The Spirit World

While Mardi Gras might be known for drunken revelry, it’s not an obvious beer celebration, like say, St Patrick’s Day where hoisting a pint of Ireland’s finest is almost obligatory. Of course the first thing that people think of when you say Mardi Gras is New Orleans. While New Orleans is the historical and origin of Mardi Gras celebration in this country, many cities have embraced Mardi Gras as their own. I’ve celebrated Mardi Gras in Mobile, Alabama and in Austin, Texas. This year I imagine that the Mardi Gras in Austin will be bigger than in previous years with the relocation of several prominent Louisiana musicians to that city. Unfortunately, on Long Island Mardi Gras hasn’t quite caught on. The big parade day in the little town I live in is St Patrick’s Day.

At my house we have to import Mardi Gras. We order beads, doubloons, Moon Pies, footballs, stuffed jester dolls, Frisbees, and all kinds of junk that gets thrown off the floats during a Mardi Gras parade. We have our own parade, but without the floats. It’s also a time for us to cook red beans and rice, jambalaya, okra and tomatoes, king cake, and all those other wonderful Louisiana dishes. Louisiana cooking is spicy so having some good beer on hand to cool the palate is a necessity.

My beer of choice for Mardi Gras is brewed by the Abita Brewing Company in Abita Springs, Louisiana. They have a full lineup of beers to choose from and are now available almost nationally (in 30 states). My personal favorite is Turbodog, a dark, malty ale. This is what the Abita web site says about Turbodog:

Abita Turbodog is a dark brown ale brewed with Willamette hops and a combination of British pale, crystal and chocolate malts. This combination gives Turbodog its rich body and color and a sweet chocolate-toffee like flavor. [quoted from “Turbodog is the big dog in national magazine“]

This is the time of year to be drinking Abita’s seasonal brew Abita Bock. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find Bock at any of my local beer shops on Long Island this year. Next year, I’ll make sure to start looking far enough ahead of time so that I can order it, if I have to. But I’ve had many a bottle of Bock in the past (I lived for nearly seven years in Louisiana, less than an hour’s drive from the Abita Brewery). This is what the Abita web site says about Bock:

Abita Bock is the first of our seasonal brews and is available from January through March. It is brewed with Perle hops and British pale and caramel malts. Our Bock is similar to a German Maibock in its high malt content, full body and slightly higher alcohol content. [quoted from the Abita web site]

I also sampled two beers from Dixie Brewing Company: Blackened Voodoo Lager and Crimson Voodoo Lager (the previous links are to the best reviews I could find on the web for these two beers, both by the same reviewer, Andrew Smith). Both of these beers are dark and malty, but they lack the fullness that I like in dark lagers. They are a little on the sweet side and have a peculiar funky aroma. I suspect my bottles were past their prime, slightly oxidized and probably slightly contaminated, both bottles started to gush when I popped the caps.

So my recommendation for this Mardi Gras is to pick up some Abita beer. And please, don’t serve the Abita beer ice cold or in frozen glasses, you’ll just kill the flavor.