Beer Tasting, Volume VII

Beer: Abita Pecan Ale
Style: Brown Ale
Consumption Method: 12 oz. bottle poured into pint glass.
Alkyhol Content: 5.0%. I actually would have preferred a little more as it's turning frigid fast and I think the beer could have stood up to it. Why can't all beer just be imperial for fall/winter?
Label: Blah. Nothing remarkable here. Abita makes great beers but their design lacks. I would have loved a label with just a giant pecan, but I'm sure that's against FDA laws. Assholes.
Why Did I Buy This Beer? I've never had pecan beer, and I wanted to try pecan beer. "Maybe it's something really cool that I don't even know about?"
Is This Beer Any Good? Initially I would have said no. I didn't like the first half of my glass. I don't know if it was the food leavins from dinner or if the beer just needed to warm, but I wasn't feelin' anything about it. It tasted like a Newcastle on an introductory cycle of steroids, and that's not a good thing. If I were drinking this blind I would have guessed that it was a brown ale, but a mediocre one. As I hit the second half of the glass my opinion changed. Complete 180. The bitter nut flavor that was present in the beginning turned slightly sweet and lingered like Belgian trippels often do. I really enjoyed this by the time I was done. Thankfully I have five more.
This Beer Would Pair Well With: Galactic, crisp 40-degree air, and a mild cigar. Or, a bottle of Lagunitas Brown Shugga. Let each warm slightly, take one sip of each, shake vigorously, and enjoy the pecan pie baking in your mouth.

The Experts Speak: http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/3/35134
More on Abita: http://www.abita.com/
Interesting Abita Tidbit that Probably Interests Nobody: Abita branding was featured prominently in the movie Waiting. I was not aware of Abita's existence before the movie. Because of this, I wrote off the brewery as a movie studio creation or southern regional crap. Then I tried a Turbodog based solely on the name and immediately reversed course. I guess that's my M.O. with Abita: Pass judgment, think better of it shortly thereafter.

Conclusion: I will be drinking the rest of this sixer with Galactic, crisp 40-degree air, and a mild cigar.