Your globetrotting liquor reporter is penning this week’s column from a hip and happening boutique hotel in midtown Manhattan.
After flying into NYC for a weekend bachelor party of Dionysian proportions, your humble narrator needed a full week to recover from a single night of debauchery that took us to seedy gin joints and dens of depravity across all five boroughs.
And yet, despite what I can only assume was the hammer of Thor himself pounding on my head the morning after, your intrepid liquor reporter somehow found the time to pop into a craft beer pub to sample the local wares.
Luckily, the watering hole I chose had a good selection of Ommegang, an oddly named brewery from Cooperstown, a few hours north of NYC.
The brewery opened in 1997, and has been producing Belgian-styled beers since then. Located on a former hop farm, the brewery was opened by the owners of an importer that had been bringing Belgian beers into the USA for many years.
The location is distinctive, as Cooperstown was the epicenter of hop production the USA back in the 19th century, although that market has since shifted to the west coast.
Currently owned by the famous Duvel Moortgat Brewery, Ommegang is a little bit of Belgium in a sea of watery American beers.
The closest Canadian equivalent we have to Ommegang would be Unibroue out of Quebec, which also produces Belgian-styled ales.
The beer nerds in the audience will quickly recognize Belgium as the gold standard in the world of beer, with over 500 unique beer styles, most of which even have their own specialty serving glass.
The most easy-drinking beer from Ommegang is the Hennepin Farmhouse Saison, which pours like hazy golden cloud into a glass, with flavours of orange and coriander, followed by a fluffy malt mouthfeel. Those raised on a steady diet of Coors Lite will not find this one too intimidating.
The Ommegang Witte Ale is made from wheat, and similar to the way I like my women, this beer is a little tart. Naturally, by tart, I mean it has a citrusy lemon flavour underneath a spicy flavour profile.
The Rare Vos AmberAle is the perfect session beer for drinking all night. With flavours of clove and pepper, this beer has just enough hop bitterness to balance the structured malt base. If you want a medium-bodied beer that will not overpower a platter of pub food, this is the one to choose.
The BPA (Belgian Pale Ale) is the most aromatic of the available brews, likely from the dry hopping added at the end of the boil. Dry hopping is a technique used by brewmasters to add volatile esters to a beer without increasing the bitterness, as much of our sense of taste is intranasal.
This is why a fine beer should always be poured into a glass, as drinking straight from the bottle does not allow the drinker to breathe in any of the aromas.
The final brew I sampled while nursing a most epic post-bachelor party hangover was the Ommegang Abbey Ale, made in the Belgian Dubbel style. With an earthy malt flavour and notes of caramel, this is a high-alcohol brew that is definitely not for beginners.
For the TV fans in the audience, Ommegang also brews the Iron Throne Pale Ale, under license from HBO from the saucy and titillating series Game of Thrones, whose lewd and wanton displays of lechery and drunkenness remind your humble narrator of his own debaucherous college lifestyle.
Unlike the TV show, the Iron Throne Pale Ale may not be served up by a buxom tavern wench at your local brothel, but it is still a fine brew. Pouring into the glass as a pale straw colour, this beer is highly carbonated, with the spicy Belgian yeasts carried to the palate by the effervescence. A light-bodied beer overall, this will be approachable by the TV fan who picks up a bottle for the novelty factor, as well as by the beer aficionado.
Luckily, Alberta is a large enough market for Ommegang to export to, so it can be found at pubs where beer nerds congregate, as well as a dozen or so retailers in the Calgary area. Check www.liquorconnect.com to find your nearby booze merchant with Ommegang in stock.
