The Drunken Polack

While Dogfish Head might of brought me to the world of craft beer, Ommegang came in at a close second.  When I first tried their Hennepin, Abbey Ale, Rare Vos, etc I was blown away.  I didn’t know flavor like this could live in a beer. 

I must admit though that I haven’t had a Ommegang beer in a long time.  Mostly because I thought their line up of beers became kind of stale.  They really had not released anything new since Ommegeddon and Biere De Mars.  Well in walks Adoration (which I haven’t tried yet) then they announce a Belgian Pale Ale, a Tripel, and they just announced another sour.  This is very good news people, these guys can brew. 

First up from their new beers is their BPA.  On the bottle it says it’s “Limited Edition”  From what I hear that is definitely the case.  This stuff is hard to get.  My local shop only got 6 bottles in.  I heard this is limited everywhere.  So I felt lucky to snag a bottle.  Thanks Kevin.

BPA poured a hazy cloudy golden color.  Head on this one was out of control.  Huge, fluffy and full of craters.  Great retention and lacing throughout the glass.

Smell on this beer had me more then once sticking my nose in the glass.  Loved it.  Nice yeasty aroma mixed in with lemon, citrus, cloves, and other spices.  Like I said, really liked the aroma on this one.

The taste was just as good and powerful.  Yeast was again up front, but lingering behind that was a small dose of bitter hops.  Citrus, lemon, and I thought I tasted some other fruit in there too but it was to small to really tell what it was.  Mix that up with a nice sweet malt background and spices and you have a hell of a taste.  

Mouthfeel was light, crisp, and refreshing.  Ton of carbonation stings the tongue.  The ending was a little mouth puckering dry. 

It’s sad this beer is so limited.  If it wasn’t I’d be stocking up on it right now as we speak.  That’s how good I thought it was.  Refreshing on these hot days that will coming up soon.

Found: Grape and Gourmet, Virginia Beach, VA
Price: I believe it was around 10 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.ommegang.com/
What the company says: Nothing on the site about this one
ABV%: 6.20%
Other beers to try from this brewery: Ommegang Hennepin, Ommegang Witte
Other beers to try within the same style:The Lost Abbey Devotion Ale, Furthermore Fatty Boombalatty
Rating: A

It seems that The Lost Abbey has been in the beer news lately and for all the wrong reasons.  You see Tomme Arthur is a world class brewer.  I have no doubt about that but lately he’s come under fire to selling some beer that is not quite up to standard.  It seems a lot of his beers went out of the brewery with little or no carbonation in the bottle.  Tomme even came out and wrote to the fans about the situation. Which to me is a fantastic thing.  He’s taken the issue head on.  The one issue I have is this should never happen.  They should be testing their batches as they go out the door.  What also annoys me is that The Lost Abbey has some crazy prices for their beer.  25-30 dollars for a 375ml bottle of beer that can be bought in stores?  It annoys me that I paid a ton of money to be part of the Patron Sinners club.  Sucks to hear that your order will be delayed months because of the issues.  Nothing like paying over 200 dollars for a club that doesn’t deliver.  I hope we even get these beers.  I’m almost certain one day soon we’ll see an email from the brewery stating sorry but we couldn’t meet the demands of the club so here’s your money back.  Ok enough of my bitching.  Bottom line is that this brewery is world class in my opinion.  They just need to get some stuff straightened out.  Hey did I mention Devotion Ale is a really good brew?

Devotion pours a cloudy dark orange color with a medium sized fluffy head.  The nose is full of Belgian yeast, lemon, citrus hops, and candi sugar.  This beer is a pure joy to drink.  Sour up front.  Not as sour as other Lost Abbey brews.  Not even close.  Pretty much perfect for my palette.  Lemon, citrus and grassy hops come up next. The lemon and grassy hops make for a nice bitter taste.  The mixture of the Belgian Yeast, fruit, hops, sugar sweetness make this brew perfect to sit back and enjoy while outside sitting on your deck.  The mouthfeel is lightly carbonated, slightly syrupy, and easy to drink.  This is not a big beer and might be one of their safer beers right behind Witch’s Wit.  I enjoyed it a lot.

I hope I wasn’t to harsh up top.  I commend any brewer on running the daily operations of a brewery.  I sure it’s a crazy job.  I just want my bi-monthly supply of Lost Abbey dammit!! =)  Keep up the good work Tomme.

Found: South Bay Drugs, Imperial Beach, CA (Mail Order)
Price: 7 dollars a bottle
Website: http://www.lostabbey.com
What the company says: Read the whole story here
ABV%: 6.25%
Other beers to try from this brewery: The Lost Abbey 10 Commandments, The Lost Abbey Lost and Found
Other beers to try within the same style: Furthermore Fatty Boombalatty
Rating: B+

Found: My buddy Jeff while in Wisconsin
Price: No idea
Website: http://www.furthermorebeer.com
What the company says: The conception and naming of this beer happened in one fell swoop. Unsure whether to offer a light session beer or a fun ball-buster as our warm weather seasonal, we decided on a beer that would be “a big, fatty boombalatty” version of a Belgian white. And away we went, taking a recipe for a white beer and ramping up the grain bill by 50%; we dropped the amount of wheat by 75% to keep the beer rough around the edges. We bucked tradition by steering the bitterness in the direction of a pale ale, and coupling hops with coriander in the fermenter. The resulting beer gives you all the bubblegum goodness of a big Belgian, with enough crispness to cut through the sweet profile, thus making you want to sip it again and again. Dangerous, indeed!

What I say: Yes this is another gift from my buddy Jeff and another beer from Furthermore.  First time around I tried an ale flavored with pepper.  I loved it.  This time around we try their Belgian Pale Ale.  I didn’t know what I was opening when I picked this out of the fridge.  Glad I did.  Another good beer from Furthermore.  Their lineup of beer while small is very different.  If you are in Wisconsin, watch out for these guys.  Oh and don’t you just love the name?

The Look: Fatty poured a nice cloudy amber color with a small to medium sized head.  Laced the glass as it was going down. 

What the nose thought: Light fruity smell.  Small amounts of apples and Lemon, cloves and a hint of pepper.  Alcohol hides in the background. 

And the tastebuds?: Fatty really impressed me with it’s taste and it’s ability to give me a slight buzz off of one bottle.  Yes I guess I’m a lightweight.  The alcohol is there but it hides well and only peaks out every once in a while.  It’s like it places hide and seek with you.  Once again you get the nice light fruity flavor but what I didn’t smell was the hops and it’s here in the taste.  Not overpowering.  Light, very light.  Spiciness is there along with the cloves.  Overall a complex taste but comes together for a lovely taste. 

The feel: What surprised me the most is how thick but smooth this beer is.  Has the thickness of a stout.  It almost gets stuck down your throat but the smoothness saves you. 

Ending notes: This is a good Belgian from a brewery in Wisconsin.  Like I said above their beer lineup is diverse.  I just wish they would broaden their distribution to Virginia.  Good stuff.

Rating: B