Fleur-de-lis Restoration Ale

[Wilson]

Dont know if this has already been posted but here it is anyway:

http://www.abita.com/party/restore_charities.html

Looks like Abita is brewing an ale that will raise funds to help those who have been hurt by Katrina. It is supposed to be on shelves October 3rd. A "liberally hopped" pale ale made with California yeast. I'll be sure to give this a shot...what the hell, its beer AND some of the money goes to a good cause! :)

[chazwicke]

Do you know what it means...
To miss New Orleans...


If I can find it up here I'll surely buy some. I've visited Abita's pub and had good beer and great food there. I like their spirit in view of what has happened. Keep us posted on this beer.


Moonlight on the bayou...
Creole tunes fill the air...

[HogieWan]

I'll be at the paint store on the 3rd and give a report.

I'll be glad to send some to a few people who would want to trade.

I was planning a trip to the Abita brewpub on the saturday after katrina hit. I'm trying to find a date to go now that they're back up and running.

[HogieWan]

Sounds tasty:


Fleur-de-lis Restoration Ale is made with English Pale, Lager, Crystal and Cara Pils malted barley. We liberally hopped and dry hopped our Ale with American Cascade and Centennial hops and fermented it with California Ale yeast. The result is a brilliant gold ale with a rich body, mild bitterness and a snappy fresh citrus hop flavor and aroma.
- From Abita's Website (http://www.abita.com/party/restoration_ale.html), emphasis mine

[fretlessman71]

It sounds wonderful - I hope it makes it up here in CO!

[HogieWan]

Originally posted by fretlessman71
It sounds wonderful - I hope it makes it up here in CO!

All you have to do is ask!

[fretlessman71]

Meaning, I hope they distribute some here - we get Abita in the stores, amazingly enough. But if they can't get Restoration Ale in the stores, you'll be hearing from me. :)

[HogieWan]

On BA, someone was saying that abita estimates that they lost 60% of their customer base due to evacuation, and that distributors up north are pushing the hell out of the brand to help out. Very nice of them, I'm sure it's appreciated.

[fretlessman71]

Maybe I'll buy some Abita just on principle. :)

[HogieWan]

Having not yet made it to what I hear is a great brewpub, I hop a lot of people buy abita.

[chazwicke]

I'll be looking for the RA too. not only does it sound good but also as a sign of solidarity. We get Abita beers here and I hope this one makes it it up. If not, I'll be looking for a trade as well.

[HogieWan]

From what I gathered on BA, the distributors in other parts of the country (DC was mentioned) are looking to push Abita to help out, and Abita is trying to get a foothold in other markets by taking advantage of the help, since they don't know when the N.O. market (they're best selling area as you can imagine) will be buying again.

[chazwicke]

Well I hope the RA makes it here. We can usually get Purple Haze or Turbo Dog.

[HogieWan]

Remember - there's more than beer (http://www.abita.com/abitastore/mall/dynamic_sortby_prodID.asp?Category=RESTORE) for sale to help the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Fund.

[FreeTheHops]

I'm looking forward to picking this up. When they first announced it they said it would hit the shelves the week of 10/3. The site was later changed to just say Mid-October, and that's still where it stands. Since I am going there later this week I called the brewery this morning to see if they've started getting it out yet, and was told they had. She was going to find out where I could get it in Slidell and call me back, but 90 minutes later there's been no call.

[HogieWan]

My beer guy said he's meeting with the distributor who deals with abita today and he may have some with him. If not, I might get my hands on it later this week.

[chazwicke]

Keep us posted. And tasting notes would be appreciated too.

[Wilson]

Its been like a "where did who go?" thing in my area about this beer. People have heard a teency bit about it, but no one knows if they can get it.

[hops99]

Just got three cases in at my store today.

[HogieWan]

Originally posted by hops99
Just got three cases in at my store today.

If you got it, I better be able to get it. I didn't ceck in today, but I'll stop by at noon tomorrow.

[chazwicke]

Originally posted by hops99
Just got three cases in at my store today.

Have you tried one Hops? I'd love to see the tasting notes or impressions.

[FreeTheHops]

I got some. It was actually even hard to find in Slidell, but we managed, snagging the last two sixers on Saturday from a store that was out of it on Friday.

Sorry to say......not impressive.

It's not bad at all, and if you like Golden Ales you'll probably be very fond of this one. I think they're smooth, and clean, and drinkable.....and boring as hell. Restoration Ale is no exception.

[Wilson]

Originally posted by FreeTheHops
......not impressive.

Well thats disheartening, but I'm not totally surprised. I still cant get it here.

[Bugz-TT]

I did not see RA on my Friday jaunt through Woodman's Markets in Carpentersville, IL and they had just about every Abita label available.

[hops99]

Have you tried one Hops?

Finally had a bottle over the weekend, and as freethehops said, it is very light. There's not much, if anything, going on in this beer, other than a little more malt than other goldens I've had.

But, as I understand, Abita started brewing this beer in the aftermath of Katrina, and they were looking for a quick brew they could release in a month or so. No oak-barrel aged monster here. Just a light beer for a good cause.

[HogieWan]

but they said it was "liberally hopped" - I guess we were hoping for some APA - oh well, should have known.

[FreeTheHops]

If they used a lot of hops it must have been right at the end of the boil or in the fermenter, because it wasn't for bittering. There was a good hop aroma when I first took the cap off, but that was it.

[chazwicke]

Originally posted by HogieWan
but they said it was "liberally hopped" - I guess we were hoping for some APA - .

Me too. But I'd still buy some.

[Derekt2]

Originally posted by FreeTheHops
If they used a lot of hops it must have been right at the end of the boil or in the fermenter, because it wasn't for bittering. There was a good hop aroma when I first took the cap off, but that was it.

Hey Bonhoeffer is that you?

[FreeTheHops]

Originally posted by Derekt2
Hey Bonhoeffer is that you?

No, but I know who you're talking about. I don't think Danner is a member here.

Rocky

[Wilson]

I finally found and drank some Restoration ale this past weekend, and I for one was pleasantly surprised. It's by no means an APA on the lines of Liberty ale or 60 Minute, but for Abita, I thought it was alright. It has a slight to decent grassy/floral hop nose, and a bit of hop bitterness to it, good golden color, easily quaffable. Besides their "Select" line, I might be willing to call it the best they mass produce. Ok, a toss up with TurboDog. I'll be buying more!

[HogieWan]

When I had my first taste, I wasquite surprised, so I bought a sixer. Now I have three bottles that will take me a while to get through