This past Sunday I walked into my local Taco Mac location here in Canton, Georgia to catch the New England Patriots game and enjoy a few beers. The game turned out to be a bit of a disaster, but luckily the beer front was a different story entirely. Taco Mac, of course, is a chain of sports bar restaurants located throughout Georgia and expanding through the southeast. Most locations have around 100 beers on draft, and you can sign up for their free "Brewniversity" card  that rewards you for trying varying numbes of different beers.

The first thing I always do upon arriving at Taco Mac is to check the draft list to see what's new and interesting. As I spied it this time around, I almost missed the entry for a cask selection, something I've only seen a few times at the Canton store. That's because Abita Vanilla Cask Turbodog was listed way at the bottom of the new arrivals page, almost hidden from view.

This is a variant on the ever-popular Abita Turbodog, a brew that Abita calls a brown ale but one that straddles the line of porter. The vanilla laced version is a cask-only offering, though it did not seem to have the assertive fruitiness a true cask-conditioned beer should display.

My pint was pulled from the handpump and arrived with a very light film of foam, that foam made up of large, loosely packed bubbles. The color was a dark brownish black although the beer was not opaque when held to the light. Taking a sip, I was pleased to see the beer was served cool, but not cold. Roughly speaking my Vanilla Turbodog was about cellar temperature, seemingly in the fifty degree range. This allowed the robust flavors to come to the fore more fully.

The usual Turbodog notes of chocolate and caramel were apparent, but gently laced with a hint of spicy vanilla. The beer was exceptionally smooth, and the light carbonation made it even more drinkable. The finish was smooth and balanced lightly in a roasty way more than a hoppy one; the vanilla seemed to help close out the beer, too. All in all a very pleasant affair and reasonable at five bucks for a pint.

It was, of course, too early to order dessert, but I can imagine this beer would work wonderfully with same. Perhaps a chocolate brownie and scoop of vanilla ice cream? In any event, this one sees to appear only rarely and Abita described the Atlanta area cask offerings an "event". If you see this one, don't pass on it.



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