Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence

Brewed by Brewery Ommegang (Moortgat)
Style: Stout
Cooperstown, New York USA

Pours a big black color which lets basically no light through. Has a nice 1-finger head that loofs like frothed chocolate milk and has incredible retention and lacing. Has a nose of heavy chocolate with big malty and yeasty smells coming through. Has a bit of smoke in there, combined with a faint touch of alcohol, that gives it an almost scotch-like smell. Tastes of lots and lots of dark, dark chocolate. Some dark fruits like figs and big, sweet cherries. Light coffee notes dancing around in there. Not much of an alcohol taste, but you get the feeling it’s pretty powerful at about the halfway point. In the mouth this feels smooth, creamy and wonderful. Like a goth girls well kept favorite black velvet coat. This is a pretty darn easy drinking beer. I think it would creep up on you though, if you didn’t watch yourself.

0.75l - Seemed a little too alkaline to me, like cocoa powder straight. The bitterness of the chocolate compounded with the hops was too much. A rare miss for these guys in my opinion.

2007 vintage- pours a very dark brown with a foamy chocolate milk like head. Nose- medium roast and dark chocolate. Taste- sweet dark fruits, candi sugar, bitter roast. Was expecting more chocolate- its noticable, but not in forefront. Getting somewhat oxidized. Finish has a somewhat sour/tart character and a bit chalky.

pours pitch black with medium tan head. aroma is deep rich red fruits, coffee, chocolate, malt. drinks bitter chocolate, roast malt, dried red fruits, smoke, and more malt. easy drinking but has some complexity. decent.

Black pour with a dark tan head. Before even going in for the first sniff I was bombarded by prune and raisin- further sniffs yield creamy roasted barley, dark chocolate, fennel, charred organic material, and coffee. Flavor is bitter dark chocolate, a slight boozy note, further fennel, mocha, and roasted barley. Yeast character is certainly Belgian in nature providing a unique take on the style. The overall sense of sweetness portrayed by the aroma changes to a much more roasty bitter nature. Palate is medium bodied for the style, mildly effervescent, and finishes chalky. Interesting but not outstanding.

Black pour, two finger, tan, frothy head. Aroma of cocoa, coffee, roast, smoke, licorice, and a bit of dark fruit, like raisin. Flavor is certainly less sweet, with more of a bitter dark chocolate note, along with more pronounced coffee bean, some Belgian yeast, and a bit of alcohol. Flavor is not as good as the aroma. Palate is is decent, but the odd flavor in the middle, which reminds me almost as gin or vodka mixed in with a stout, really throws me off a bit. Still an OK stout, but doesn’t really do it for me.

2007 Vintage

10/04/2009: Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence... Aroma: Chocolate and hints of vanilla, coffee, and roasted malt; even a little smoke/char. Appearance: Deep, dark brown, opaque color with three fingers of dense and creamy tan-colored hard; inkblot-like lacing; some portion of a head/crown lasts from beginning to end. Flavor: Smooth Belgian chocolate in the front, then some dark fruits (blackberry?), roasted malts, nuts, coffee, and smoke; from the middle to the finish there is some weird alcohol presence and something not quite sour, but definitely out of place that greatly distracts from the overall flavor and drinking experience... Palate: Medium-full to full body; milky texture; smooth, creamy, and mellow. Overall: Aroma definitely delivers chocolate, but not so much in the flavor (definitely not enough to cause my wife to like it); still fairly solid overall; possibly best when fresh...

1 pt 9.4 fl. oz. corked and caged bottle (Alc./Vol. 7%) from ross via trade. Thanks Ross! Rating #585 for this beer.

I guess my cheap butt expected more for $13. I will stick to Youngs when a chocolate crave hits. This is not bad just lacks depth in flavor....not much chocolate going on.