Ommegang Rare Vos

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

[Bottle] Pours cloudy gold with a medium beige head. Aroma is loaded with banana, belgian yeast, a touch of hops, and some mango. Flavor is banana, grass, yeast, a touch of bitterness and a medium to thin mouthfeel.

Spicey nose same with flavor. Notes of light fruit pretty bitter. Nice red/brown color. Great beer.

Those crazy beer enthusiasts at Ommegang are back again, and this time with their interpretation of a traditional amber ale. As a beer style, the amber ale is unique in that it really isn’t a particular beer style, and yet it is. Confusing, I know. In the case of Ommegang, they took their expertise and brought the Belgian to the amber. Or is it the other way around?
My Rare Vos poured a rich deep amber and burnt orange into my glass. Her thick and slightly amber in hue head fades slowly into a thick layer while brussels lace again crackle along the sides of my glass. In true Belgian fashion, bottle fermentation has leant a soft head, effervescent body, and sticky brussels. As I raise my goblet for a quaff, I first embrace her delicate nose. I am received with hints of tangerines, caramel, toasted biscuits, and sweet yet tangy pink grapefruit. My first quaff is light, bubbly, and soft in my mouth and on my tongue. A tingling sensation along my tongue bursts with pink grapefruit and lemon flavors. Following right behind is a soothing song of sweet tangerines, caramel, and gentle biscuits and bread. I enjoy how my Rare Vos grabs your attention right away with her crisp tart hop presence up front, but then steps aside to allow her more mellow and dominant side to embrace and tempt me. During this entire flavor explosion, her body remains full and soft. The finish is clean, sweet, and with a hint of grapefruit.
As I mentioned above, amber ales are a vague beer style, but there is little to no doubt that Ommegang’s Rare Vos is one of the reigning examples of the amber ale. A great session brew, I will gladly enjoy her company any day of the week or month of the year. Sometimes, just maybe, simple really is best.

Pours a soft orange-brown body with a thick, three-finger head that forms like sponge--and lacing is a beautiful web that coats the OFFICIAL Rare Vos glass... yeasts are fruity and spicy--malts are interwoven with balance... without prior knowledge, this beer could smell like any number of styles--versatile! Palate is medium-bodied and a bit astringent--a finish with warmth befitting a 6.5% ABV... smooth and slick with lingering effects... citrus hops and strong malts collide in a seesaw that keeps the tongue in a suspended bliss... like a Belgian monk and a German beer wench brought forth a beautiful love child... rule one: Ommegang doesn’t brew a bad beer; rule two: each is a study in itself, demanding a session of focus and appreciation, followed by another sessio to compare and rethink... Rare Vos is a complex beer that chllenges and rewards--excellent.

Pours an orange amber with a creamy off-white head. Smells of malt, caramel, spice, and slight banana with intense notes of sour orange. Flavor is malty with much of the same flavors as the aroma- citrus bitterness with lingering bite. Nice lace in the glass.

KSBF 08- Bottle, Orange hazy copper, small head. Spice and yeast with a light fizzy sweetness. Banana in there with a dry slight bitter sweet finish. Not overly pleased with this one but good overall.

Decent - has a banana nose full of Belgian Yeasty Spice. Flavor is a sweet malty base with notes of banana, orange, pear, fig and caramel. Ends on a clean finish.

Pours from 750 ml bottle a hazy orange, forming a rather bubbly foamy head, which dissipated rather quickly. Aroma was of orange peel, spices and herbs. Flavour was of a balance of both fruity tartness and rock candy sweetness. Some yeast and cherry seem to sneak in at the end of this beer. Malts and hops, along with the rest seem to balance out well in this tasty brew, a very decent belgian ale.