While I was travelling in Chicago last week, I picked up a bottle of Abita S.O.S. (Save Our Shore) to represent Louisiana in my 50 beer challenge. If you haven’t checked out their website created specifically for this beer, I’d suggest that you take a look as it’s pretty well done.
If you’re unfamiliar with this beer, it was created as a way to help raise funds in the gulf after the big oil spill last year. For each bottle sold, 75 cents goes directly to a fund that is used to help rebuild and cleanup the area. I love the idea behind this beer since Abita is located in Abita Springs, Louisiana so they are directly getting involved in charity work in their community which was impacted by the spill.
The official style according to Abita of S.O.S. is a “charitable pilsner”, which is basically a German pilsner.
S.O.S. poured a somewhat hazy golden yellow color with a little bit of visible carbonation and a thick white head that hung around for quite some time. It also had some nice lacing left behind on the glass.
The smell seemed pretty bold to me compared to most pilsners. It’s almost like smelling a farm with the prominent scent of wheat and some earthy hops. In the background there is a bit of a lemon and orange which give it a subtle sweetness.
The flavor is quite bitter from the dry hopping they did, but it isn’t overpowering. There is some slight maltiness breaking through along with some sweet citrus and spices that give this beer a nice and smooth flavor. The carbonation level is just right and overall this is a very refreshing pilsner.
S.O.S. has a pretty light mouthfeel and is a pretty delicious beer for the general beer drinker. It isn’t anything that special, just a solid beer for a good cause. Now this is the kind of cause marketing that I can get behind.
Want to try it? Brewforia carries it for $6.99 for a 22oz. bottle.
My Abita S.O.S. Save Our Shore Review: B+
Here are the details:
ABV: 7%
IBUs: 35
Style: German Pilsner
What’s your thoughts on Abita S.O.S. Save Our Shore?
