Umbrella Drink
Abita Brewing Co.

 

 

 

I am SO excited to be running through Uinta Abita New Beer This Sunday, Bro./GEN Woody (Week 721)? with little to no difficulty! I had a brief hiatus to do some side projects, but this beer represents the beginning of the backswing of the day. Goodbye, SLC, hello Big Easy!

From the Bottle: "Tropical Ale with Pomegranate and Passion Fruit added"; "Escape to paradise with our Umbrella Drink which is brewed with pale malt, wheat and oats and hopped with Ekuanot and Centennial hops. The harmoniously sweet tastes of pomegranate and passion fruit create a whirlwind of flavor for this ale, making it an ideal choice for enjoying summers on the beach or boating around the river or lake."

I Pop!ped the cap & began a slow, gentle C-Line pour as the hour was growing late & I really did not feel like dealing with a mess. It did me proud by forming just over two fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, French Vanilla-colored head with great retention of its own volition. I was mesmerized as it slowly fell away, leaving loads of beautiful, sticky lacing in its wake. Color was an astounding Golden-Amber (SRM = > 5, < 7) with NE-quality clarity, summoning forth The Gelt Gang of Mammon, Midas & Croesus, all basking in the glory of a Black & Gold sweep of BOS/NE this weekend! Let's go Pens & Stillers! Moving on, the nose was like perfume! Man, it was sickeningly sticky sweet! 8=( Still, it was very fruity & very tropical, so I have to remain focused on its style. Wow. Mouthfeel was thin-to-medium, not watery, but not far from the shallow end of the pool, either. The taste was very much of (especially) passion fruit with its pal, pomegranate, along for the ride, ala Thelma & Louise. Phew. I could have used it dialed down just a tad, but for its style, it lived up to its billing. It was super fruity throughout. Finish was likewise sweet and juicy. Wow, just wow. I will readily cop to not being a fan of sweet, but this was decent. I think that it would be preferable in the Summer, but I'll live. YMMV.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With a hodge-podge of of ale pieces and parts, Abita puts together a rather formidable beer. Boistrous tropical fruit additions lead the way over a pacific northwest bitterness and a clean malt backbone. Built for the beach, this simpleton of a beer satisfies the taste for umbrella drinks with ease.

Thus the name, Umbrella Drink comes with a medium, hazy, mauve appearance and crowned with a soft ecru froth. Tangy aromatics arise with the succulence of passionfruit and pomegranate taunting the nose with a radiant perfume. Supple sweetness of fruit punch teases the tastebuds with a pep of light honey, pastry and cobbler.

As the fruit flavors unfold, the malt balance is relegated to tepid support. Fruit juices give way to the skins, stems and seeds of fruit rather quickly while the ale decides to become an American pale ale half way through. Growing bitterness of bitter orange, grapefruit and the grassy nature of pine lead to a bittersweet late palate with fruit acidity in tow.

Medium bodied and tacky on the finish like taffy, the fruit flavors that linger tends to tighten into a drinkable and refreshing drink, but with an ill placed bitterness and a moderate level of astringency that distract with a fruit bite. A medium short aftertaste of tropical flavors continue to swoon the senses right past those glaring flaws.

Umbrella Drink has a very thick, spongy white head, a hazy, straw-gold appearance, and heavy glass lacing. Aroma is of bright fruit juice, and the flavor is of bitterness, malts, and background fruit juice, Mouthfeel is high medium, and Umbrella Drink finishes medium dry.

RJT