From: Abita Brewing Company LLC, Abita Springs LA
Style: American Wheat Beer
Abita Brewing Company was established in 1986, and bottles six flagship beers, along with a rotation of seasonal beers. In addition, the brewery produces a draft beer line presenting a new style every few months. Purple Haze is on of the brewery’s regularly produced products.
According to the bottle blurb: “Purple Haze is a crisp, American style wheat beer with a fresh raspberry puree added after filtration. The result leaves a fruity raspberry presentation in the beer. The premium raspberries provide the lager with a subtle purple coloration and haze, a fruity aroma, acidity and a tartly sweet taste.”
This beer pours golden, almost orange – if there was a purple coloration, it was very subtle. It had a very white and frothy head that disappears quickly, almost before you notice it, and leaves behind almost no lacing. Even though this is a filtered beer, there is a slight haze from the addition of the raspberries, but no obvious bits of fruit floating about.
The aroma was definitely very sweet and fruity; the raspberry aroma was strong enough to expect a strong berry flavor. On the contrary, the raspberry isn’t overpowering to taste, but just enough of a hint to get the flavor of a fruit beer. The berry flavor was more noticeable in the finish, leaving a tart raspberry aftertaste.
Purple Haze had just enough hops to keep it from being overwhelmingly sweet. It is not so hoppy as to have a bitter aftertaste, but has just a bit of a bite. Overall, it’s a good American wheat beer, with a raspberry flavor to the beer, not a beer flavor to the raspberry.
The beer has an above average carbonation, which helps add to the bite, but is very smooth. It’s light and easy to drink, and with the fruity taste it would make a good summertime beer. Since the flavors aren’t overwhelming, Purple Haze would pair well with lighter foods and salads. It would also be good as a “dessert beer” paired with a dessert that matches the raspberry flavor and acidity.
Purple Haze is best stored and served at the customary 35-40 degrees, in either a traditional pint glass or a mug. Ranked on a scale from 1 to 5, Purple Haze scores a 3 overall.
