Ommegang Ommegeddon

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

Note: Reviewed as an American wild ale. 2008 vintage, cellared for about a year. Golden yellow, slightly hazy. A nice looking ivory-colored head that leaves plenty of lacings. Nice funky notes in the smell, but still it comes out quite fresh and clean. Plenty of fruit aromas (oranges, overripe lemons, ripe apples). Notes of aged cheese. A rather strange spicy note reminiscent of ginger and pepper develops. Some notes of watered down vinegar. The malts hide behind the funk in the form of white bread. A pleasant smell that lacks a little complexity. Slightly too much emphasis in the funkiness. A surprisingly easy to handle taste. Not the massive brett attack I had anticipated. A nice mix of semi-sweet fruits (apples, pineapples), lemon grass, tart lemon peel and a peppery spiciness in the mouth. The mild citric and wheaty tartness lingers on while the sweetness leaves room for a funkiness gathering momentum. The increasing funkiness results in an overall profile that at the end of the day, is mostly funky. Notes of blanket, mud and some aged cheese. The malts try to battle the funk, but it’s to fragile for anything but a decent attempt. The finish is rather special with a predominant note of funky wet blanket, phenolic spicy and herbal alcohol and a somewhat grassy bitterness that’s also quite reminiscent of ginger. The beer finishes with a gentle note of wormwood. Medium body, low carbonation. A nice dry mouthfeel. I had rather high expectations on this one, and unfortunately they weren’t completely met. Still a good beer, though. But it’s slightly too one-sided with too much emphasis on funkiness and sweet and spicy alcohol. The tartness that I associate with this kind of brews is to a large extent missing. Also, the funk could have been even more skewed and rough around the edges, as it is now it’s to clean and well-behaving. Serving type: bottle (Copy of old Beer Advocate review)

750 mL bottle. Light copper cloudy pour with a nice fizzy white head. Aroma of spices and citrus hops. Great taste of grapefruit, yeast, pepper and spices. Slightly sharp finish.

750 mL bottle from Sam’s in Durham (Batch #2, bottled March 2008). Light golden pour with a huge fluffy white head. Aroma of some barnyard and horseblanket but this is really overwhelmed by the lemony citrus and unmistakeable bretty funkiness. The flavor I expected was a mildly sour version of Hennepin and to a degree that’s exactly what this is. But I do think the sour and funkiness is a bit underwhelming. Which isn’t to say this is a bad beer; in fact it’s really good. I don’t think the effort or the price, however, are worth it given other beers in this category.

Aroma of clover, apple and white grape. Appearance is cloudy gold with creamy head that never went away. Flavor of clover, white grape and apple. Palate was effervescent and lively. A somewhat good Saison.

Batch 1 bottle, a gift thanks to miketd!
Hazy gold with a large, frothy white head that dies in some time. Really funky nose at this point, a load of brett and hay with some lemon, grapefruit-level bitterness, and light tangerine sweetness. Lightly solvent-like at this stage, so I’d drink soon. Dry palate is now a little under-carbonated, but the body is still pretty decent. Dirty favor dominated by brett, also some light grass and citrus. Very dusty and earthy, this is Saison to the max. Gueze is normally considered an onslaught, but compared to this, Gueze typically has some fruit and acidity to cut through the brett and dust. Batch 1 is full on funk right now, and I’d suggest drinking it soon. Thanks Mike.

Bottle at RnH in NYC. Pours a slightly hazy red body. Aroma is tartness and funk. The flavor is great, farmhouse funk flavors and slight tartness.

DØE Valby 09. Pours yellow with a white head. Aroma is slightly sour, light malt and brett. Flavour is caramel, light hop, light bitter, brett. Sour aftertaste.

Bottle at rattle n hum. Tart and funky wheat notes. Belgian spices, dry, and hoppy. Better than I expected.