Ommegang - Abbey Ale

Ommegang, a name that I could say over and over again if not for the fear of becoming mentally subnormal, are a brewery that deal in Belgian style ales but work out of Cooperstown, New York. I have nothing but respect for the American micro brewer so I expect great things from a beer that smacks of intrigue. It doesn't quite pour like I expected it to but the smell and flavour definitely makes this beer something that you would either proverbially or literally write home about...

"Dear mum,

I bought a beer that comes from New York but is actually a Belgian styled Abbey Double that weighs in at a whopping 8.2%. I know you don't like it when I'm on the harder stuff but if you could smell this beer then I'm sure you'd see my side of things. It's rich and fruity with biscuity overtones and a lovely sting of raw booze, like that summer pudding Aunt Mabel made when she fell off the wagon again. It kinda looks like that Christmas pudding she made too... Except with this we won't need to call the fire department... And I won't need therapy.

You really should try this, mum, it's definitely a pudding beer, what with its smooth body and light blackcurrant, honey, syrup and apple flavours that fizzle through like that time cousin Jimmy bought all those fireworks and set them off in the kitchen. It's odd but a couple of years ago I rated American beer well below my Top 5 but now the yanks are definitely in the top 3. I know how much you like the Germans and the Belgians and I like them too, mum, but they can be one trick ponies sometimes. The Americans, especially some of the East Coast breweries, can do Belgian and German beers that can stand up to the Belgians and Germans. On top of that, they make the entire spectrum of beer and plenty of it surpasses anything I've ever had before, so don't be giving me that whole 'Americans only drink pissy Bud and pissy Coors' because they don't! They've got some freakin' taste... If we ignore corn dogs and American cheese.

You know what I really like about this beer? It may sound odd but it's that it's not Belgian enough. Whoa! I know that look! Stop it and listen. With some strong Belgian beers I get the feeling that there's too much going on and the yeast flavours with the much stronger 12-15% ones can be so overwhelming that you can feel a bit sick. This steps back a little and lets you relax. It could be a 6%... It could taste like a 4% after you've had 5 at 8.2%... Which this is. The point is that this, as well as being a happy go lucky pudding, could just as easily be an arm chair beer that you enjoy in front of a roaring fire or in the comfort of your favourite deck chair on a roasty toasty summers eve.

Hope the dogs aren't dead and I hope Uncle Marvin has passed that gall stone. I'll be back when Thornbridge, Sierra Nevada, Brewdog, Augustiner, De Molen, Mikkeller, Evil Twin, Nogne, La Chouffe, Fuller's, Goose Island and Nils Oscar have stopped paying me millions of (whatever currency each of those use (pounds, dollars, pounds, euros, euros, euros, euros, krone, euro, pound, dollar, krona,)) to drink their delicious beer all day and swim about in their giant vats of beer like an alcoholic hippo.

Love,

Drew."


Food Suggestion: This beer is truly brilliant and I can see it going as well with moules and frites as it would with creme brulee or, dare I say it, one of those dreaded corn dogs. This beer could make ANYTHING better.

Drink this if you like: I consider this a much subtler version of something like Augustijn Brune or Gulden Draak but this is truly in a league of its own.