Leave it to a good friend to finally provided me the opportunity to review a beer I should have done a long time ago.  This is a beer that I have had many times before and a beer that I know I like very much.  I was actually a bit surprised to look back and find out that I somehow had neglected to formally review it until today.

This beer review also allowed me to find a little hole in my grading system as the final grade initially ended at 43.5 and landed it squarely between A- and A.  Since that situation was not accounted for in my system and since this beer is quite good I simply went back and bumped the aroma grade by .5 to land it an A.  I have that kind of power here.

For the very first review of August . . .

Brewery: Brewery Ommegang (Cooperstown, NY)

Name: Witte

Style: Witbier

ABV: 5.10% (on bottle)

Tasting Notes: Stored in the fridge and served in a French Jelly Glass.  Received as a gift.

Aroma: Nicely sweet aroma with some floral and citrus notes.  The coriander and orange notes are not at all too perfumey.  Light and very pleasant overall.   – 10.5/12

Appearance: Pale golden yellow/straw in color.  One finger fluffy white head that holds well and leaves nice lacing along the glass.  Beautifully cloudy, but some some rising bubbles are still visible. – 3/3

Flavor: Light honey-like sweetness with a little bit of wheat flavor and a nice hit of orange as well.  Very faint spice notes and very, very little bitterness.  Finishes lightly dry with a bit or tartness and some lingering sweetness.  – 17/20

Mouthfeel: Light body and a moderate level of carbonation that lends some nice crispness.  The creaminess on the palate does add some fullness. – 4.5/5

Overall Impressions: The spiciness and floral notes of the coriander are at a perfect level for my palate.  A very crisp, refreshing, and enjoyable beer with a light tartness/dryness that is so good.  Not bad as it warms, but is certainly better cold.  I could drink these and day and especially so in warm weather.   – 9/10

Overall: A (44/50)

Brewery Ommegang - Witte

This one had been staring at me from the wine fridge for far too long.  There was no reason for me to not drink it sooner since I can get another bottle at many places around town if I want to.  I think a lot of it is that I have to be in a certain mood to tuck into a 750ml bottle of anything, even if I know ahead that I like the beer.  It is much easier to casually grab a 12oz bottle of something when given the option of that against popping the cork on a larger bottle.  It is a good thing that Sunday evening comes once a week to give me a good window for enjoying the larger bottles of beer that I have around.

Oh yes, I should mention that I acknowledge that I was a little half point happy when evaluating this beer.  I think it is out of my system for a while.

For the first full review of the week . . .

Brewery: Brewery Ommegang (Cooperstown, NY)

Name: Abbey Ale

Style: Belgian Dubbel

ABV: 8.50% (on bottle)

Tasting Notes: Stored in the wine fridge (55 degrees +/-) and served in a stemmed goblet/chalice.  Bottle suggests serving temperature of 50 degrees.

Aroma: Malty aroma with notes of light fruitiness and spice.  The fruit profile is of dark fruit, like prune or plum.  Relatively subtle overall aroma.   – 8.5/12

Appearance: Dark amber in color with heavy ruby tones.  One plus finger cream color head with super fine bubbles that has good retention and leaves some trail on glass.  Mostly clear when held to light with some floating particulates visible. – 2.5/3

Flavor: Malty up front with a dark caramelly sweetness.  A full/strong flavor with lots of dark fruit character (raisiny) and some spiciness from middle to finish.  The finish is pretty dry with some lingering malt sweetness.  Nicely balanced to maltiness overall.  – 15.5/20

Mouthfeel: Medium in body (toward full) with a pretty high level of carbonation that adds some sharpness on the palate.  After the initial sharpness it is pretty smooth. – 3.5/5

Overall Impressions: The flavor is very much like the aroma, but it does seem to change some sip to sip as it warms more.  Definitely obey the serving temperature suggestions (even on the high side as I did) since drinking it cold would not work nearly as well.  The carbonation flattens nicely as it continues to warm, which dulls the sharpness.  Perhaps the ABV is a bit high for the style (6.3%-7.6%)?  Very nice beer and I had no problem finishes the 750ml bottle by myself.   – 8/10

Overall: B+ (38/50)

Brewery Ommegang - Abbey Ale

It is not that I do not want a beer tonight, but rather that I don’t think I would really enjoy one. My head is all foggy with some sort of head cold type thing (that I have yet to fully accept) and I am not so sure I would be able to smell and/or taste much of anything, so I would hate to waste a really good beer while in that condition. On the other hand perhaps a really offensively hoppy IPA would help clear out the cobwebs.

