Pecan Ale
Abita Brewing Co.

Pecan AlePecan Ale
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From:
Abita Brewing Co.
 
Louisiana, United States
Style:
American Brown Ale
Ranked #260
ABV:
5.2%
Score:
77
Ranked #27,178
Avg:
3.37 | pDev: 14.84%
Reviews:
434
Ratings:
1,161
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jan 31, 2024
Added:
Feb 05, 2007
Wants:
  25
Gots:
  159
Formerly Pecan Harvest Ale

Pecan Harvest Ale is made with real Louisiana pecans that have been toasted to perfection. That makes it something really special, because most beers with a nutty flavor or aroma aren’t made with real nuts. The natural oils from the Louisiana pecans give the ale a light pecan finish and aroma.

20 IBU
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by bulldog91:
Photo of bulldog91
Reviewed by bulldog91 from Illinois

2.09/5  rDev -38%
look: 3 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
Pours a dark gold with an orange tint
Smell is not pleasant. No sweet, no pecan and not a pleasant smell here.
Taste is watery. An ale. No sweet, no pecans, just an ale. Not a bad ale, but an ale. With no pecans.
Nothing remarkable about its mouthfeel.
Overall, a disappointment. It intrigued me enough to buy it, with hopes of a nutty and/or sweet ping to it. Neither was there. A good beer for summer, maybe, easy drinking, but not much to it.
Nov 15, 2012
More User Ratings:
Photo of mooseheadchris
Reviewed by mooseheadchris

3.54/5  rDev +5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Nice amber brown color. Slight carbonation with a small head that peters quickly. Aroma is subtle.

Taste is surprisingly robust, great roasted pecan flavor with some bready undertones. Very smooth and drinkable.

Solid.
Jan 31, 2024
Photo of TheOccasionalBeer
Reviewed by TheOccasionalBeer from Wisconsin

2.61/5  rDev -22.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Maybe it's me, but I only detected a (very) faint candied nut and beer aroma on popping the cap off. Pouring a very bubble-laden transparent light burnt sepia with a slight reddish cast, the brew made a nice two-finger head of middling cream-colored foam. In the glass, a slightly greater sent of a nut-heavy fruitcake could be detected. The first sip was... unpleasant, as the a sour nut tasted dominated. The carbonation had disappeared, so there wasn't much of anything that cut into the slight roundness. Subsequent sips were passable, if one likes drinking a weak beer with a pecan maybe having soaked in it for a few hours. The aftertaste was probably the most pecan thing about this. Not drain-worthy, but about as meh as one could get.
Nov 04, 2023
Photo of JuanPn
Reviewed by JuanPn from Louisiana

3.89/5  rDev +15.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
the color is cloudy dark gold
it smells a bit caramel
taste like toast bread, with a mild, nutty flavor
the bitterness is not bad, and more of an after taste
Nov 03, 2023
Photo of JZH1000
Reviewed by JZH1000 from Colorado

3.73/5  rDev +10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
12oz, bottled on July 26th 2023

On the pour, 2 fingers of off white to tan head formed on top of a light brown body. Thick lacing forms on the glass.

Aroma is quite dry with a malty and nutty toasted aroma, as well as some doughy and slight dried fruit notes. Crackery and nutty, giving the impression of richness, but also a bit light.

Taste brings some hoppy bitterness right up front that quickly transforms into the crackery nutty flavor from the aroma. Again the flavor comes off as a bit light, but the finish is definitely a lightly bitter pecan. A nice lightly sweet amber ale malty thing is also going on throughout.

Feel is full, but crispy and dry. Pretty refreshing and well matched to a cool fall evening after a warm, but not hot day. There is a dryness on the tongue throughout the long finish that feels a lot like the dryness pecans can impart.

