Ommegang Abbey Ale

Brewed by Brewery Ommegang (Moortgat)
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Cooperstown, New York USA

Serve in Trappist glass

Pours a light reddish brown. Scents of sour cherries, butterscotch, and chocolate enter the nose. Taste like a sour bomb entering the mouth. Good to drink in moderation, but quite a different taste to the palate.

Bottle. Pours a brown body with a 2 finger tan head. Sweet fruity esters with caramel sweetness. Lightly woody, notes of licorice and some alcohol. Good brew.

Bottle into chalice. Pours a cloudy red brown that hints of purple, with a nice fluffy off-white head that settles into a nice creamy cap. Nose is beautiful - raisins and brown sugar, a bready malt character from the dark sweetness and the yeast, and even a bit of acidic sweetness that reminds me of red grapes. One of the best smelling dubbels out there in my opinion. Taste begins with some sparkling carbonation, adding a dryness to the raisin, brown sugar, and tangy yeast that come next. Finish is long, with quite a bit of yeast and a very subtle, dry, roasty presence. Mouthfeel is full, striking a nice balance between fluffy and sparkling carbonation. A really nice take on the style, though I would like to see just a shade more sweetness and a hair less tangy yeast. Probably the best smelling dubbel out there though.

UPDATED: FEB 1, 2010 ++++ Re Rate 29 January 2010 ++++
12 oz bottle given to me by my friend Brent. Poured into my Ename Abbaye chalice, served between 45-50 degrees. Pour is slight haze burgundy ruby brown with a one inch tan head that falls with noisy carbonation bubbles. Aroma is thick malt, with dried fruit (plum and cherry) sweetness. Behind the malt is a nice vanilla and spice yeast that fills out and softens the sweetness of the nose. The taste is sharply sweet (again the dried fruit) initially, then moving beyond that to more of an earthy straw maltiness. The yeast picks up in the back, and this time is strong on the spice - clove and cinnamon. The flavors lack amplitude, and really jut out in a number of directions. There really is none of the softness of the nose. Palate is medium bodied, mouth coating, which is lifted by active fine carbonation. As it warms, the heat of the alcohol becomes apparent. An OK take on an Abbey style, though lacks the integration of the classics. Thanks for leaving this behind, Brent. (8,4,6,3,14 - 3.5)

++++ Original Rating 28 December 2008 ++++
750 ml bottle shared by my friend Brent. Pour is mahogany, a bit more red than brown with a well formed 1 1/2 inch tan head. Aroma of bit maltiness, raisin fruit, clove, and spicy yeastiness. The taste mirrors the nose closely, with the big maltiness being the main component. The sweetness is nicely balanced to the malt, and there is some nice earthiness in the finish. Nice beer. (8,4,8,3,15 - 3.8)

.750l Poured deep red, like a Cape Red wine with a big fluffy beige head. Fruit, raisins and malty aroma. Flavour of malt, caramel, toffee. Big malt finish. This is a winner and one to sip and savour.

Bottle. Poured brown with a creamy yellowish head that left a thin layer lasting and good lace. Aromas of fruits, caramel, and a licorice background. The flavor found a nice mix of fruit and malts with a light licorice background. Medium body, dry, lively carbonation. Enjoyable!!

Bottle, poured a dark copper with a thin off white head. Slightly fruity and yeasty nose. Decent depth of flavors with hints of dark fruit, and candied sugars. Nicely balanced. Somewhat similar to rochefort 8, but not at the same level. It is my belief that this brewery has improved significantly over the last few years.

Bottle. Pours amber-brown, with a gigantic three finger beige head, good lacing. Smells of apple, caramel, toffee and hay. Medium, velvety body. Big malt flavor, apple and caramel, well-balanced with a nice grassy, bitter aftertaste.