I’ve had this plenty of times but the price was right today and the selection pitiful. At first I thought ooh a bad bottle since it was a little sweet at first. But it’s nicely carbonated and since warming up is showcasing some nutty fruity flavors. Alcohol bitterness over the hops- they’re there but the malt and yeast are the stars here.
Light in body too. Again drinkable. Middleweight at 8.5% abv. Awesome beer
One thing bothers me though: this says its made in Belgium not New York state. Thought it was made in the US…
ommegang was purchased by, I think, interbrew. or one of the other giant euro brands. some of it is still brewed in NY but alot of it is now import. Also not as good as I remember.
I tried their Abbey Ale for the first time in a long time and it was better than I remembered it. Nice dark fruit taste. I also had Hennepin more recently and I remembered it being better. My wife and I went to the brewery in Cooperstown in 2000. It was a cool place to see a Belgian brewery without having to travel far.
Have to add that it was the Dubbel- though Ommegang may be what the Dubbel is called. Label is already gone and all I got left is an plain brown bottle.
Moorgat is still family owned as far as I know. Some production was in Belgium while the brewery in Copperstown was being expanded. Now it is produced in the US, unless I missed another one.
I’ve known the brewery was closely aligned with Moortgat but didn’t see the “Duvel” on the back label where it usually is. The front definitely and proudly stated “Made in Belgium for…” Maybe I got an older bottle. There wasn’t a date on the cork however. :-\
A Google search showed they made some beers at Moorgaat in 2006, but now all in NY. That was Wikipedia, so take that for what it is.
Haven’t had any in a while, so can’t comment on the label. Well the one in the basement says part of the Duvel family of beers, brewed and bottled by Ommegang in US.
A few years ago the price of Ommegang beers was really cheap in central NY. I used to find them for $4.99 pretty much everywhere. They have now increased the prices to $7-8 therefore I purchase it less often. My experience with their beers is that they can be very good but a little variable. The Ommegang Abbey Ale which is kind of a big Dubbel is one of the better ones. I read somewhere that they make it without Dark Candi Sugar but a ton of specialty malts - aromatic, special b, caramunich. I also like the Hennepin. I believe they use a derivative of WLP500.
So the top photo is from a place called “The Wine Rack” which has the best selection in the area evidently. They have the US-made Dubbel. The next photo is from the local HEB which is very fancy, has everything you can think of except a great selection of beer. Well they had 4 more bottles that said “Made in Belgium” so I bought them. These will get placed in a nice dark stable place. Bet they don’t last the year because this brew is really nice.
Ommegang’s Belgian Pale Ale is really good. I also enjoy the abbey ale. The wife and I are taking a road trip up to Niagara Falls in June with a stop for two nights in Cooperstown. We will be visiting the brewery and the baseball hall of fame.