Overall this is a nice harvest themed, but not over the top beer. It's also nice to see a bit more from Abita out west. Super solid brown/amber ale base, with slight hop bitterness, bit nothing off style. The pecans are subtle bit noticeable if you look for them, as they meld in nicely.
Oct 04, 2023
Photo of Dustin015
Reviewed by Dustin015 from Maryland

2.86/5  rDev -15.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
L- Pours clear amber into a 16 oz pint glass. Medium quickly discipating head. no lacing.
S- Same as sticking your nose in a bag or malted 2-row barley. Pure malt aroma. slight nuttyness
T- Subtle fruitiness from the yeast but mostly malt very akin to an amber ale
F- medium-high carbonation. Some sticky residual.
O- Good malty amber ale. almost no detectable pecan flavor or aroma. As a big pecan guy im dissapointed... but as an amber ale it is good...
Sep 17, 2023
 
Rated: 3.75 by Rainintheface from Florida

Sep 14, 2023
Photo of whynot44
Reviewed by whynot44 from Missouri

3.94/5  rDev +16.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Clear copper/brown color with a moderate but lasting tan head and some streaks of lace.
The aroma is mild caramel and pecan.
The taste is light caramel malt, hint of fresh biscuits and a pleasantly mild pecan. I really appreciate the finesse of the pecan flavor, definitely there but not offensively overstated or bitter, very nice.
The body is light/medium, modest carbonation, fairly smooth and very easy to drink, goes down nicely.
Altogether, this is a very pleasant take on a brown ale, very nice for fall and winter but enjoyable anytime, solid.
Sep 06, 2023
 
Rated: 3.49 by funku2 from Colorado

Aug 26, 2023
 
Rated: 3.43 by dd53grif from Michigan

Aug 24, 2023
 
Rated: 3.25 by chiefz1 from New York

Feb 24, 2023
 
Photo of Furlinator
Rated by Furlinator from California

3.59/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
From the bottle at mom's house on 02/05/23.
Feb 05, 2023
 
Rated: 3.68 by LXIXME from New Mexico

Nov 14, 2022
Photo of 2beerdogs
Reviewed by 2beerdogs from California

3.52/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Pretty. Dark amber in hue. Fluffy off-white head. Good retention. Scattered clumpy lacing.
Nose has a most delicate hint of nuttiness. The caramel notes, while more prominent, are subdued.
Again, caramel notes are subtle, the nuttiness comes in a tad more here. An oh so nuanced nutty oiliness adds an interesting dimension too.
Carbonation tapers off, could be more lively. Gentle bitter finish, again the oil comes in nicely.
Overall, a pretty good, lighter American brown.
Sep 28, 2022
Photo of MikeWard
Reviewed by MikeWard from Pennsylvania

3.63/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
12oz bottle into a pint glass. NO freshness dating.

Looks pretty good. Dark amber body with an off white head. This shrinks to a fat collar, some streaks of lacing.

Very light aroma, malty.

On tasting, clean, malty, no pecan or nutty flavors. A little sweet.

Mouth medium, finish a little drying.

Overall, a complete lack of pecan makes it a pretty simple lightweight brown ale
Sep 25, 2022
 
Rated: 3.21 by LizT from Texas

Sep 11, 2022
Photo of Tilley4
Reviewed by Tilley4 from Tennessee

4.1/5  rDev +21.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
I am calling BS on the low scores with this beverage. I'm just curious if people thought they were going to get pecan pie in a glass? If so, you did not read the description.

I think they do a terrific job of capturing the essence aroma and flavor of and flavor of a pecan... There is a definite nuttiness and oil in us to the beer just like a real pecan would have. If I did not know any better I would almost think that I was drinking a Octoberfest. It has that sort of flavor profile and personally I think it's quite tasty.

I will be drinking this all fall long while it is available. I enjoy it.
Aug 30, 2022
 
Rated: 3.72 by SeaBass12378 from Virginia

Aug 30, 2022
Photo of Christianriveraaa
Reviewed by Christianriveraaa

2.75/5  rDev -18.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75
Look: Poured from a 12 oz bottle bought from trader joes, dark brown color with about 4 fingers length of foam risen to the surface. a little bit of lacing as the foam goes down.
Smell: Getting notes of caramel - heavy caramel and molasses as well as hops.
Taste: Getting notes of nuts, hops, with a big ending reminding me of finishing a biscuit. Very well done!
Feel: medium bodied beer, not to heavy not acidic at all.
Overall: Not my favorite of the bunch by far. Tastes like a regular beer with nutty aromas added to it. I was expecting sweet but this isn't to sweet at all.
Aug 08, 2022
Pecan Ale from Abita Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 77 out of 100 with 1161 ratings