Abita/The Covey

Due to lots of bumps (LOTS of bumps) in the tour road I've had to cancel on a few of the breweries I had planned to go to. The breweries I checked out instead of the ones I had mentioned though, have been beyond awesome. I'll start with just two:

Abita Brewing Co., Abita Springs, LA
abita.com
While I didn't visit the actual brewery, this beer was readily available in nearly every drinking establishment in NOLA. It sounded good, so I drank it.

Satsuma:
I was curious as to how this brew received its name and found that it refers to satsuma oranges, which wikipedia describes as a "seedless, easy peeling citrus mutant of Japanese origin." Mutants? Sweet. Poured into a glass from bottle. The beer is a remarkably delicious, light, citrusy and refreshing witbier, no doubt containing the zest or extract of the mutant which bears its name. Pours a pale amber color, slightly cloudy, little to no head and a delicate lacing. There are subtle hop aromas, obvious citrus aromas. The beer has a light body, and is slightly bready. The citrus is nearly unnoticeable, pops up when you look for it. Lightly hopped, light carbonation, no noticeable alcohol. Definitely recommend this perfectly balanced brew to anyone who can get their hands on it.
5.1% ABV 17 BU

Abbey Ale:
Oh sweet lord in heaven, this stuff rules. Poured into glass from bottle. As its name boasts, huge flavor, huge alcohol content. Nearly opaque in color, this beer boasts a very sweet, caramel flavor. Big and rounded with a creamy body, it has light notes of spices and an incredibly smooth mouthfeel. No hints of its alcohol. BUY THIS!
8.0% ABV 32 BU

The Covey, Ft. Worth, TX
thecovey.com
The Covey is an upscale brewpub/restaurant, the last place I thought would be welcoming to a smelly dude in a cut off metal shirt who'd been stuck in a van for 6 hours. Jamie, the brewmaster (and the man), upon hearing I was there to write about his beer, came out immediately introduced himself and gave me a tour of the brewhouse (below and to the left you can see the mash tun). The output of the brewery is 7 barrels and from what I could gather there are usually about 7-8 different brews on tap. I sampled all of these delicious concoctions and will thus choose my favorites for my in depth reviews.

Cowboy Lager
Pours a light amber color, very clear. Slight head with delicate lacing. Subtle amount of hops in the aroma, more noticeable in the taste, this beer acts as if its a light pale ale. It has a very light and dry mouth feel with an acidic bite. This would act as a great session beer I would imagine assuming it lingers around 4% ABV.

Regalement
"Highly drinkable: taste buds rejoice, motorskills digress" is the description this trippel has been granted. I'm prone to agree. A bready and spicy aroma, this pours maple in color with a light head. The definitely noticeable alcohol in the taste adds to the vivaciousness of this brew. There's also some subtle floral notes thrown in the mix. It's 9.5% ABV goes down light, making this beer mildly dangerous.

Honorable mention:
HopPodge IPA and Aduro Porter


At The Covey: The fermenters (left) and the grist hopper (upper right hand corner)

Also at The Covey: from left to right: me, Jamie, Sam