Abita Brewing Co. - "Pecan Ale"

Today's beer is a seasonal release from Abita Brewing Company, based out of Abita Springs in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana. I haven't had too much from Abita; four or five years ago I tried their most popular offering, "Purple Haze", which I didn't particularly like. But, you can't judge a brewery by just one beer, so I'm willing to give the folks from the Pelican State another chance.

The "Pecan Ale" is a 5.20% ABV ale made with Louisiana pecans. Pecans are my favorite nut, and pecan pie is my favorite (thanks to Becka L.'s awesome recipe!) and since I don't think I've heard of another ale made with pecans, this is going to be fun to try. The malts used are Pale, Munich, Biscuit, and Caramel, and the hop bill is 100% Willamette hops - a strain known for an herbal and floral taste. Sounds tasty!

Pours a nice light amber color in the glass, very pretty. It generated a little bit of fizzy foam, so I hard-poured it, which means I poured directly into the beer and not along the rim. Doing so made the head puff up a little bit, but still not much. I'm detecting a mild aroma of maple and malt.

Hmm, it's rather thin, unfortunately. As an ale, it's pretty standard, with some malty caramel notes and a mild amount of nut flavors. Kinda like a basic brown ale. It's hard to really pick out the pecan flavors, per se, but there is some nutty flavors present, almost like a nut shells, rather than the "meat" of the nut. The flavor dies away quickly and leaves little aftertaste.

Welp, I'm sorry to say I am not impressed. This beer would be good as a session ale, but it did not live up to my expectations. Although I wasn't expecting it to be anything woody and boozy, I was hoping there would be a more pronounced pecan taste, maybe with more sweetness. But - a good diversion from pumpkin beer, as the season permits, and it's light drinking, so not a bad purchase for $10.99 for 6.