Abita Select Double IPA
Abita Brewing Co.

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From:
Abita Brewing Co.
 
Louisiana, United States
Style:
Imperial IPA
ABV:
9%
Score:
86
Avg:
3.82 | pDev: 10.73%
Reviews:
14
Ratings:
16
Status:
Retired
Rated:
May 23, 2012
Added:
Feb 28, 2010
Wants:
  2
Gots:
  0
Our Double IPA is made with pale and light crystal malts. It is going to give the beer a deep pale color and malty flavor. It will also give it a very strong taste. It is hopped liberally with Apollo, Cascade, Chinook and Centennial hops. This is going to give the beer a pleasant bitter taste and an intense hop flavor and aroma. The extra bitterness will mix with the strong sweet flavor from the malt to give the beer a very balanced taste. The result is a very bold and flavorful IPA.

65 IBU
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Vengeance526:
Photo of Vengeance526
Reviewed by Vengeance526 from Louisiana

3.9/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Pours a golden orange color with a small off-white head that lasts for just a little while before subsiding and leaving a little lacing.

Smells of sweet malt and a good dose of piney and citrus hops.

Taste again seems to have a lot of pine upfront, then some citrus notes start to show up. A little bready at the end with some spice present as well.

Medium body and light to medium carbonation. Overall, not a bad DIPA. Not overly hopped, a balance tha is maybe just slightly on the hoppy side but well done for the most part. I wouldn't mind seeing this replace Jockamo as a yearly offering.
Apr 08, 2010
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4 by ccozzi from Colorado

May 23, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by chapcat from Texas

Nov 25, 2011
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Reviewed by drpimento from Wisconsin

3.21/5  rDev -16%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
Pretty good DIPA cept for the carbonation. Served with a thick, creamy, fine, off white head and good lace. Color is a clear amber with bubble streams. Aroma is mainly fresh hops, with malt, citrus, grass. Flavor is much the same as nose with bittersweetness out in front. Body is ok and carbonation is a bit flat. Finish is like flavor but needs the carbonation.
Aug 01, 2011
Photo of kevo237
Reviewed by kevo237 from Louisiana

4.23/5  rDev +10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
My first DIPA and I'm completely sold on the style.

Look of the beer was typical and the smell was of alcohol and some maltiness. Nothing out of the ordinary here. Mouthfeel was excellent all around. Wasn't over carbonated to leave a short finish. The drinkability was outstanding and I didn't even notice the 9% abv. I thought it was well balanced as the maltiness would shine through after the initial hopiness would fade. I quaffed this down easily and enjoyed it immensely. Can't wait to try more DIPAs.
Jun 24, 2011
Photo of champ103
Reviewed by champ103 from Texas

3.12/5  rDev -18.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
On tap at the LA Tap Room in Lafayette.

A: Pours a dark orange/reddish color. A small white head forms, and recedes to nothing in a second. No lace is left behind.
S: Resiny, pine and citrus. Some caramel malt. Not much else, but nice enough.
T: Lots of resiny pine and citrus up front. The bitterness smacks you in the fast at first, then it is gone. Light sweetness, but everything fades in a second. There is nothing in the finish.
M/D: A medium body and carbonation. Certainly clean, but a bit on the watery side. Plenty of alcohol. Really not something I want to come back to.

At first a big hop punch, but nothing lasts. Everything fades in a second, and I have never had a DIPA with this little finish of anything (be it malts or hops). Just a ho hum DIPA. Nothing bad, but nothing I would recommend either.
Jun 15, 2011
Photo of DoubleSimcoe
Reviewed by DoubleSimcoe from Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -8.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Abita Select Double IPA, 64-oz growler filled at Whole Foods Bowery in New York City for $13.99.

Appearance: Served in my Sierra snifter, this brew comes with a rather majestic head mostly due to my rather aggressive pour. Decent-but-not-spectacular lacing and bright orange/rusty-copper color. Sort of a Donald Judd sculpture, or an early Richard Serra.

Smell: Malts, orange juice, citrus. Sweetness- a bit of cheesecake and coconut.

Taste: Follows nose, with more orange and sweetness. Spicy and prickly at the end, lingers in the mouth. More malty than bitter, a tad too boozy. Would pair great with Indian food.

Mouthfeel: Medium body, carbonation and flavor. About average for a Double IPA. Spicy, tingle finish, somewhat uncommon for a DIPA.

Overall: I can't say this stands out in the crowded field of Double IPA's, but it sure is the best Abita beer I have had. Pleasant, drinkable, unremarkable. Next? Cheers!
May 23, 2011
Photo of chaz410
Reviewed by chaz410 from North Carolina

3.45/5  rDev -9.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Got this ON TAP at Common Market!
Pours a deep amber body with a finger length white head.
Smells of floral and citrus hops and hints of caramel.
Tastse heavy of malts such as two row and crystal with a nice balance of piney and floral hops. Finishes citrusy and quick, it doesn't linguer on the tongue like so many IPAs do.
Very drinkable, this beer's my favorite from Abita!
Jul 15, 2010
Photo of atsprings
Reviewed by atsprings from North Carolina

4.05/5  rDev +6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
On-tap at Flying Saucer served in a standard pint glass a crisp light copper orange with a decent off-white head that leaves decent lacing on the glass. Aroma is a decent blend of pine and caramel. The taste is a nice bitter pine with lingering caramel. The beer is medium bodied with well hidden alcohol. I must say this is the best Abita beer I've had yet.
May 24, 2010
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Reviewed by haddon from Kentucky

3.77/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
pours a rusty brown with an orange hue & a minimum frothy head. decent lacing down the glass

S- super sweet on the nose! the hops an citrus are there... mostly orange peel, but are drowned out by dates, raisin, brown sugar & a rich malty backbone

very interesting taste right off... very sweet with a strong taste of licorice & bready dough. after sitting on the palate for a moment the spiciness came with pine & hops. finally brings a bitter aftertaste. the tastes transitioned with quite a contrast but was a little imbalanced.

feel was medium body and a little thick and velvety in the mouth. seemed a little light on the carbonation for me

very interesting take on a DIPA but a little too malty for me. would have like more of a hop kick to balance out the sweet malt backbone.
May 23, 2010
Photo of MrHassellYaHurd
Reviewed by MrHassellYaHurd from Louisiana

3.73/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Had on tap at the Top of the Hops festival @ Fountainebleu State Park. On tap poured into a small sampling mug.

