Abita Amber Ale and Purple Haze® at the East End Bar August 26, 2019

Hey hey peeps. How's everyone doing today. For today's SiscoVanilla Beer Chronicles, we go down to Louisana to showcase the Abita Brewing Company. Originally based in Abita Springs, Louisiana and now its brewery is based in Covington, Louisiana, Abita has been plying its craft (no pun intended) since 1986. The company was founded by formed by Jim Patton and Rush Cumming.

According to their website, they produced 1,500 barrels of beer in its first year and by 1994 the company was so popular that they outgrew their original brewery and moved into a bigger location just up the road. Their original location is now the Abita Brew Pub (72011 Holly Street, Abita Springs LA.) Today Abita has brewed over 150,000 barrels with many more to come. According to article Abita Brewing Celebrates 25 Years With New Brew from Brewbound, Abita is the 24th largest commercial brewer by production volume in the nation and the 15th largest craft brewer in the United States. Abita can be found in 46 states and in Puerto Rico.

Abita currently has 14-year round beers available with a number of seasonal and limited beers. The first beer produced by Abita was the Amber Ale, which remains one of the most popular offerings that Abita has. Here's how the Abita website describes the Abita Amber Ale:

Amber is a Munich style lager brewed with pale and caramel malts and German Perle hops. It has a smooth, malty, slightly caramel flavor and a rich amber color. Abita Amber was the first beer offered by the brewery and continues to be our leading seller. Amber is Abita’s most versatile beer for pairing with food. It has been voted "best beer" in numerous New Orleans reader polls and is used frequently in recipes of great Louisiana chefs.

Beer Advocate gives the Abita Amber Ale a score of 79 out of 100 and in the Vienna Lager category, it is ranked at number 149. Craft Beer & Brewing is a bit more complimentary with their score for the Abita Amber Ale being a 90 out of 100.

The Abita Amber Ale has an ABV of 4.5 IBU of 17. I reviewed the Amber Ale back on December 23, 2018 at the East End Bar (1664 1st Avenue, New York, NY 10028 (212)348-3783) You can watch my video review SiscoVanilla Has An Abita Amber Ale @EastEndNYC on 12/23/2018 on my SiscoVanilla IG-TV channel. The short and sweet review is that I loved the rich, malty and hearty feel of this beautiful red beer. The Amber is right up my alley!!! So what better place to have a second offering of an Abita beer than the East End Bar. I chose the Abita Purple Haze® Raspberry Lager.

The Purple Haze® is another of the core beers produced by Abita year round. I love the logo used for the Purple Haze® by Abita. Its a rendering of the Loa of Haitian Vodou Baron Samedi. The first thing that comes to mind is Geoffrey Holder's rendition of Baron Samedi from the 1973 James Bond movie Live and Let Die. Now I need to play Paul McCartney's Live and Let Die. 😁😁😁 Here is how Abita describes the Purple Haze®:

Purple Haze® is a lager brewed with real raspberries added after filtration. It is brewed with pilsner and wheat malts and Vanguard hops. The berries add a fruity aroma, tartly sweet taste and a subtle purple color and haze...you may see fruit pulp in the beer. This beer is best served with salads or light fruit desserts, such as soufflés or chiffon cakes. Many people enjoy it with chocolate desserts. Purple Haze® pairs well with certain cheeses, such as ripened Brie or any dessert made with mascarpone. It’s also great paired with entrees prepared with fruit, especially citrus. Consider enjoying Purple Haze® alone at the end of your meal as dessert.

Beer Advocate gives the Abita Purple Haze® a score of 76 out of 100. The beer has an ABV of 4.2% with an IBU of 13. I reviewed the Abita Purple Haze in the post SiscoVanilla Has an @abitabeer Purple Haze at the East End Bar on 08-22-19 on my IG-TV channel. What did I think of it? 

I found the raspberry to be subtle. Not as strong as you would find in a Framboise Lambic Belgian raspberry beer but very pleasant to the nose and the palate. It is a light and refreshing beer to say the least but I would think that after three or four of these, the raspberry flavor would start to sit on the tongue. But overall, I give it a strong recommendation. 

I'm on the hunt for some of the other Abita offerings, especially the dark brown ale named the Turbodog. I paid Brooklyn Sub a visit on Saturday but they only had the Purple Haze® in stock. Any other of the Abita beers that you've had that you would recommend? Shoot me a message on my Instagram. Let me know what you think either positively or negatively. Any info is good info. 

Until Then Happy Drinking,
SiscoVanilla
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