Ommegang Abbey Ale

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

Had this awhile back from a 750mL bottle but unfortunately I didn’t take good tasting notes except numbers.

Beautiful reddish brown color. Clove and bread aroma and initial palate. Rich alcohol and spicy yeast finish. Carmelized sugar lingers. Damn good.

12oz bottle. Pours a deep copper with a thick foamy head. Nice fruity aroma. Sweet malt flavor, with a roastiness at the end. Nice carbonation. A very good beer, especially considering the reasonable price.

Bottle. Aroma of bread, a bit of chocolate, nuts, light spicing, plum. Flavor not much to talk about, sweet malt and some chocolate. There was a fair amount of astringency or some odd carbonation that seemed to mask a lot of the flavors in this one for me. Usually enjoy Ommegang’s offerings, and wanted to like this one, but can’t see any way to score it higher than I have.

I broke this beer out at a barbecue the other day to show one of my neighbors what real beer is, needless to say he put down his Miller Lite and wanted to drink my entire bottle. Brewery Ommegang was started in 1997 in a traditional Belgium style farmhouse located four miles south of Cooperstown, New York. Demand became so overwhelming that in 2003 Brewery Ommegang was sold to the Belgium brewery responsible for Duvel Golden Ale and now Ommegang brews are made both in Belgium and Cooperstown. This particular brew is made in Belgium is the first beer produced by Ommegang and was inspired by the ales produced by the Belgium Trappist monks. This beer pours nicely into a dark red brown color with a nice fat foamy head. The aromas are full of Belgium yeast as well as some fruity and nutty notes. The palate is full and robust with breadiness that dissipates to fruitiness as you reach the exquisite finish.

12 oz. bottle. Pours a cloudy deep brown with a thick light tan head. Aroma of yeast, bready malt, anise star, licorice, molasses, plums, and sweet malt. Flavor of sweet malt (almost cola malt) with spices, licorice, anise star, fig. A good dubbel, a touch on the sweet side (your typical American dubbel). Just ok for me though, nothing special. 7/4/7/4/14 (3.6/5)

Poured from bottle into trappist glass. Still not entirely certain how this beats out Chimay Rouge, but it’s a damn fine example of the style all the same. Dark fruit nose (spice, figs, cherry) with a deep, sensual taste. Perfect colour, too.

Poured from a 12-oz bottle into a standard pint glass. Appearence was murky brown with a nice fruity aroma. Taste of raisons, plums and cherries with a slightly spicy kick in the aftertaste.