Here’s a beer that will wake up your taste buds: Abita Louisiana Spiced Ale. I don’t mean that in an in-your-face kind of way, because as we’ll see Abita Louisiana Spiced, a new beer from Abita of Abita Springs and Covington, Louisiana, is all about subtlety. That makes the beer quaffable while still delivering on the spice, and makes it suitable for pairing with a pile of crawfish or shrimp.
The label alone was enough to tell me that this was a beer I just had to try, so when I saw that Stout’s Growlers here in Canton had it on tap I grabbed my stainless steel 64-ounce Drink Tank mini-keg and filled ‘er up. I enjoyed the beer the next day on a warm Sunday afternoon sitting on my patio while air-frying a plump spiced chicken.
From the Abita website:
If there’s one season Louisianans look forward to all year, it’s crawfish boiling season….. When there’s newspaper on the table, crawfish in the pot, and an Abita in your hands, the more the merrier!
And of course, in Louisiana, we like spice not just in our food, but in our lives and in our beer, too. With hints of cayenne, celery, paprika, lemon peel and bay leaves, this beer has all the savory elements of a crawfish boil. Hopped with Cascades for a citrus flavor, it is refreshing, crisp and slightly sweet with enough kick to keep the party going. Get the gang together around a big pot of crawfish, or just a six-pack of Abita Louisiana Spiced Ale, or both and let the good times roll.
Abita Louisiana Spiced Ale has an alcohol content of 5.2% by volume with 22 IBUs. I paid $10.80 for 64-ounces at Stouts, a great deal indeed. It sells locally in six-packs for $8.99.
Abita Louisiana Spiced Ale pours to a pale color with a thick head of creamy foam and a soft bready nose laced with citrus and spice. Taking a sip, the beer has a soft bready malt body with a hint of butter to start. The spices come next and they’re subtle, with the herbal bay leaf coming first, then a hint of citric lemon and gentle spicy cayenne biting in the finish. I don’t get the celery but there is a suggestion of paprika throughout.
Abita Louisiana Spiced is meant to be light and drinkable, something you could drink a few or more of while enjoying a big plate of boiled spicy delicacies. It went well with my outdoors cooked chicken, but I’ll try it again with shrimp sometime soon. Indeed, the beer would be perfect to boil shrimp or crawfish in as well as wash them down. At the bargain price, you can easily afford to do that, too. I love the idea, I love the inspiration, I love the beer. Try it, and chances are you will, too.
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