Abita Seersucker Summer Pils

3.6

   AROMA 6/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 5/5   OVERALL 14/20

Chad9976 (1411) - Albany, New York, USA - JUL 23, 2015

I don’t think Abita Seersucker Summer Pils is supposed to be a hardcore traditional German pilsner, though it’s not especially American, either. It’s got all the makings of a good pilsner as far as taste and drinkability go. 

I poured a 12oz can into a pilsner glass. It had a best by date of 9/30/15 and cost $2.50 ($0.21 per ounce).

Appearance: Banana skin yellow color; slightly hazy body but carbonation is visible. Pours to an average sized, white, foamy head which laces and retains fairly well.

Smell: Rather muted nose with only faint notes of pilsner malt and a little bit of citrusy hops.

Taste: Pilsners aren’t typically sweet, though there’s nothing inherently wrong with one that is. I found the palette here to be less spicy than your average German-style pils. It seems to opt for lemon-smelling and tasting hops even though they’re from Germany. The base malt is pretty much standard, with a bit of a bready or biscuity character not found in beers of the style. It’s fairly bitter even though it’s only 35 IBUs. It opts for dry lemon zest instead of spicy peppercorn. I notice a remarkable sweetness on the backend reminiscent of caramel, which is interesting for sure.

Drinkability: While Abita Seersucker Summer Pils isn’t the best-tasting beer in the world, I found myself going downing my glass rather quickly. A fairly light body that’s consistently crisp and refreshing with a clean aftertaste. At only 4.8% ABV I could easily make the case for this being a session beer. This will (and does) work well as a summer seasonal.

Score: 7/10