Beer 309: Abita Pecan Harvest Ale and a Little Perspective

Today I rode my bike twelve miles. While I was out riding, Felix Baumgartner jumped out of a space capsule hovering via helium balloon at the edge of space -- about 23 miles above Earth. After a 34 step checklist, he stepped out onto a platform the size of a skateboard deck and jumped -- free falling and surpassing the speed of sound (about 690 mph) and ultimately reaching 833 mph in nothing but a space suit. His trip up took about 2.5 hours. His trip down? Well under ten minutes.

This project was years in the making...starting in 2007. How does one commemorate the culmination of many, many years of work? With a simple statement made soaring above humankind, "I'm coming home."


USA Today has a pretty good story on the event here.

My adrenaline trip of the day? I ran over a snake on my ride. Thirty minutes later I deftly avoided another one. I imagine the adrenaline rush is pretty similar to what Felix Baumgartner experienced, no?

***

Today's beer is the Pecan Harvest Ale, an ale brewed with Louisiana pecans (5.2% ABV) from the Abita Brewing Company. It is brewed with Munich, biscuit and caramel malts and Willamette hops.


It poured a crystalline amber with a thick tan head. I could smell the nuts and malts right away. The flavor has a subtle nuttiness to it and is incredibly smooth. There are coffee notes as well. This is an interesting example of a brown ale.

I'll rate it a good beer. Cheers!

Not Fat, Just Big-Boned Tuesday

Beer #73 Turbodog / Abita Brewing Company, Abita Springs, Louisiana

It's Fat Tuesday, the day before Lent and the close of Mardi Gras.  I've never been to New Orleans, although I have great respect for a town that completely embraces the concept of the to-go cup and eschews open container laws.  So, in keeping with a theme, we're each sampling a beer from Louisiana this evening.

My beer is the Turbodog, a brown ale from Abita.  As you can see from the picture, it's dark, almost black with some reddish tints. Strong malt aroma, and the taste is of roasted chocolate malt. Interesting that I sampled this a day after the Troegs Scratch 57, as I can see some similarities in their foundation. Not saying they're similar, just saying they probably knew some of the same people growing up.  For such a dark color beer, there's a thin mouth feel - not a very dense or heavy beer. Abita brews about 30 miles north of New Orleans, and they've been turning out brews since 1986.

Thing to Think About Today:
Listen, if we're going with a theme, we're sticking with the theme.  So go ahead and think about Dr. John, a fantastic musician I've had the privilege of seeing in person when he was on a an east coast tour a few years back.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiEXiQlhVlI

If you're still looking for something to think about related to today's topic, I recommend you check out Treme, the David Simon HBO series that explores life in New Orleans post-Katrina, with a particularly awesome focus on music (including some Dr. John appearances).  Plus, Freamon and Bunk from The Wire play prominent roles, the former as an Mardi Gras Indian Chief, the latter as a freelance trombone player.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKpv17OlBpQ