Turbodog is one of the flagship beer from Abita Brewing, which is near New Orleans—"nestled in the piney woods 30 miles north" in fact. This is my first Abita beer, even though I’ve occasionally seen their Purple Haze available locally. I’ve been aware of Abita for awhile, and finally picked this up when I saw it.

They label this a "dark brown ale" though at just over 6% alcohol and from my notes, I’d classify this a porter, myself.

Appearance: Murky, very dark brown with ruby red tints at the light. Nice thick light brown head… a bit rocky.

Smell: Cocoa powder and freshly ground light roast coffee. Some bitter, roasted barley in the nose, too.

Taste: Roasted and chocolate malts, slightly dry and a bit of bittersweet chocolate. Reminds me of a cocoa-laden porter more than a "dark brown ale" as the bottle says… soft and a bit astringent.

Mouthfeel: Soft, smooth, creamy and a dry finish. A little light of medium-bodied; soft water character.

Overall: Definitely has "porter" written all over this for me. I think it would be better on tap; the bottled version isn’t bad but this seems to be a beer that begs for cask conditioning.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores a grade of B. On RateBeer, it scores 3.22 out of 5 and is in their 63rd percentile.