Price
Meter
Low!
Looks like Abita Brewing of Abita Springs, Louisiana has been pretty busy these days. Not too long ago I enjoyed Abita Triple Haze at my local Taco mac, and just missed their Lemon Wheat. I’ve picked up bottles of their Seersucker Summer Pils, Oktoberfest, and Strawberry Gator recently, all new beers from what I can see. Tonight, I’m drinking one of the most impressive of them all, Abita Legendary Gator, a bigger, bolder version of Abita Andygator. And Andygator is no slouch as it is.
Abita Andygator is a heller bock of strength 8% by volume. Legendary Gator tips the scales even further as we’ll soon see, while still retaining the quality and character of the original. This is the latest installment in the Abita Select series, following directly on the heels of the aforementioned Abita Triple Haze which was also and upsized version of an existing Abita brew.
Abita says the following about Legendary Gator on their website:
Legendary Gator is a take on one of our most popular year round offerings, Andygator. This triple helles bock is a very strong lager brewed with pilsner and caramel malt. It is hopped with German Perle for a pleasant bitterness and hoppy flavor. It is then dry hopped in the aging tank with Willamette hops. This blend of hops complement the sweetness and strong maltiness of the brew. It is fermented and aged for over 3 months so that the strong flavors of the malt blend well with the hops. The result is a very robust lager with a sweet malty flavor and aroma.
Abita Legendary Gator is draft only. It has an alcohol content of 10.25% by volume, with 25 IBUs. I paid $5 for an 11-ounce glass at Taco Mac. That’s actually on the low end for very strong beers on draft these days.
My glass of Abita Legendary Gator arrived a pale golden color with the aroma of sweet sticky pale malts in the nose; taking a sip I got even more of those in the palate. The beer is wonderfully toasty malty, with the slightest hint of toasted nuts and hints of cooked corn that I always get in pale bocks. A light note of caramel and rock candy, just the faintest bit of fruit, and a big warming alcohol in the finish with a gentle herbal hoppy aroma round this one out nicely.
For all the talk of the hops by Abita, Legendary Gator is not really bitter, but does have some grassy aroma and flavor, surprisingly strong in the hop burps. It’s easy to tell that Legendary Gator is a relative to Andygator, as the pale malt profile and richness from the higher alcohols are very similar. They’re just stronger here.
A wonderful sipping beer for an unseasonably cool fall here in Georgia. And sip you should, because this gator will sneak up on you with one heck of a bite if you’re not careful.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft