Strawgator
Abita Brewing Co.

StrawgatorStrawgator
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From:
Abita Brewing Co.
 
Louisiana, United States
Style:
Maibock
Ranked #48
ABV:
8%
Score:
86
Ranked #19,033
Avg:
3.82 | pDev: 14.66%
Reviews:
50
Ratings:
192
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jul 19, 2023
Added:
Aug 28, 2014
Wants:
  12
Gots:
  57
Abita Strawgator™ is the fusion of Strawberry Harvest Lager sweetness with the bite of Andygator. This golden lager is made with malted barley and wheat. It is hopped with German Perle hops for a delicate hop flavor. After filtration, generous amounts of fresh Louisiana strawberry juice are added, giving the beer a pleasant sweet taste and aroma, as well as a rich golden color and slight cloudiness.

Strawgator is a great dessert beer. It pairs well with fruit, dessert or sorberts. It is also excellent with chocolate dishes and cheeses such as St. Andre, Mascarpone and Brie.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by bigaddy:
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Rated by bigaddy from Michigan

4/5  rDev +4.7%

Sep 27, 2014
More User Ratings:
Photo of dd53grif
Reviewed by dd53grif from Michigan

3.85/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Pours a copper color with a foamy white head that lasts quite a while. Aroma of strawberries. Taste is strawberries with a slight floral note. Crisp and dry with a hint of hoppy bitterness at the finish
Jul 19, 2023
Photo of Captain69
Rated by Captain69 from Illinois

4.34/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
whoa what a beer great strawberry taste nice malt finish had to goo back for more of these to share with friends
Jun 03, 2023
 
Rated: 3.86 by blissfulNemo from Michigan

Apr 20, 2023
 
Rated: 4.32 by Chilmer from Iowa

Mar 20, 2023
 
Rated: 4.53 by Misterjay1986 from Kentucky

Dec 16, 2022
 
Rated: 3.25 by mpenske from California

Oct 02, 2022
 
Rated: 1.76 by JustLikeMyDad from Michigan

Mar 07, 2022
 
Rated: 3.81 by jellibeen from Texas

Oct 04, 2021
Photo of RyanK252
Reviewed by RyanK252 from California

3.79/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Can poured into a Mountain Rambler Brewery pint glass

A: Pours golden orange amber with a frothy off white head that settles to a light layer and leaves a bit of nice lacing.

S: Fruity, strawberry, caramel honey sweetness, bready malt, a little wheat twang, and subtle earthy herbal notes.

T: Strawberry, doughy bready malt, a touch of wheat, subtle earthy slightly herbal notes, and big caramel sweetness.

M: On the fuller side of medium body, moderate carbonation, holds its % well.

O: First things first, calling this a doppelbock is just wrong. But, as an imperial bock of sorts with strawberry, it isn't bad.
May 02, 2021
Photo of Nass
Reviewed by Nass from Florida

3.8/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
The pour is similar to marigold with a steady flow of carbonation. The taste is big strawberry followed by cereal grains mixed with German dark wheat bread. I like this beer just as much as their Strawberry Harvest Lager, highly recommended. All in all, I was hesitant at picking up this beer but I'm glad that I did, I can't believe on this page are giving this beer D & F scores. Cheers! B
Jan 29, 2021
 
Rated: 3.94 by Chuckdiesel24 from Illinois

Jan 08, 2021
 
Rated: 3.31 by soarinsteven from Illinois

Oct 15, 2020
Photo of jkblr
Reviewed by jkblr from Indiana

3.02/5  rDev -20.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
12oz can BEST BY 07/15/20 poured into a becher glass at fridge temp 8% ABV. The beer pours mostly bright very light amber with plenty of nearly white head. The head recedes to a thin ring and island leaving behind some lacing. The aroma is mild strawberry. The taste is bittersweet strawberry with mild earthy hops and a moderately bitter finish. There is a lasting aftertaste of artificial strawberry. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Overall, terrible bock beer of any style. If you love strawberry, this could work for you.
May 20, 2020
 
Rated: 3.54 by viking77 from Louisiana

Feb 24, 2020
Photo of Jugs_McGhee
Reviewed by Jugs_McGhee from Colorado

2.53/5  rDev -33.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
BOTTLE: Best by 11/17/19. Brown glass. 650ml brown glass format with a red Abita branded pry-off crown cap. Ran me $4.79 USD plus tax at a beer store in New Orleans, LA.

