Review – Abita Purple Haze

From Abita Beer – Purple Haze is a crisp, American style wheat beer with raspberry puree added after filtration. Therefore, you may see raspberry pulp in the beer. The raspberries provide the lager with a subtle purple coloration and haze, a fruity aroma, and a tartly sweet taste.

Abita Purple Haze – On draft in a 16 ounce room temperature pint glass – 4.2% abv – Brewed by Abita Beer – Purchased at Landmark in Glassboro, NJ

Appearance
Light golden yellow with only a tiny bit of pulp cloudiness. Tons of head with nearly four fingers of foamy white head.

Aroma
Sweet, ripe strawberry smells at first with noticeable raspberry notes to follow. For a raspberry branded beer, I felt like there could have been a bit more in the nose.

Taste
Tart and fruity, with a good balance of crisp malts and spicy hops. The yeast used provided a recognizable ripe fruit characteristic normally found in American wheat beers.

Mouthfeel
Thin-bodied wheat beer with moderately low carbonation. Refreshing to drink yet it left me wanting a little more substance and complexity.

Overall
This was my second choice after I was told that Stone’s Arrogant Bastard was sold out. I was not overly impressed with this beer, despite it’s intriguing name. I expected a little more body to this wheat lager. That being said, I did find the use of raspberries quite interesting and could see this beer paired with a rich chocolate cake or brownie. After a pint of this, I switched over to the safer 60 Minute Dogfish IPA for the remainder of the evening.