Abita Strawberry has been long revered around the area as a standout seasonal beer. As Abita Stawberry’s fame has spread across the country (friends in Omaha and Austin sent rather giddy messages from their grocery stores), their local following has been under assault by another Northshore competitor, Covington Brewhouse’s Strawberry Ale. The Strawberry Ale features a significantly more pronounced strawberry flavor than Abita and, due to the strawberry puree in the kegs, some pours can feature significant pulp and strawberry “debris.”

In some corners of the bar, people have noted a lack of consitency from beer to beer, pitcher to pitcher, and definitely keg to keg. While many people I know enjoy a specific beer because they always know what they are going to get, these differences don’t seem to dampen the enthusiasm building behind the Strawberry Ale. While I could understand and expect such discrepencies in a seasonal beer, the Strawberry Ale has been promised as a year round product. That’s right, Covington Brehouse has promised to feed your strawberry cravings all year, unlike a certain someone who steals your refreshing strawberry brew after a few months.

But none of these things are the source of much glee across the internet. What is truly newsworthy today, and the very information which prompted this post, Covington’s Strawberry Ale is now available in bottles. It’ll be interesting to see if the strawberry puree makes it to the bottle and how the consistency “issue” carries over to the bottles. If anyone gets a chance to do a side by side, or get through a six pack, let us know.

Look for this at your local beer store (Photo credit: Covington Brewhouse)