re: Anyone know when Abita Strawberry comes out?

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people will hate on these once they gain popularity. its inevitable

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Yes, to some extent it will happen.

NOLA is just doing everything right so far.
From what I've seen of the owner and how he treats his brewers/employees and generally everyone in the industry, I don't see them "selling out" or becoming a company that the craft beer fans around here becomes irritated with.

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people will hate on these once they gain popularity. its inevitable

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Probably some of this will happen, but it is possible to maintain solid beer nerd credibility and be a huge brewery at the same time. Anchor and Sierra Nevada are huge breweries that the craft beer culture loves. Sam Adams also puts out mostly good to great products.

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Obviously there are tons of peole who believe Abita is a great beer.
I think it's great.
I'm a huge fan of craft beers... Some I like, some I don't.

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Since you consider Abita great, what other breweries do you put them on par with?

You should learn to read.

I said I don't compare..
I see a beer that looks good, I order it,, i either like it or I don't.

Why it's important for some of you people to try to convince others Abita isn't a very good beer is beyond me.

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I said I don't compare..
I see a beer that looks good, I order it,, i either like it or I don't.

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So when you decide that you like some and don't like others, you are not comparing?

I've been enjoying this year's MG Bock.

I can understand the Abita hate here. I'm not a beer expert or a rater of beers, but I do know what I like. I cut my beer teeth on purple haze so that beer will always have its place in my fridge. Moved on up to mixing in amber and Andygator as I got into my college years. Keep in mind these were my regular everyday beers. This was what I was drinking before I even knew what craft beer was. Amber had been my go to beer for probably a decade. The strawberry is not my favorite style beer by far but it does have its place. Crawfish boils, yard work, etc.

It's similar to the hate places like Acme gets here.

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"grghh!! remember when NOLA brew used to be small & put out a good product. I cant believe they sold out!!!"

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Doubt it. Unless they actually change the recipe for their beer. Beer drinking isn't some trendy hipster granola alt rock band. You either make a good product or you don't. Abita makes an average beer. Better than BMC, not as good as other craft beer. They get props for being one of the largest craft breweries in the US, and for being one of the earliest craft breweries opened. But they get bad marks for innovation. They have been content with the status quo, which is fine because they are making good money. But with all the capital they have, they should be trying out more stuff. Especially with any good brewery, around the country, trying new recipes and expanding their lineup.
The thing is, Abita is in the unique position of a craft brewery to have their entire operation making money now. They aren't a fledgling brewery scrambling for money, wrestling with expansion vs. the costs of expansion. So it disappoints us craft drinkers locally, that a company with it's capabilities, doesn't try new things. Abita makes a good Amber, but ambers aren't all that exciting. Jackomo sucks, purple haze is decent, satsuma blows, pecan is awful, strawberry is ok (too acidic for me, but nice on a hot summer day. IMO strawberry suffers from overproduction). Wheat is meh, Turbodog is ok. Their only foray into experimenting is their Select series, which is popular among craft drinker. Oyster stout is pretty good, but they don't bottle the select, which i believe, would boost up the craft drinker's opinion of them.
They've also tried vanilla double dog, which is hit or miss (more miss than hit). Abbey ale is not good. SOS i've never had, and haven't heard anything of their Mardi Gras Bock.

They focus on lagers, which is fine for them, with their water source, but ales is where the taste is at. I'd like them to make a good Pale Ale, IPA, and change it up and make something good. Scrap their shite lineup alltogether. Jackamo and Pecan harvest should be dumped. Rework the formula for Satsuma.

They have too much to offer and fail short of being more than an average brewery.

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but I think you answered your own question and don't even realize it.

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Wasn't really questioning anything. And i don't think you'll find one craft drinker here that hates Abita. I think they have a couple brews that people hate, but overall, as a brewer, they are ok. Not great, just OK.

And like i said before, i know why they don't change much, because they don't have to change. They are profitable, and they are a business, in the end. And the point of a business is to make money. But the craft drinker/homebrewer side of me wishes they would branch out and make a killer ale one of these days, and eventually bottle it.

Hopefully this Spring IPA will be good, not another reboot of jackamo.