Ommegang Biere de Mars

Brewed by Brewery Ommegang (Moortgat)
Style: Bière de Garde
Cooperstown, New York USA

Sampled from a 750 ml brown bottle this beer poured a bright orange-amber color with a huge peach-white head. The aroma was yeasty and sweet with notes of orange, cream and vanilla. The flavor was dry, musty and earthy with a sharp rough fruity hop presence and a musty bretty undertone. The finish was long, bretty and roughly fruity. Medium body. Ok.

(Batch 2, Oct 2008) Very large head of varying sized bubbles, some of which are stupidly large. This head is all over the place. Heavy carbonation keeps a head for the duration. Light fruity aroma with some tart apples, a bit of wet oak, new car seat vinyl and some light hops. Color is a nice brownish orange. Lively in the mouth. Tea leaves, herbal qualities and a slightly tartness. Extreamly dry and a bit astringent. Rather thin body and the flavor is a actually a bit on the bland side. Not a lot going on in this brew. Most of the time when I try a beer brewed with brett, the mouth is salivating for more from the sourness. Not this time. Very dry and parching in the mouth. Finishes light and dry and herbal. Not my favorite Ommegang brew. Decent but not something that I would seek out again.

Picked this up at D’s in Swissvale’s vaunted Beer Cave. Looks nice with a red/gold liquid and a very nice white head. Lightly hoppy in the scent, non offensive and pleasant. Taste is fruity, hoppy, and perhaps a tad problematic for my palate, spicy. Thin and bubbly is exactly how this beer needs to be, and it is.

Bottle. Pours an extremely hazy orange with lots of sediment and small white head. The aroma is tart. The taste is very smooth, extremely smooth actually, reminds me of a Jolly Pumpkin Beer without the flavor. If this had more flavor it would be 4.5, hands down.

[2344-20090103] 1pt9.4floz bottle. Sweet yeast and toasted bread aroma. Hazy, dark brown orange body with a long-lasting creamy white head. Sweet toasted yeast flavour has heavy malt and hops throughout. Medium body. Very tasty, a little boozy but good. (8/4/9/3/16) 4.0
(Batch 1; w/ DuctTape, jerc)

[2374B-20090801] Sample. Mild fruity malt aroma. Hazy, medium orange brown body with a medium-lasting foamy light tan head. Medium body. Nice, drinkable. (8/3/8/3/16) 3.8
(BCTC @ Ommegang; Cooperstown, NY)

Bottle shared at a BA tasting, available at City Beer in SF also. Orangish-amber in color with a nicely formed off-white head. Aroma is citrus, brett, and malt. Flavor not very strong with citrusy/fruity notes, slight bretty tartness, earth, and caramel malt. Medium-bodied and somewhat dry and crisp. Decent but not very exciting.

750ml caged&corked bottle. Cloudy orange/amber with a very thick off-white head that leaves small patches of egg-white-like lace on the glass. Unfortunately for those who pour too vigorously, the yeast is not attractive - it consists of very large chunks that like to float in the beer instead of settle to the bottom (but I won’t hold that against the brew). The aroma is an interesting mix of slightly tart fruit (from brett) with some malts, some honey, and slight mandarin orange (could that be from the dry hops?). The flavor starts dry and musty with an earthy character from the brett. Then a pleasant fruity (almost citrusy) sweetness enters along with a very nice, bready malt character. At mid-palate, there is a harmonious blend of earthy hops, musty funky brett character, bready and yeasty malts, and delicate fruity/floral esters. The finish is straight-forward and bready with a light but balancing dose of hop bitterness. The mouthfeel is surprisingly full and surprisingly smooth (I was expecting much livelier carbonation with a lighter mouthfeel based on the pour). Overall, a very well-made brew. I dig it a lot. It has nice qualities of a slightly-over-the-top English Pale Ale but with a very nice Belgian character thanks to the interesting fruity esters and peculiar yet dreamy brett funk.

750 ml corked and caged bottle poured a clear orange amber with a lasting ivory head. Aromas of biscuit, earthiness, barnyard, light carmel and light fruittiness. Palate was light bodied and crisp with a dry finish. Flavors of carmel, bread, pepper, light barnyard and light fruittiness with a crisp dry lingering finish.