Ommegang Three Philosophers

Brewed by Brewery Ommegang (Moortgat)
Style: Abt/Quadrupel
Cooperstown, New York USA

Vertical tasting of the 2007, 2008, and 2009 batches or vintages. As it turns out the tasting went exactly as we would have expected. Here’s some brief notes on each vintage. 2009 - Reddish in color. Hot, sweet, sharp fruit flavors, lacks balance. Most fruit of all three that we tried. Least favorite. 2008 - Stuck right in the middle of the two vintages. Color fading as well as the fruit. Less sharp than 2009. Better in quality but not by much. 2007 - Hands down the best of the three years that we tried. The red color has almost completely faded. Brown now in color. Malty lush nose. Fruit flavors are now faded to the point where they are very well integrated. Conclusion - 2 years seems to be a nice sweet spot for aging this beer. The 2009 had just been released when we did our tasting. It would have been interesting to have a bottle of 2006. However, I think a 2006 would have tasted old by now.

Ommegang should not sell this in 750s. The color was ruddy brown with a little bit of carbonation and a decent off-white head that held for a bit. The flavor was bud light with a smidgen of cherry. Where is the kriek with which this was supposedly blended? I found this pretty disappointing and was kicking myself that I had such a big bottle of it.

750 ml bottle @ Tivu. Thin whitish head. Reddish brown colour. Cherry and malt in the aroma as well as in the taste. Aftertaste dominated by cherry.

750 mL bottle. Opaque amber reddish pout with a nice thick tan head. Aroma of dark fruit and malt. Slightly stale taste of malt, yeast and plums with an even finish and faint alcohol present. Overrated if you ask me.

Pours dark brown with a ruby tint when held to the light and a thin, creamy, light tan head that has o.k. retention. Aroma is lots of sweet, nutty banana bread, dark fruits, lots of ethanol, bavarian cream and cherry danish, caramel, a little port and figs. Flavor is dark fruit, licorice, fig, banana oil, brandy, ethanol, metallic notes, sharp bready yeast and a little roast. Palate is medium body with a boozy-dry feel throughout and a light (especially for the style) carbonation. I really expected alot more from this brew, I thought at first that I served it too cold. I let it warm and was still pretty disappointed. Stirred in a little, then all of the dregs from the bottom of the bottle, still disappointed. Metallic booze greeted me every time. Oh well. Not incredibly terrible, but definitely not very good.

Pours a rich dark brown with a small creammy white head. Aroma is sweet like cheeries, dates and fig. Taste is full bodied with hints of dart fruit and caramel, keeping it on the sweet side. The flavor last on the palet but the alcohol taste seems to linger and over power the finer notes of the beer. I thinnk the "big" bottles are a little more mellower in the alcohol than the 12 ouncers. A good beer no the less.

From the Bottle at Dr Bill’s Tasting Falling Rock Tap House, Denver 09/10/2008 Rich fruit aroma. Amber red coloured and strong in alcohol with a sherry flavour. Crisp and slightly bitter malt finish.

12 oz. bottle. Vigorous pour revealed a thin white head and a dark brown body with ruby highlights. Strong aroma of malt, caramel, cherry and fig. Flavor is dry and bready with traces of tartness and dark fruit. Finish is a little overly boozy, which makes me want to try cellaring one a year or so. Excellent example of a Quad at a great price.