It’s a sign, I
suppose, when a craft brewery decides to make a light beer. A sign that
they’re going after a market that their usual beers likely won’t appeal to.
That market, of course, is made up of the health conscious consumer who is
counting calories and watching his or her weight. I’m not a believer in
light beer. I think it is the very anathema of what beer should be all
about, namely, taste.
Boston Beer Company has a winner on their hands with its Sam Adams Light,
though that beer at least does have some flavor. So, it only follows that
other regional brewers would produce their own light brew. Louisiana’s
Abita Brewing Company is no exception, and their Abita Light is
their entry into the light beer world.
Abita’s beers are ubiquitous in New Orleans. Abita Amber is widely available
on tap in the Crescent City, thought the light seems to be a beer that will
be more popular in bottles. Abita Light is cold filtered rather than
pasteurized. To its credit, Abita Light is adjunct free and made with only
barley malt, hops, and a German lager yeast. It has 119 calories per 12
ounce serving and 8.2g of carbohydrates.
As such, this is a beer that may appeal to those counting carbs and
calories, too. But how does it taste? Let’s find out.
Abita Light pours to a pale golden color with a medium sized spritzy
head formation and a faint touch of malt in the nose. There is a very light
amount of malt in the palate, along with a faint hint of the creamy nutty
flavor found in Abita Amber. The beer is fairly clean overall and benefits
from the lack of adjunct flavors. Unfortunately, the flavors here are too
light for my taste. In the finish, a very subtle kiss of hops is barely
perceptible. The beer finishes on the watery side.
As light beers go, this is one of the better ones. If I were drinking light
beer I would still prefer a Sam Adams Light, though. And of course, Abita
Light only saves you about 20 to 60 calories or so per bottle, depending on
the beer you usually drink. My advice is to drink something with more body,
and drink one less bottle or glass. Or just walk off those extra calories.
Still, as light beers go, I can certainly recommend this one.
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