Currently #72 on the Top Louisiana Beers List. Oddly, it is also currently ranked #14 in the German Maibock style, though nothing on the label or Abita's website indicates it is intended to be judged/regarded as a Maibock...though Andygator is obviously a helles bock inasmuch as they call it a helles doppelbock.

"Strawberry doppelbock." 7% ABV. "Malt beverage with natural flavors." "Golden lager"..."made with malted barley and wheat. It is hopped with German Perle hops." "After filtration, generous amounts of fresh Louisiana strawberry juice are added."

I'll judge this is as a helles doppelweizenbock. I don't see how else to categorize it as it lacks the caramelized malt/Vienna malt/Munich malt you'd look for in addition to pale pilsner malt in a proper Maibock but does use wheat and lager yeast. I suspect its yeast profile won't match that of a weizenbock, but it definitely doesn't seem like either a true doppelbock or true helles bock (Maibock).

APPEARANCE: Pours a somewhat vibrant golden body with a lively ~4cm high head that sticks around longer than I'd expect at 8% ABV (~5 minutes). The head isn't as frothy, full, or creamy as would be ideal, but it's not thin or weak either. Leaves spots of lacing as it recedes.

Not the cloudy body Abita's label indicated...looks quite filtered to me. Transparent and translucent with no visible yeast/lees/sediment. No chill haze.

Looks more like a Maibock than a weizenbock or doppelbock, but its appearance isn't standout regardless of which style you look at it as.

AROMA: Artificial yet pleasant, hinting at sticky strawberry juice in addition to the expected pale pilsner malt aromatics. Suggests a sweet, tart, and juicy artificial strawberry-led beer with no yeasty or hoppy notes whatsoever. I don't find the wheat at all; I imagine this is mostly pale malt/2-row and strawberry juice...no Perle hop aromatics, clove, banana, baked bread, or toasty aromatics are present.

Aroma is more consistent with an additive-tinged Maibock than a weizenbock or doppelbock. Aromatic intensity is mild. Doesn't betray its high ABV, which is the best thing I can say about the aroma.

TASTE & TEXTURE: Sticky sweet and slightly tart, rife with artificial strawberry flavours that while not unpleasant are not particularly welcome (and definitely turd on the German brewing tradition Abita pretends to espouse). 2-row pale malt sweetness blends with the fake strawberry to form a sweet lager with very shallow depth of flavour and low complexity/diversity of flavour.

No hoppy notes, no yeasty notes, no overt wheat.

Smooth, wet, unrefreshing. Hides its ABV well - which, again, is probably the only thing this beer does particularly well.

OVERALL: Some will find its fake fruity flavours cloying, but at least this isn't medicinal (always a risk when the fruity flavours are this artificial). Tastes like an alcopop or a lager blended with juice after being brewed (which I guess is indeed kind of what it actually is). A chore to drink a full bottle of...very saccharine. The kind of "beer" I'd imagine could be a 13 year old's stepping stone as they learn to like beer, but not anything I'd recommend to others.

In short, it's kind of bad - but it'll get you drunk.

Low C- (2.53) / BELOW AVERAGE
Sep 14, 2019
 
Rated: 3.73 by Marzen_Fan from Ohio

Jan 28, 2019
 
Rated: 4.1 by user785335 from Florida

Dec 12, 2018
 
Rated: 3.91 by DigitGrowler from Kentucky

Sep 20, 2018
 
Rated: 3.66 by EricCFrantz from Louisiana

May 15, 2018
Strawgator from Abita Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 86 out of 100 with 192 ratings