Ommegang Three Philosophers

Brewed By: Brewery Ommegang (Moortgat) in Cooperstown, New York

Purchased: Ye Olde Bomber (25.4oz) from an Ommegang sampler bought at Binny's in Chicago, IL; 2011

Style/ABV: Quadrupel, 9.8%

 

Tonight I'm going to crack open another Ommegang brew. I already took a stab at their Ommegang Gnomegang, and I am looking forward to trying their Belgian Quad.

Ommegang was founded in October of 1997, in Cooperstown, New York. The Ommegang Brewery is set up on a traditional, Belgian-style farmhouse, and brews a number of acclaimed beers. The brewery is known for its unique takes on traditional Belgian-Style beers. Brewery Ommegang was sold to Duvel Moortgat in 2003. Ommegang Ales are made both in Belgium and in Cooperstown, New York.

Three Philosophers is a blended beer. If you check out the Three Philosopher's page on the brewery website, you can find some basic info. The Three Philosophers is a blended beer, combining a rich malty ale and a cherry Lambic. The brewery states that the beer has notes of dark chocolate and cherry cordials. The beer is brewed with cherries, roasted malts, and dark chocolate. This should be a strong, malty beer with big Belgian Kriek notes. Let's dive in and see what this beer is all about.

Ommegang Three Philosophers

When I popped the bottle I was greeted with a lot of smoke, but I'm happy to report this didn't explode. The pour reveals 4-fingers of foamy, bubbly, effervescent, tan/plum-brown head. The body of the beer looks purple or brown in low light. When held to bright light, this is actually an orange or reddish beer. The head looks to be orange or red in bright light as well. There is a lot of sediment floating around in the beer, and quite a bit of rising carbonation.

Right away I'm smelling some funky hay blanket, Belgian malts and yeast, sourness, tartness, and hints of cherry. I'm smelling a hint of red wine vinegar. There are a lot of dark fruits on the nose: berries, grape juice, and plums. There is some alcohol on the nose as well. There is a hint of that solventy-Quad-overripe fruit note: rotting bananas and boozy cherry.

Woah. On my first two sips I'm getting blasted with a huge middle of heavy dark chocolate and dark fruits. This has a huge mouthfeel and huge palate depth. I'm tasting overripe bananas, cherry, wood, dark chocolate, plums, overripe dark grapes, Belgian malts, and hints of doughy Belgian yeast. There is a touch of vinegar or acid cutting through all the Belgian and chocolate notes which really balances out the huge Belgian flavors. There's also some nutty and boozy notes in here. Very complex, and huge.

This is a huge beer. Like a good Quad, the mouthfeel is full. The palate depth is huge and the complexity is high. This has a boozy, woody, and fruity back end with hints of lingering acid from the Kriek. This is smooth and drinkable thanks to good effervescence. The front of the palate is carbonation, overripe bananas and cherries; the middle is giant Belgian malts, dark chocolate, big plums and overripe grapes; the back end is Belgian yeasts, cherry, wood. The finish is boozy and fruity, dry and woody, and acidic. 

Rating: Divine Brew

Score: 93%

This is just a fun beer. There is a huge chocolate and dark fruit presence that really makes this enjoyable to drink. There are also huge cherry and fruit notes, along with some good acid from the cherry Lambic, to help balance out the huge Belgian malts. This is incredibly smooth, but also incredibly boozy. I've only had half the bottle, and I already feel the stopping power of 9.8%. This is an interesting, and highly creative beer. Definitely worth checking out.