Ommegang Ommegeddon

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

strong and slightly bitter, but good nonetheless. haven’t had a beer from this brewer I didn’t like.

Very hazy pour, light golden with a bubbly white head and lots of bubly carbonation. Very herbaceous aroma, with licorice, horseblanket, and huge amount of lemon. Pleasant musty hop character, light funk similar to Orval, very drinkable with a really dry finish.

750ml bottle, Batch #1, June 2007. Opens with a loud and forceful pop, pours a clear yellow golden with a large bright white head. Aroma has some funk, must, citrus, grass and earthy hops, spice, and light belgian yeast. Flavor is more bretty funk, spice, earthy, grassy and citrus hops, and agree with the description that there is a nice herbal quality as well. Tasty stuff, and found the brett notes to be not too much to completely take over but enough to make it interesting.

Batch #1, from June of ’07. Aroma is a combination of light floral scents and definite belgian candi sugar. Golden color with a soft white head. The mouthfeel is nice--great carbonation for the style, and medium to full bodied. The taste is very one dimensional at this point--sweet malts dominate, and the flavor is very one dimensional. Absolutely zero funk to report on this first batch. If you have one, you better drink it now.

Bottle. 25.4 oz. Split with Sean and James. Pours yellow apple golden wtih a hazy, off-white head. Aroma of pine, dry hops, citrus, soil, sunflower. Medium to full bodied with a tangy, sticky mouthfeel. Tart finish. Great saison.

Note: Reviewed as an American wild ale. 2008 vintage, cellared for about a year. Golden yellow, slightly hazy. A nice looking ivory-colored head that leaves plenty of lacings. Nice funky notes in the smell, but still it comes out quite fresh and clean. Plenty of fruit aromas (oranges, overripe lemons, ripe apples). Notes of aged cheese. A rather strange spicy note reminiscent of ginger and pepper develops. Some notes of watered down vinegar. The malts hide behind the funk in the form of white bread. A pleasant smell that lacks a little complexity. Slightly too much emphasis in the funkiness. A surprisingly easy to handle taste. Not the massive brett attack I had anticipated. A nice mix of semi-sweet fruits (apples, pineapples), lemon grass, tart lemon peel and a peppery spiciness in the mouth. The mild citric and wheaty tartness lingers on while the sweetness leaves room for a funkiness gathering momentum. The increasing funkiness results in an overall profile that at the end of the day, is mostly funky. Notes of blanket, mud and some aged cheese. The malts try to battle the funk, but it’s to fragile for anything but a decent attempt. The finish is rather special with a predominant note of funky wet blanket, phenolic spicy and herbal alcohol and a somewhat grassy bitterness that’s also quite reminiscent of ginger. The beer finishes with a gentle note of wormwood. Medium body, low carbonation. A nice dry mouthfeel. I had rather high expectations on this one, and unfortunately they weren’t completely met. Still a good beer, though. But it’s slightly too one-sided with too much emphasis on funkiness and sweet and spicy alcohol. The tartness that I associate with this kind of brews is to a large extent missing. Also, the funk could have been even more skewed and rough around the edges, as it is now it’s to clean and well-behaving. Serving type: bottle (Copy of old Beer Advocate review)

750 mL bottle. Light copper cloudy pour with a nice fizzy white head. Aroma of spices and citrus hops. Great taste of grapefruit, yeast, pepper and spices. Slightly sharp finish.

750 mL bottle from Sam’s in Durham (Batch #2, bottled March 2008). Light golden pour with a huge fluffy white head. Aroma of some barnyard and horseblanket but this is really overwhelmed by the lemony citrus and unmistakeable bretty funkiness. The flavor I expected was a mildly sour version of Hennepin and to a degree that’s exactly what this is. But I do think the sour and funkiness is a bit underwhelming. Which isn’t to say this is a bad beer; in fact it’s really good. I don’t think the effort or the price, however, are worth it given other beers in this category.