Moving on to the news for the week . . .

• This is one that The Wife passed along that I found pretty interesting as it makes a comparison involving social media and my latest profession.
• Anyone who is a fan of dunkel-style beers should probably take a look at this list and the commentary on each to see if they are missing out on something.
• Since I often do not know what I will be doing tomorrow I will leave it to someone else to forecast what may come in the next 12 months in the world of craft beer.
• Though I cannot get all the beers here in Florida, I made sure to read this list of his best beers of 2010 since I read his work quite often anyway.
• If you are planning a trip to Asia anytime soon you should probably keep up to date on the beer goings on as far as acquisitions and the like.
• Pretty neat that a skill developed during your free time in college could make you some nice money if you choose to hone your skills. Not that I in any way want to endorse binge drinking, but I am not cool with playing with water. Last I checked it was referred to as beer pong.
• Exciting news from Cooperstown and Ommegang goes through some renovations this month and also announces the collaboration that I am very much looking forward to trying.
• I don’t play video games very much anymore, but if I did this would be on my shopping list for sure.

Cheers!

Sometimes, or maybe most times, I gravitate towards beers I am not as familiar with rather than go with something I have tried before. This occasion was different as I could not resist having this one on draft. I figured it would be a good precursor to the bottle of it I have sitting at home waiting for an official review for this site. Also, it would serve as a good reminder to me that I should expect nothing close to that type of quality when I taste my recently brewed Dubbel for the first time. This one certainly sets the bar high for my own brewing efforts of that style.

Now for the Saturday B Note . . .

Brewery: Brewery Ommegang (Cooperstown, NY)

Name: Abbey Ale

Style: Belgian Dubbel

ABV: 8.50%

Location: Redlight Redlight – Teege at the bar

Tasting Notes:

• Deep brownish red color with a really thick, cream color head that holds very well and leaves a heavy trail.
• Malty sweet aroma with light brown sugary notes and hints of dark fruit.
• Medium body with a moderate (or lower) level of carbonation that makes it very smooth drinking.
• Sugary sweetness is there in the flavor with some faint fruitiness and spice underneath.
• Sweetness and carbonation turn into some nicely lingering dryness on the finish.
• Really, really drinks well.

Brewery Ommegang - Abbey Ale

If I had known that in getting through my backlog I would be doing such a concentration of Ommegang reviews lately I might have just dedicated the entire month of January to them.  I would have needed to grab a few others to fill out the lineup of evaluations, but that would certainly not have been a bad thing.  With that thought, I think February may just have to be dedicated to a brewery or kick off something different for the site.  Stay tuned!

Brewery: Brewery Ommegang (Cooperstown, NY)

Name: Rare Vos

Style: Belgian Pale Ale

ABV: 6.5%

Tasting Notes: Stored in the wine fridge and served in my Ommegang glass (tulip-like).  $5.99 for 1pt. 9.4oz.

Aroma: Slightly sweet malty aroma with a bit of citrus present.  Some spiciness in the background.

Appearance: Light copper to amber in color.  Four finger, cream color head with large, quickly dissipating bubbles that leave some trail. Very clear with visible rising bubbles.

Flavor: Smooth malty flavor with light spiciness.  Some (orange zest-like) fruit flavor.  Slightly dry finish with a hint of hoppy bitterness.

Mouthfeel: Medium to light body with very noticeable carbonation that gives some early bite.  Smooth and very drinkable with the slightest hint of warmth.

Overall Impressions: Very easy drinking and perhaps a bit lighter in body than some other Belgians tried recently.  A bit higher in alcohol than typical for style (4.8-5.5% via BJCP).  Quite good and probably is only graded this low because my palate favors other Ommegang brews.

Grade: B to B+ range

Brewery Ommegang - Rare Vos