AlphaGator
Abita Brewing Co.

Tasted from a 12 oz can poured into a snifter.

L - Light gold color and very cloudy, so that it glows like an orange light bulb when held up to a light. Strong white head and lots of lacing.

S - This is a citrus bomb on the nose, with mandarin orange and lemon and a candy-like sweet aroma.

T - Flavors are similar to the aromas, with more lemon than orange, but still a hearty blend of citrus juices. Malt is present as a gentle candy sweetness and bread note, but this is really all about the hops. It is delicious.

F - Medium to thick body with a "powdery" feel on the tongue. Moderate carbonation. Moderate hops bitterness is apparent, but the IBUs may actually be fairly high and it could be the sweetness and heavy mouthfeel that fool the palate. Alcohol is well hidden.

O - This is a very good hazy DIPA. There is nothing here to not like.

12 fl oz pull-tab can:

A bit thin, not quite robust in its hop profile, and not terribly interesting hop flavour wise, but I do have to commend it for disguising its ABV well even if it does feel a bit skimpy in terms of intensity of hop flavour.

High C / AVERAGE

 

Pours a hazy golden color with a nice head and lacing
Aroma has citrus and tropical hints
The taste follows the nose with a citrus and tropical flavor
A medium bodied decently carbonated beer
A good IPA

 

 

A - A lovely yellow body, with orange highlights, and a white head. The cap is long lasting, with a lot of lacing.

S - Strong hop nose of citrus and light mint notes.

T - Big open of bright lemon and orange, flesh and pith. Middle introduces the herbal notes, a bit of mint, and a dry bitter finish.

M - Moderate weight, prickly carbonation, clean dry finish.

O - This is a fine IPA, big, flavorful, and pleasant. Pretty delicious.

Not a big fan of Abita. The Wrought Iron IPA was the only one of their beers I ever gave a 4.0 rating to. Well, I found another really good one!!!! I poured AlphaGator from a 12 oz bottle into a pint glass. It features a hazy straw gold color and a big foamy head. Head retention is very good and there are plenty of thin bands of lacing on the glass. Aroma and flavor are mostly citrus hops but there is a floral element in the nose too. The taste is very good, aided by the fact that the bitterness level is outstanding. This is a bit of a "head shrinker", which you don't often encounter any more. Mouthfeel is rich, crisp and very nicely bitter. As one reviewer said it lets you know it is an Imperial IPA!!! Excellent IPA, well worth a try

 

 

 

8.5% abv imperial IPA made with Citra hops... Big and juicy - lotsa pineapple, never too sweet (though it is on the sweet side) - bitter shellac underscores the whole affair, with some caramel-like stickiness - full-bodied flesh of pale fruits alternates with bitter chewy resins...

Pours a slightly hazed gold with 2+ fingers of pillowy cream colored head. Good head retention & lacing

S: Green melon, grassyness

T: Green melon, cakeyness, dryness, pomelo & a little pineapple up front, Grapefruit, pineapple & cakeyness as this warms, just a kiss og green melon as well. Finishes dry, cakey with pineapple & green melon

MF: Medium/heavy body, low carbonation, nicely balanced

Nicely done take on the style, great drinkability, but lets you know it is an IMPERIAL IPA

 

 

 

I checked the bottle and the label but I don't see a date listed.

Appearance: The body is a lemon-colored yellow that is both cloudy and hazy. The head is short but fluffy, white, and creamy textured. It doesn't have much retention or lacing.

Aroma: It smells a bit like old cabbage and citrus rind.

Taste: It tastes a lot like it smells; old cabbage and stale citrus rind with a bit of freezer-burned melon flavor.

Mouthfeel: It feels overly thick and chewy with an unpleasant bitter bite. It is the kind of beer you want to be finished with rather than the one you look forward to.

Overall: It is a real shame...Abita has some really nice beers and this one is not fit for the gator name. I would recommend Strawgator or Andygator but this one just isn't it. Call it OmegaGator and put it at the end of your list.

Bottle poured into a Mountain Rambler Brewery pint glass

A: Pours golden amber with a frothy eggshell white head that settles to a firm layer and laces nicely.

S: Rich tropical and stone fruit, ripe citrus, a touch of spice, bready malt, and caramel sweetness.

T: Lively tropical and stone fruit, grilled pineapple, mango, peach, apricot, passion fruit, plus hints of pear and melon, citrus, tangerine, lime, and grapefruit, a touch of pine, subtle herbal notes, bready malt, and caramel sweetness.

M: Just a touch on the fuller side of medium body, moderate carbonation.

O: Stumbled on this one at Total Wine and figured, "Why not?". Really glad I grabbed it. They pulled out some really nice flavors I wasn't expecting. Kinda reminds me of pineapple upside down cake.

 

It's nice to get a fresh IPA from Abita. They have a long way to travel to get here. This one was big enough to not matter too much.

It pours nice and yellow and foamy. It looked appealing and it smelled that way too with a big hoppy aroma with a little skunk. It goes down all malty and creamy with a mouthfeel bigger than the ABV.

Recommended. I can't always get brews from these guys but they are often very good. Keep sending them this way, mes amis.

Poured from a bottle into a pint glass
Appearance – The beer pours a clear golden amber color with a one finger head of puffy white foam. The head fades rather fast leaving a light level of foamy lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell – The aroma of the the brew is strong of a tropical fruit smell with lots of tangerine, pineapple, and mango. Along with those aromas comes notes of peach and apricot as well as a decent showing of some bready and doughy smells.
Taste – The taste begins with a sweeter bready and tropical fruit taste that has the mango, pineapple and tangerine that was detected in the nose. At the same time there is a decent showing of a grapefruit hop as well as a bit of herbal and floral hop tastes. As the taste advances the grapefruit gets stronger, while the herbal hop fades. The tropical fruits give way a bit, while flavors of apricot and pear come to the tongue. At the same time a light graininess comes to the tongue, and with a resurgence of herbal hop, leaving one with a rather pleasant sweet, fruity, and hopped taste to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is medium in thickness and creaminess with a carbonation level that is rather average. For the tropical fruit tastes mixed with the hop, it makes for a dangerously easy drinker when at 8.5 % abv.
Overall – A good double overall. Nice flavor and easy drinking.

 

This is a very well balanced DIPA. So many flavors hit the palate at once but none overpower the others. Pine, citrus, stone fruit, tropicals and maltiness combine beautifully in a very easy to drink offering. The 8.5% abv is well hidden so be careful. Well done once again Abita.

 

12oz bottle poured into a tulip. Pours a hazy golden; fluffy white head that fades leaving nice retention and lacing. The aromas have a blend of sweet citrus and tropical fruits. Malts are there. The flavors basically follow the nose. There are lots of different fruits coming through, but they're all balanced. Apricot, peach, grapefruit, orange and pineapple lead the way. Decent bitterness. Subtle syrupy sweetness. Malts do their thing. Finishes juicy. Alcohol is well hidden. Mouthfeel is full-bodied with moderate carbonation. It's slick, fluffy, smooth and dangerously drinkable.

This is a pretty solid DIPA. It's juicy and slightly hazy, but it's definitely not a "New England IPA". Nice flavors. It's enjoyable and fun to drink. I like it.