Beer of the Weekend #314: Ommegang Abbey Ale
There will be at least one exception to my newly reinstituted mid-week teetotalism: samplings for my LV recommendation. My recommendation for February is due Sunday, and I moseyed on down to John’s today and brought back a custom sixer worth of candidates to try over the next couple days. Needless to say I will be playing the exception card.
The first candidate for my February 2012 recommendation is Ommegang Abbey Ale, brewed by the Brewery Ommegang of Cooperstown, New York.
On the brewery website the beer is referred to simply as “Ommegang.” On BA it is listed as “Ommegang (Abbey Ale).” Perhaps this is just my opinion, but I think beer names should be straightforward and distinct.
Serving type: 12-ounce bottle. There is no freshness date.
Appearance: Poured into a tulip. The color is ruddy, dark caramel brown. Three fingers of thick, buttery, caramel-tinted head diminished slowly to become a billowy, rocky cap before dissipating to leave a spotted lacing, ring around the edge, and trails of foam along the glass.
Smell: I popped the cap and immediately got a whiff of brandy-like booze from the pressurized air. It was much more inviting than intimidating. Once in the glass it offers scents of caramel, toffee, a little chocolate, fig, plum, granny apple, and maybe a little molasses. Plus the brandy booziness.
Taste: It is not as fruity as the smell; much darker and boozy. Caramel, toffee, fig, plum, sweet fruit (in the background), yeast, and brandy booziness.
Drinkability: Subtle, smooth, and very tasty. It is solid stuff. I was not that impressed with a couple other Ommegang brews, but this is good stuff.
Fun facts about Ommegang Abbey Ale (“Ommegang,” “Ommegang (Abbey Ale”):
-Style: The label refers to it as “Abbey Dubbel” and BA classifies it as “Dubbel.”
-Price: $2.79/bottle at John’s Grocery in Iowa City.
-Serving temperature: 45-50ºF.
-Alcohol content: 8.5 percent ABV.
-Food pairings: The beer’s webpage suggests “savory dishes, meats, slow-cooked French dishes made with pork, lamb, rabbit, beef, carbonnades, hotchpot, marinated roasts, barbeque, rich cheeses, almost every dessert.”
-Nerdiness from the webpage:
-Ommegang (the brewery, that is) really needs to work on its website. The beer profiles are pathetic. Aside from the above nerdiness and pairing recommendations, the page for Ommegang (the beer, that is) features a number of guest comments, the most recent of which is over four years old. In our tech-obsessed era, an awesome beer demands an awesome web presence. (Dear Ommegang (the brewery, that is): Talk to Unibroue. Sincerely, The Quiet Man.)
-This is on the label:
I like that: “…partaking is a passion.”
The Quiet Man’s grade: A.
The first candidate for my February 2012 recommendation is Ommegang Abbey Ale, brewed by the Brewery Ommegang of Cooperstown, New York.
On the brewery website the beer is referred to simply as “Ommegang.” On BA it is listed as “Ommegang (Abbey Ale).” Perhaps this is just my opinion, but I think beer names should be straightforward and distinct.
Serving type: 12-ounce bottle. There is no freshness date.
Appearance: Poured into a tulip. The color is ruddy, dark caramel brown. Three fingers of thick, buttery, caramel-tinted head diminished slowly to become a billowy, rocky cap before dissipating to leave a spotted lacing, ring around the edge, and trails of foam along the glass.
Smell: I popped the cap and immediately got a whiff of brandy-like booze from the pressurized air. It was much more inviting than intimidating. Once in the glass it offers scents of caramel, toffee, a little chocolate, fig, plum, granny apple, and maybe a little molasses. Plus the brandy booziness.
Taste: It is not as fruity as the smell; much darker and boozy. Caramel, toffee, fig, plum, sweet fruit (in the background), yeast, and brandy booziness.
Drinkability: Subtle, smooth, and very tasty. It is solid stuff. I was not that impressed with a couple other Ommegang brews, but this is good stuff.
Fun facts about Ommegang Abbey Ale (“Ommegang,” “Ommegang (Abbey Ale”):
-Style: The label refers to it as “Abbey Dubbel” and BA classifies it as “Dubbel.”
-Price: $2.79/bottle at John’s Grocery in Iowa City.
-Serving temperature: 45-50ºF.
-Alcohol content: 8.5 percent ABV.
-Food pairings: The beer’s webpage suggests “savory dishes, meats, slow-cooked French dishes made with pork, lamb, rabbit, beef, carbonnades, hotchpot, marinated roasts, barbeque, rich cheeses, almost every dessert.”
-Nerdiness from the webpage:
Meditate on this dark ruby elixir. Breathe in its deep emanations of fruit and spice. Is that clove you smell? Licorice? Fig? Sip serenely as revelations of honey, toffee, chocolate and dark dried fruit delight your senses. Can a beer be holy? you wonder, and Where can I get a grail on-line?
Ommegang, our first brew, was inspired by the centuries-old brewing practices of the Belgian Trappist monks. This burgundian brew gives off a variety of aromas, including plum and cinnamon, and packs in flavors such as caramel, toffee, and licorice. At 8.5% abv, it is known to cause spontaneous meditation.
-Ommegang (the brewery, that is) really needs to work on its website. The beer profiles are pathetic. Aside from the above nerdiness and pairing recommendations, the page for Ommegang (the beer, that is) features a number of guest comments, the most recent of which is over four years old. In our tech-obsessed era, an awesome beer demands an awesome web presence. (Dear Ommegang (the brewery, that is): Talk to Unibroue. Sincerely, The Quiet Man.)
-This is on the label:
Pour slowly so as to not disturb the yeast sediment, but with enough vigor to create a luxurious head and release the rich bouquet.
Brewery Ommegang is 3,264 miles from Brussels, but its heart is right in Belgium. It was created out of our devotion to the unique ales brewed by the country where brewing is an art and partaking is a passion.
I like that: “…partaking is a passion.”
The Quiet Man’s grade: A.
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