales, and their pale ale fathers as one of the most ubiquitous styles in the American craft-brewing business. It's the house flagship beer at most brewpubs in the Americas and the flagship brand of countless micros and contract brewers.
These ales are average strength beers (about 5% alcohol) with a color ranging from somewhat deep yellow to amber (roughly 7 to 14 on the SRM scale). The biggest signature of the pale ale style is the hops: this is a deliciously bitter beer that often showcases the flavor characteristics of American-grown hop varieties. In the amber and red divisions of this style, look for a little more crystal malt, which translates to a slightly sweet caramel flavor and a bit deeper color. One of the most classic examples of an amber ale (in my opinion) is Red Tail Ale from Mendocino Brewing in California.
Red and amber ales may be fairly hoppy, but never as intensely so as classic American pale ales like Sierra Nevada Ale -- no, the hopping is a bit more restrained, though the best amber ales are still fairly hoppy brews. I look for more balance in red ales and amber ales.
Enough chitter chatter though, let's pop the top on this bottle and see what "red ale" means to our fine Cajun friends at Abita.
A Glass of the Red...
I think I'll use my standard bar mixer glass for this beer, since it is your basic bar craft beer style. So let's pop the top...pssssttt!....and pour...
Appearance:
Deep golden color with just a slightly orange tinge to it. Lighter in color than many "red ales". Just eyeballing this beer, I'd peg it at right around 7 on the SRM scale. Good clarity and carbonation with just a slight ring of a head that drops down fairly quickly. A nice looking glass of beer!
Aroma:
Interesting. I'm picking up the same kind of sucrose-like sugary scent that bowled me over when I sampled the Abita Golden. Maybe it's a house signature, or maybe this beer and the Golden are just two variations on the same basic recipe (likely, I'd guess). There's a fairly pronounced malt signature on this beer with some soft toffee and maybe a little bit of the buttery scent that signifies possibly higher than desired diacetyl levels.
Flavor:
Sweet and malty with some soft biscuit like flavors and the unmistakable toffee flavor that comes from the use of crystal malt. The balance is just a bit to the sweet side of the scale. I'll bet the brewers at Abita use hops only with a single early addition to the kettle because I get very little hop flavor and no real aroma. There's also no lingering bitterness and even when I swirl my tongue around my mouth after swallowing, I get the impression of soft freshly ground malt -- not hops at all.
Verdict:
I'm not generally a big fan of ambers or red ales, but this beer is a bit more complex and interesting than a lot of the brands I've sampled over the years. It's got a nice malt profile and even if there may be a tinge of diacetyl in this brew, it comes across on my palate as contributing a roundness and depth to the beer beyond what a more "cleanly brewed" beer might have. I like it. I also like the somewhat sugary feel of the beer. It vaguely reminds me of the type of sugar note I get in Trappist ales and the beer has a slightly complex yeast signature that's not unlike some of the well-brewed Belgian pale ales. Make no mistake, Abita Red is most certainly a typical American pale ale/red ale, but even with what some beer judges might regard as "flaws", the beer creates an overall good impression with me -- it's a brew that's more characterful and robust than many competitors in the style, and while I don't regard it as world class, it deserves an above-average rating.
Good stuff! Now I'll paste in some of my boilerplate brewery notes on Abita that you can read for a moment while I pull another bottle of this brew out of the beer fridge. 'Scuse me a sec...
About Abita
Abita is one of those craft breweries that you don't always hear a whole lot about, but that quietly go about making good beer and catering to their local market and growing their business. Abita is one of the old-timers of the craft brewing industry, having gotten their start back in 1986. Over the years, they've expanded to the point where, today, they are poised to become one of the largest independent breweries in the U.S. (they recently purchased a 100-barrel brewhouse from Canadian equipment fabricator DME -- the largest brewhouse DME ever built.)
Abita likes to stress the purity of their water as the defining element that sets them apart from the pack. They claim that the natural water sources at Abita Springs let them brew without doing any mineral adjustments before brewing. Natural spring water -- that's what Abita says they use.
While Abita's stronghold is the Louisiana market, their beers can be found in almost every state in the U.S. today. I know that it's available in the Texas and Washington D.C. areas, and I see from Abita's web page that they have distributors just about everywhere else too, from Connecticut to California, so this should be a beer that's not too tough for most folks to get their lips on...
More info is on their web site: www.abita.com
Bottom Line
If you're looking to try a nicely brewed red ale, I definitely recommend Abita Red Ale. It's quite different from hallmarks like Red Tail Ale, but a fine, eminently drinkable brew, nonetheless. I'd like to hear some comments from anyone else who has tried this brew.
This is the kind of beer that I enjoy drinking with almost any spicy food, but definitely with Mexican food like pollo enchilado, which we always grill at our house with a thick chilpotle crust. Mmmm!
Until next time, see you at the pub! Pull up a stool and I'll buy ya a pint o' the red...
Related Reviews:
Abita Bock
http://www.epinions.com/content_58282970756
Abita Golden
http://www.epinions.com/content_59924319876
Recommended:
Yes
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