Umbrella has been a spring/summer seasonal favorite for me. I don't always review beers but after enjoying about 10 of these over the past 2 months I felt compelled to do so today. Was shocked to see it at an 87 rating on BA. Are others enjoying this beer as much as I am? It seems to be selling very quick at my local spots. It's very different from other NW IPAs so maybe doesn't suit your fancy but I can't get enough of the stuff. I've gone through quite a few 22oz and was happy to recently find it in 6-packs of 12oz for $7.49. At 7.4% abv this has been the best beer value I've found in quite some time. Where is the love for umbrella? With this years 3-way not living up to 2014, I'm calling it as the best spring/summer seasonal so far in 2015. Thoughts?
I had it at the Pacific City brewpub. It was fine, but didn't blow me away. I've had better Ella hop beers honestly. Overdub is my seasonal of the year so far.
I haven't tried Umbrella, but will be sure to do so--and soon--now that I know there are Ella hops in there. Thanks for putting this one on my radar, @therackman .
Crux did a test batch Imperial IPA with Ella last year. I don't know if the kegs ever left the brewery. I really liked it.
Yes, I also had that Crux Ella beer and loved it. If I remember right it was draft only. Umbrella is the first I've had in bottles/cans. Overdub is a close second for me. Umbrella is a bit of a value play at $7.49/six pack or $3.79/22oz bomber.
To OP: as we've discussed a bunch of times, those of us who tend to review/rate in the NW forum tend to be tough graders. If you were to add 5-8 points to a given beers score, that's probably pretty close to what that beer would rate fron raters outside the NW. That said, this is a beer that I've never even heard of. I get Pelicans mainline 22's up here along the border, but I've never seen a sixer.
It's a nice beer, I wouldn't go and call it the best spring/summer/anything though. It's got a unique and grassy hop note, pretty one dimensional though.
Looks like I'm the only one on here enjoying Umbrella this much. If nothing else, looks like this thread has put it on a few more BAs radar. Hope you can find it.
Nothing wrong with staking your claim on a beer few people are talking about yet. I'd rather hear about potential new finds to me than another stroke of a famous brewery's ego.
