Day 17 of the 6th Annual Advent-ure Calendar
Day 17: Abita Beer Christmas Ale
Abita Beer number 2 on the list. The first one didn’t fare too well with this group, so let’s see about numero deuce! From Abita: “Our Christmas Ale is a brown ale that is brewed with six types of malted barley and fermented with American Ale yeast. It is brewed with pale malt as well as a combination of Caramel, Biscuit, Munich, and chocolate malts. It is hopped and dry-hopped with Columbus, Cascade, Centennial, and Amarillo and has a nice piney and citrus hop flavor and aroma. The result is a flavorful brown ale that is sweet and malty with a pleasant hop aroma.”
Reflections
Ben: Meh. Nothing special about this. It’s not bad, it’s just not great. If someone gave this to me, I’d finish it. But I’d want a different beer next. It’s slightly hoppy, a little toasty from the various malts used, and just kind of boring. If anything, this reminds me of fall, but not Christmas. There’s better brown ales out there, and certainly better Christmas Ales.
Julia: I feel like Abita beers are hit or miss. Since Office Party was a miss, I was hoping this would be a hit, even though I really don’t like brown ales. Nope, not for me. Actually, it’s just fine. I would drink it if someone gave it to me but would not actively seek it out. It smells and tastes just a tad metallicy. It’s really just unmemorable there are no specific flavors in this beer. I can’t even tell it’s a brown ale. I bet in a few days I wouldn’t even remember what I thought of this beer. I would not recommend this beer but don’t throw it out if you already bought it.
Adam: This is a bit like A Groundhog Day situation where I drink this every year and every year I’m very underwhelmed. I don’t love brown ales in general and this just feels flat over all. Not really very flavorful at all. It smells like chocolate and citrus like the flavor profile says it should taste like then the flavor is just “brown ale.”
Alex: Abita Christmas Ale is just… fine. It’s not amazing. It’s not terrible. It’s not a stand out in a good or bad way. I feel like it tastes like a slightly hoppy spiced holiday beer. I probably won’t actively seek it out, but I would not turn it down if offered.
Scott: My first reaction to the Abita Christmas Ale is that it tastes watered down. I think I was expecting a more full tasting beer and while it’s not bad, I wouldn’t reach for one again. The flavor is fine, it’s easy to drink and has a decent aftertaste but it lacked any real punch to get me excited to try one again.
Christa: This beer was very interesting. The smell wasn’t pleasant but I’m pleased to say the taste isn’t as bad. It’s just…boring. There’s no pointed Christmas spice we get in the typical Christmas ale. There’s absolutely zero sweetness. The aftertaste is a little metallic so I’m curious if this is a bad bottle. Abita notes the recipe changes every year so perhaps better luck next year?
*special guest reviewers Danny & Paige*
Danny: This beer is completely forgettable. I am having a hard time coming up with flavors to even compare it to. I don’t know what the goal was here…if the point was to be a contender in a Christmas ale lineup, this one failed to tell me any kind of story.
Paige: This beer tastes very flat to me. It doesn’t have a lot of flavor and with it being a Christmas ale that’s a grave mistake especially with us hailing from Cleveland where Christmas ale is king. I wouldn’t buy this nor would I suggest anyone buy it.
Tony: We’ve been on a streak of some really good beers recently, but this one is just ok. Its lighter in color, like an amber or brown ale, and the taste is hoppy and malty. You get some spice and some bitterness also. I think we’ve been spoiled by some really good, unique beers recently so with this is one its just fine, its pretty good. Nothing sticks out though. The holiday beer category is growing every year and as you’ve seen from this year’s lineup there are some really fun and original ones out there so this one kind of gets lost in the crowd, but its an ok Christmas Ale.
Megan: We previously enjoyed Abita Office Party but it was a stout that was so light it felt like an ale so I was interested to try this one. It’s got the holiday spices you see in a Christmas ale. It smells sweet but is more hoppy than I was expecting. It has a caramel feel and isn’t too bitter or overpowering. It’s not bad if you prefer hoppy beers but I prefer Office Party to this or if you’re going for a classic Christmas ale, I would go with a Great Lakes first. To sum it up, it’s ok.
Brad: This is our second Abita beer for the holidays. I was expecting a nicely spiced red ale and I was severely disappointed. This is the first beer on the calendar that I just could not push myself to finish. Our bottle has a lot of bitterness and no carbonation. If I had to pick, I’d stick with the Abita Office Party for the holidays and skip their Christmas Ale. Actually, I am still very confused why this is called a Christmas Ale. It ain’t. I’m excited to see if I was the odd one out on this review.
Heather: There’s a line from a quirky fun movie that perfectly sums up how I feel about this beer: “I hated it… but wasn’t interested enough to [taste] it again to find out why.” (Kate McKinnon, Yesterday… more or less). I immediately grimaced after taking a drink. It bites you. Hard. And I’m not just saying that because gators are pulling the sleigh on the label. I can’t really give an eloquent assessment of individual flavors because I literally couldn’t take another sip. This is a big Nope from me.