Pours a clear golden yellow, a big head and lots of lacing.

Smells of citrusy hop notes and sweet malts.

Not as hoppy as I would like for a DIPA, but a very well-balanced and safe interpretation of the style. Understated hop presence and fairly sweet with just the hint of roasted barley.

Medium-thick mouthfeel and a decent amount of carbonation. Drinkability was OK.
Mar 22, 2010
Photo of HiGravShawn
Reviewed by HiGravShawn from Louisiana

4.43/5  rDev +16%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Basically looks and smells like an IPA so no reason to expound on that. Good mouthfeel and head.

Drank it on tap at Abita brewpub.

Nicely balanced between high hop bitterness and maltiness for a DIPA. They really bring home hops with the aroma which has hints of both spicy noble hops and the american fruity ones without beating your head in with bitterness. I wish I could get this all the time.

I am not a fan of Jockomo really even though I love IPAs, but this is how it is done.
Mar 10, 2010
Photo of KrisPaulk77
Reviewed by KrisPaulk77 from Mississippi

4/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
*On tap at the Abita Brewpub*

I was really looking forward to this brew. I like Abita in general, and Jockamo is a beer that I really like. I know that Abita's Selects can be hit or miss, but I had fairly high hopes for this one. I wasn't let down.
The beer was served in a pint glass. It was a deep orange color, very similar to Jockamo, very IPA-ish. The head was a big sticky, foamy affair. Good lacing as the pint was consumed.
The aroma was nice and citrusy, with grapefruits, some piney resin, sweet malts layered in the back, and a little bit of doughy-ness or breadiness. Nice overall.
The taste wasn't groundbreaking, but solid, and delicious. A decent burst of hop bitterness, grapefruits and light pine, some light florals, braced by a good sweet malt backbone. Definately not a hop bomb, but a well balanced brew. The feel of the beer was good, with good carbonation, medium body, and a rich feel.
Good job Abita. This would be a good addition to the Big Beer series.
Mar 09, 2010
Photo of markbatonrouge
Reviewed by markbatonrouge from Louisiana

4.57/5  rDev +19.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5
I had this at The Bulldog in Baton Rouge, and maybe the mix of nitro and CO2 they use helps (compared to the brew pub in Abita), but I think this beer is very, very good -- and, though I'm a fan of Jockamo, the latter pales in comparison, on virtually every front, to this double IPA.

The appearance is gold, yellow, nice head.

The aroma is where this beer begins to make its mark. I love the grapefruit nose of many IPAs, and this one has it in a good way (not as good as Sweetwater's IPA, but plenty enough to make me happy). It also has more maltiness than Sweetwater, and you can tell it's a bigger beer.

The taste is all there -- a very nice, west-coast style IPA. The grapefruits continue to come through, the malty richness is there, and it's plenty bitter for an IPA, though not off the deep end. Many west-coast IPAs are now seriously ramping up the bittering hops (think of the two Plinys and lots of others) and losing some of the dry-hopped nose. Sweetwater has the great nose, but isn't that big on the malts and doesn't pack the bitterness wallop that many of the west-coasters have. Abita's Double IPA is not as bitter as some of those, yet it has a nice bitterness -- more than Sweetwater -- and it has the lovely, flowery nose -- though not quite as much as Sweetwater.

If you want really big and really bitter, you'd probably be able to live with this beer, but it won't be your favorite. If you like bitter and nose, well, I could very happily drink a lot of these beers for a long, long time. It makes me smile -- a lot.
Mar 05, 2010
Photo of EgadBananas
Reviewed by EgadBananas from Louisiana

3.26/5  rDev -14.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
Had this at the brewpub, and was stoked to try it, because I actually rank the Jockamo IPA as one of my favorite IPAs.

After trying this, the Jockamo will remain ranked higher.

This was a good looking beer. Pretty close to all you could ask for in an IPA. Nice copper color, with a modest, sticky white head.

Smell was alright, nothing amazing and apparently strong in the nose.

For being a double, I expected a much bigger hop kick than the Jockamo, but it actually didn't kick even as much. I ordered a Jockamo along side it just to make sure I wasn't mistaking myself.

They said in the description that it was rather hoppy, but with a nice malt balance...but I think they balanced this out way too much.

The feel was average, with a decent medium body to it.

It's not bad, but i think they are a bit too off on the style. It's still very drinkable.
Mar 03, 2010
Photo of theghost3
Reviewed by theghost3 from Louisiana

3.97/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Had this at the brewpub.

Appearance is medium copper with a light yellowish, 2-finger head. Some lacing.

Scent is strongly grapefruit, dry hops. Taste is sweet and sour, grapefruity hops and slightly grainy. Obviously dry-hopped. Mouthfeel is carbonated, medium-bodied.

This is a drinkable Double IPA. I good effort from Abita. I have to admit that I didn't expect much from this one, but I am pleasantly surprised. Very balanced, and more in the mold of Yulesmith than a hopbomb like Hopslam or Hopsickle.
Feb 28, 2010
Abita Select Double IPA from Abita Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 86 out of 100 with 16 ratings