S.O.S. (Save Our Shore)

What's better than drinking beer with proceeds going to a good cause?  Not much.

S.O.S.  or Save Our Shore according to the bottle "is a message in a bottle...a distress signal for the troubled waters of our Gulf Coast. For every bottle sold Abita will donate 75¢ to the rescue and restoration of the environment, industry and individuals fighting to survive this disastrous oil spill."

I picked this beer up solely because of what it said on the bottle, and it was relatively cheap.   So even if I didn't like it, not a waste of money any way you look at it.  ABV seems, in my opinion, rather high for the classification they give this brew, which is a Weizen Pils.  Although experts seem to put it in the German Pilsener style, which is what I will rate it as.

A:  First of all, love the look of the bottle, and that is actually something I do take into consideration when I'm rating the appearance.  I take into account the overall presentation of a beer.  Cap, bottle, and actual look of the beer are all things I look at.
Clear bright goldenrod/honey hue.  1 to 2 finger thick fluffly head which disipated at a moderate speed.   The head leaves a nice blanket on top of the beer and also leaves sticky foamy lacing on the glass that dries into place.  Looks like a great beer.

S:   Fresh cut grass scent is present up front which is followed by a grainy malt sweetness.  On the finish of the scent is what seems to be some lemon citrus combined with spicy hops.  Rather simple scent, but I wasn't expecting anything complex.   Pretty average straightforward.  

T:  Piney and grassy sweetness is the initial taste found.   It's followed up with some grainy malt notes.   I was actually surprised that pine was going to be the dominating taste in this beer.   It's not bad, just unexpected for me.  Also the finish is slight lemon zest and herbal hops.  The front of the taste is rather unbalanced, but by the finish it's smooth.

M: Medium leveled carbonation with light to medium body, and a crisp, mouth-watering finish.

D:  The drinkability is quite good, and the relatively high  especially with a 7% ABVthat fails to show itsel.   It's always good when the brewer masks the alcohol as excellent as Abita has done with this one.

Grade:  One thumb up.  Not a wower, but a solid beer.

Here's another picture of the bottle, which I really can't say enough about.