Yes, I’m reviewing another beer. I know, I know… this is a drink blog, but I do have a soft spot for a great beer and something tells me the quest to find them all will never be completely fulfilled. I’m a sucker to try any Belgian or “Belgian-style” ale and that led me to this latest purchase.
A couple details first… The Ommegang Brewery is located in Cooperstown, NY. This microbrewery takes pride in brewing “Belgian-style” beers here in America. Not too uncommon but it’s a business model that I certainly appreciate.
The Abbey Ale is a rich, dark brown beer with a full, foamy head. The nose of the beer is very fruity with hints of toffee and cinnamon. Upon tasting, the beer is full bodied but not heavy. Although the alcohol is 8.5%, it does not dominate due to the complexities of the flavors present in the beer. Roasted malt, sweet dried fruit, and a variety of spices seem to all compete together for dominance, none of which overpower the other. The ale is nicely balanced and easy to drink.
All this in a beer that costs $4.99 for a 750ml bottle. This represents a huge value for anyone who loves a quality Belgian-style beer since it runs half the price of Chimay and its counterparts. In fact the Ommegang Abbey ale is very similar in taste and style to Belgium’s Delirium Nocturnum (not yet reviewed). A quality beer offered at a fantastic value…if you can find it locally, I highly recommend it.
Well we finally disagree on beer (I’m drinking the ommegang as I write this) and while the review is accurate as far as nose and body, the flavors don’t mesh together well… maybe I just got a bad bottle. The Rogue mocha porter I had earlier was far superior (in my humble opinion). just my opinion. you’ve been right on everything else though!
I’m just glad you found the review accurate for the smell and taste. That’s validation of sorts! As far as the how the flavors work together, I think that’s more of a personal preference. I’ll have to try the Rogue Porter (soon I’ll be posting a review of Rogue’s malt liqueur offering). For me though, I don’t cross over beer types when I compare. In other words I try to compare ale to ale or porter to porter because to me the beer types should be segmented since each have characteristics unique unto themselves.
Good point, I would have to say Delirium Nocturnum would be an ale with a leg up on it. give ‘er a whirl!
ooh, and here’s a fun ale fact, Delirium Tremens (the other Delirium ale) is also the latin name for a fatal withdrawl from (ethanol) alcohol! How funny are those belgians!