Ommegang Biere de Mars

Formerly brewed at Brewery Ommegang (Moortgat)
Style: Bière de Garde
Cooperstown, New York USA

Serve in Stem glass, Tulip

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Batch 3 November 2008. Bottle from Jessup Beverages. Pours brown with a half inch of foam. As you can imagine by this point there’s not much on the nose. There’s a bit of tartness on the tongue and a little bit of fruitiness. Finishes clean. It’s still a very quaffable beer. Not odd or out of place flavors. Probably not as awesome now as it was in 2008 but it’s still very solid.

Batch #2, 08! Oldest beer that’s graced my lips. Only negative aspect of the appearance, per the age, is a substantial amount of sediment that did not adhere well to the bottom of the bottle. Simply a detriment to the trifling aspect of beauty. In terms of scent, which is generally very delicate, notes of citrus and gentle herbs come through, if ever so slightly. Hints, possibly even more so, of tart, unripened apple. Taste fucking rocks. An incredibly non-aggressive flavor profile, though none of the three who’ve tried it feel the flavor is any way lacking. Flowery, distant apple, and a sourness that somehow soothes instead of puckering the mouth. It’s really, genuinely supple. As a last note on flavor, there are certainly elements of the past, but lots of people are just a beautiful old as they are young. Lest we pause before the mouthfeel... It fills the mouth and expands, but gently so, and more slowly than usual, all the while leaving no curve of the tongue untouched and the roof of the mouth waving towards the brain in a blissful, popping clamor. I’ll leave it at that.

2008 Vintage. This was out of a 750 ml bottle and shared among the table @ Novare Res Bier café before the Zwanze release. Hazy amber color with little soapy head. Aromas of pear, grass, funky brett, herbal tea ending with a touch of acidity. Taste is complex and interesting. Musty wet hay. Tart fruit flavor balanced with a smooth brett funk. Chewy bread malt is still showing here and gives it some sweetness. The herbal tea like notes show up just before you finish the sip. The brett has for sure been toned down after the years of sitting. Medium in body and the texture was amazing to me. I hate to use the “like velvet” expression but… it was super smooth. I’m glad I got too try this. I would be open to trading for a chance to drink this again.

Burnt orange. Hints of red. Huge pop of the cork. 3 finger head. Tart and raisin scents. Plums and cherries. Bready and burnt croutons Tart, sweet and dry. Very bready. Musty

hazy amber color, thin off-white head. hints of apple, pear and caramel in the nose, slight funk as well. flavor is slight caramel with fruit and a somewhat dry, slightly cardboard finish.

Batch #3 2008... bottle thanks to a friend. Pours a orange copper color with a good two figer foamy head. On the nose there is some rich caramel malt belgian yeast spice and some great subtle barnyard funk playing with some fruity notes. Apple, apricot and a touch of tart citrus mingle with funky barnyard rustic notes. I was hoping for a bit more on the funky side but this beers ends up being a crushable session brett beer. Nice

Bottled 2008 : Pour is fairly clear golden amber with a modest fine bubbled white head in this glass; The nose has a modest spice note, some lemon grass here - and i find its generally lacking. The flavor profile does have a hop bitterness out of the gate from the dry hopped element, moving onto the brett, with some mild funk - unfortunately the mouthfeel is a bit modest, and I think the flavor profile is lacking depth as well. Yet - I find it to be a nice drinker overall - I’m glad to have tried it once before it was gone forever. For the style , it seems to be missing malt notes for me.

Bottle gives a slightly underwhelming pop but pours a deep amber coloring most similar to a DIPA. Very visible carbonation when held to the light and red and yellow colors burst forth. A finger head is soapy white and disappears quite quickly. The first scent on the nose is a roasted caramel with a strong wine like prescence. The Belgian yeast starts to show soon and gives off spicy aromas. A dubbel like scent of figs sits in the middle of this and weighs down a slight tartness. The "barnyard" really starts to come out as it warms. Really clean earth caramel like tastes hilghlights the front of the tongue. It’s rather sweet but not cloying. There’s also an apple flavor here. I start to get a slighty tart earthy flavor on the center of the mouth, it helps the fig-like dubbel flavors come off lightly. The tartness starts to peek out on the back of the tongue but it’s not as strong as I usually enjoy. Still, very delicious. There’s a slight "red wine" tang to all of it too. Very refreshing and crisp on the palate. It doesn’t sit at all. A wonderful beer but far from my favorite Ommegang offering. I’d rather drop my dollars on some Hennepin.

pours from a bottle, light amber color with a medium white head. smell of brett, taste of brett, slightly sour/funk overall a very enjoyable beer

Poured into a tulip. Batch #3 from November 2008. 3.0 A: Opaque amber plum color. Two and a half fingers of foamy off-white head. Retention is poor and no lacing is left. It’s old, so I’ll cut it a break. 4.0 S: This still smells great though. Grassy earthiness galore. Slightly herbal as well. Despite its advanced age, there isn’t a whole lot of brett character in the nose. Sure, there’s some, but it’s no different that a lot of fresh brett’d beers. Just a light sweat sock funk there. The complexity in this beer comes from layers of depth in the grassiness and earthiness components 5.0 T: The taste brings on a bit more brett, but this is still all about the herbalness, grassiness, and earthiness. Hints of dandelions, heather, and chamomile. Soft wet earth and grasses are abundant. Everything is so complementary and well balanced. The time has really smoothened this beer up. It’s a great drinking experience. 4.5 M: Medium body. Mellow, but sufficient carbonation. Silky, slippery mouthfeel that just plain works and works well. 4.5 D: The more I drink this, the more I enjoy it. I had to change a few scores as I progressed through the glass. This is so smooth and balanced that it should be a crime to be such a way. It’s not the most complex, nor does it have huge flavors, but what’s presented is nearly perfect. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 08-19-2012 03:07:55