Last fall, after Abita's 25th Anniversary Vanilla Double Dog
came out I called all over the area looking for a bottle, and even tried to
place a special order at a couple stores.
However, no one had it and I never received any calls back about my
special orders. Fortunately, I was in ThreeCellars a couple weeks ago and saw that they had plenty in stock. I am a big fan of Turbo Dog, and knowing that
the 25th Anniversary Vanilla Double Dog is Turbo aged on vanilla
only served to heighten my interest in the beer.
Abita was founded in 1986, north
of New Orleans. In the first year, Abita
produced 1,500 barrels of beer. In eight
years, they outgrew their original brewery and moved to a new facility where
they now brew over 125,000 barrels of beer a year and 8,000 barrels of root beer. They proudly tout their green brewing
practices as well as their line of charitable beers. The line of charitable beers includes but is not
limited to their SOS Pilsner to raise money for the gulf cleanup following the
Horizon drilling platform explosion in 2010; the Restoration Ale, brewed to
support disaster relief in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the
Abita Abbey Ale, which supports the St. Joseph’s Abbey. Abita has proven to be a leader in their home
state, being one of the first breweries in the country to adopt green brewing
practices and supporting many of the important local causes in their area.
On to the review. On Beeradvocate the 25th Anniversary Vanilla Double
Dog has a score of 80. At ratebeer it
has an overall score of 79 with a style score of 34. However, they have it listed as an American
Strong Ale when it should arguably be classified as BJCP style 21A: Spice,Herb, or Vegetable Beer due to the inclusion of Vanilla beans in the aging
process.
They
say:
Turbodog® is the inspiration for this robust
dark ale. Double Dog is brewed with generous amounts of pale, caramel, and
chocolate malts and Willamette hops. Whole, natural vanilla beans are added
during the aging process. This combination provides a rich body and color with
chocolate, vanilla and toffee-like flavor.
25 years
ago the Abita Brewing Company was founded on a pristine, artesian aquifer north
of New Orleans. For a quarter of a century, Abita has proudly brewed
full-flavored ales and lagers. We thank our loyal customers for their support
and pledge to continue the tradition of brewing excellence.
Suggested temperature: 46°I say:
Abita’s 25th
Anniversary Vanilla Double Dog pours dark mahogany with a thick, creamy, tan
head that had excellent retention. Chocolate
and caramel malt notes backed up pleasantly smooth vanilla notes. The aromas provided an excellent lead-in for the
complex flavors. Double Dog started
smooth with very strong vanilla notes up front that faded into a chocolate and
caramel finish.
Vanilla Double Dog was moderately carbonated
and medium to high bodied. About ¾ of
the way though the bottle I thought I would try something that quite a few
brewpubs do, a beer float. The addition
of Kopp’s vanilla custard added a new layer of complexity, further enhancing
the vanilla, chocolate and caramel notes already found in the beer.
Abita’s 25th Anniversary Vanilla Double
Dog was an excellent beer that I highly recommend, if you can still find a
bottle at your local liquor store. Fortunately,
I still have five bottles waiting for me in my cellar.
That’s all for today, sorry about the lack of
updates as of late. I was hoping to get
back on track this week but I am already a day behind and do not have my next
beer lined up yet. Check back soon
though, I will try to get my next write-up posted tomorrow.
Happy Drinking!!
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