Oh hohoho…
Enjoying this out of a big wine glass. Dark malts- lightly sweet, nutty and vinous. As it warms the cherry comes though in the nose and the taste. Not too bitter this one. The malt and subtle cherry are the stars here. A little dry astringency, but that’s to be expected with a 9.8% ABV beer.
And again, no harsh alcohols- If the label didn’t say I’d think it was regular strength and not a Quadrupel. Creeper beer. :o
I’ve always passed this one up in the store. Never realized it was blended, I should probably pay more attention ;D
I had one of these on vacation Euge and I gotta say thanks for the
heads up on this beer I am not sorry I got to try it. My thumbs point up ;D
It’s funny because I just picked up a bottle of this last night. This is the first bottle for me so I’ll let you know what I think when I get around to tasting it Euge. It has great reviews and is brewed by one of my favorite breweries. I’m sure I won’t be disappointed.
I like it. Do you know the story behind it?
Long Story Short = No…but aren’t ya gonna enlighten us ???
Sure I will. Several years back, Ommegang held a contest. You described the perfect beer and they’d brew it. The winner was Noel Blake, beer geek and writer from Portland. I can’t find his original description now, but it was flowery and beautiful. The beer was such a hit that instead of a one off, they kept making it. Ommegang describes it as a blend of a strong malty ale and a true Belgian kriek.
That may have been why I liked it…the subconscious cherry flavors.
I gotta say tho, that I did NOT get up front cherry on my initial tasting.
I am glad I got a couple bottles left so I can re-evaluate.
I can’t wait to harvest another 5 gallons of Kriek from my solera. I will
need to replenish with more rochefort clone so I need to brew that soon.
This one was never one of my favorites. Despite the blending, it seems to lack the complexity of a simpler Trappist dubbed. I also don’t think it ages very well… the year prominently displayed on the labeling seems to encourage vertical tastings that always disappoint.
I’m with narvin, this one is definitely not my favorite. I like pretty much everything else that Ommegang does, but I’ve tried this a few times and never really cared for it. I found the flavors more muddled than complementary. I really want to like it, but that doesn’t help.
That’s kinda where I am. I like it okay, but I don’t go out of my way for it.
Alright, I got to round 2 of tasting for this brew. The cherry comes thru and borders on the
cough syrup end of the cherry flavor spectrum. The cherry aroma is faint but pleasant.
I see what you guys mean about the muddiness and tend to agree with your assesments.
But as a rare unavaliable treat here in BFE Wyo…I found it to be a good enjoyable treat.
Probably would not seek it out again, but would not turn it down either.
I’d do this one again compared to many others out there that command $$.
I like 3 P. I have noticed an inconsistency year to year. Sometimes it’s better than others. Omegang had quality issues early on.
The story of it’s creation, including Noel Blake’s essay are in Brew like a Monk. Also a recipe.
I love this beer. I have had some that were better than others but I believe it is age related. It is my opinion that it gets better with age. Most of the older bottles I have had were more complex, and vinous. The flavors melded much better. I tend to look for the oldest bottle I can when I buy it or buy it and age it myself.
I want to say they use 2% liefman’s kreik. Though maybe it is Lindemans cherry soda, er I mean kriek. (yuck)…
The brewery is fun to visit, however.
I like Ommegang, don’t get me wrong. Hennepin… yes please!
I was underwhelmed myself with it too, but I partly blame my massive overexpectations for it…at one point I was considering ordering a case direct from Ommegang, it seemed such a perfect beer idea (this was at a time when that would have been a greatly irresponsible expenditure for me!). Finding it locally a few years back was a great treat, and when I tried it…it was good, but I had built it up far too much in my mind. If they could actually increase the kriek blend and make the cherry a little less subtle I’d be more interested actually. I should try it again, but I’ve had a hard time dropping money on expensive beer lately! AG brewing will do that to you…