Abita Restoration Pale Ale:
Hello cats and kittens, and welcome to a review of beer that makes you feel good!  Now I know a lot of you are reading this and y’all are thinking “Wait, there are a lot of beers that make me feel good, actually, all of them do” but today’s beer is one of those beers that actually was made for a good cause.  Back in 2005 Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast, displaced hundreds of thousands, and reeked havoc on one of the world’s greatest cities: New Orleans.  Abita beer, brewed out of Abita Springs which is North of Lake Pontchartrain put together a fund raising beer called Fleur-De-Lis Restoration Pale Ale as a way to raise money for the restoration of the Crescent City.  Well after raising $500,000 the beer was declared a hit and the symbol of French Royalty was dropped from the name and Restoration Pale Ale was added to the year- round line up.  So how does this beer for a cause hold up 7 years later?  Well the beer pours a nice light golden haze color with a nice white fizzy head that dissipates quickly but leaves nice lacing and a nose of hops, honey, and floral notes.  The beer’s initial sip reveals a beer that has a good amount of carbonation fizz and a sour hop bite that blooms into a citrus floral combo on the mid tongue and a bready back end.  The after taste is skunky but nothing to offensive and it doesn’t linger to long.  I’ve never been a big fan of pale ale beers and throughout the course of this year, I’ve found a handful that are worth revisiting and I’ll be happy to consider this one beer the best of the group so far.  It is around most stores but you may have too look, it doesn’t have the distribution of Turbo Dog or the Amber but if you can locate it, grab some, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.