Abita "Mardi Gras" Bock

Abita is a pillar of reliability. Every single beer I've had from them has been a 3.0/5. This is just a quarter of a step short of being a great beer, but they are, in aggregate, above the average 2.5. I have spoken of my fondness for bocks on the whole before, but their ratings on this site so far have been... scattered.

Not sure why expected a bock to be significantly darker, but this is actually a delightfully copper, and it is crystal-clear. In fact, I genuinely wish some of the pilseners and Kolsch beers that I've had lately could have been this clear. The off-white head pours out a little over an inch of bubbles, but they boil down fairly quickly to a thin, mostly even layer across the top of the beer. There's even going to be some lacing tonight, and the you know how I love lacing. The aroma is a caramel malt that appears to be devouring any other aromas that try to get out.

First sip is a bit of all right. The beer is mostly the caramel malt, but the end of the beer is floral with bitterness sort of draped across it. While the center of the beer is kind of thick and bready with a malt sweetness, the counterpoint of bitterness and flowers seems to drive home the fact that the first part of the beer was so sweet and clean. I'm kind of enjoying the sip.

Tip-in is sweet caramel malt with almost no carbonation (it almost seems flat). The middle sloshes in with flowers and pine resting atop the sweet malt and the whole thing isn't as clean as the sip - something is unsettled. The finish is the rise of flowers and bitterness before a dry and bitter trail-off.

Bottom Line: Better to sip. But there are better beers.

2.25/5