Ommegang, in Cooperstown, New York, specializes in Belgian-style ales.

For the most part, I haven’t really liked most of the Belgian styles I’ve tried. As a result I haven’t bothered to buy anything from Ommegang, even though I am constantly hearing good things about them.

Well, I’ve been trying to expand my horizons, and my palate, lately, so I decided to take the plunge.

Ommegang Abbey Ale

Meditate on this dark ruby elixir. Breathe in its deep emanations of fruit and spice. Is that clove you smell? Licorice? Fig? Sip serenely as revelations of honey, toffee, chocolate and dark dried fruit delight your senses. Can a beer be holy? you wonder, and Where can I get a grail on-line?

Ommegang, our first brew, was inspired by the centuries-old brewing practices of the Belgian Trappist monks. This burgundian brew gives off a variety of aromas, including plum and cinnamon, and packs in flavors such as caramel, toffee, and licorice. At 8.5% abv, it is known to cause spontaneous meditation.

A nice dark amber with red highlights and a decent-sized head. Some nice fruity notes in the aroma. Body is medium and the carbonation, which seems a bit high at first, settles down nicely. A good beer to sip and enjoy.

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Another way we entertained ourselves during our annual get-together was to have an “Octoberfest bake-off”. Ron, Max, Don and I each brought a few Märzens (Oktoberfestbier) and did blind tastings.

Well, it wasn’t all blind. We knew what we brought and Ron also knew what each was before we had it. However, it was significantly different from Ron’s Oktoberfest Beer Battle from a couple of years ago.

Our primary conclusions from tasting all these are:

1. Oktoberfest is not our favorite style;
2. Most brewers, at least in the U.S., are extremely close to each other in how their recipes turn out (whether they are “true” to the “real” style is another discussion entirely);
3. Drinking a dozen beers of the same style messes with your palate; and
4. Eating bratwurst in the middle of our tasting may have been the best and the worst idea we had.

Another surprise was how poorly (relatively) our annual favorite of Brooklyn Brewery Oktoberfest did in our rankings.

Our methodology was simply to rate each according to the Unofficial Hop Talk Beer Rating System. We didn’t try to rate the beers based on any official or unofficial description of the style, just how much we enjoyed each.

Here is the final results:
1. Victory Festbier (3.375)
2. Left Hand Brewing Marzen Lager (3.16)
3. Brooklyn Brewery Oktoberfest (3.125)
(tie) Flying Dog Dogtoberfest (3.125)
5. Lancaster Brewing Oktoberfest (3.00)
(tie) Clipper City Baltomarzhon (3.00)
7. Samuel Adams Octoberfest (2.75)
(tie) Paulaner Oktoberfest-Marzen Amber (2.75)
(tie) Atwater Bloktoberfest (2.75)
10. Saranac Octoberfest (2.5)
11. Stoudt’s Oktoberfest (2.125)
12. Weihenstephaner FestBier (1.5)

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Contrary to popular belief, our annual “Octoberfest” weekend is not just the four of us sequestering ourselves in a man-cave and geeking out for three or four days. We do actually get out and do things.

This year, we hopped on Metro North for a few stops to visit the Captain Lawrence Brewing Company in Pleasantville, New York.

Captain Lawrence was established in 2006 by Scott Vaccaro. He was bitten by the homebrewing bug in 1995, and it simply snowballed from there. In just two-and-a-half short years, Captain Lawrence has quickly become one of the premier craft brewers in the United States. Not only has his beers won several awards, but was number five on Beer Advocate’s June 2007 list of the top 50 American brewers.

So, on a beautiful October Saturday afternoon, we popped in to sample some of their beers and take a tour. They are a relatively small operation, brewing 40 barrel batches a few times a week. They haven’t added any automation yet. Kegging and bottling (750ml) is still done by hand, although they are planning a 16 oz. bottling line.

The four of us sampled the five beers on tap (sadly, as we were constantly reminded, not the double IPA).

• Sun Block (Belgian Style Wit)
• Liquid Gold (an interesting hybrid with German Malt and Belgian yeast)
• Brown Bird Brown Ale
• Pale Ale
• Smoked Porter

Overall, we liked the Pale Ale and the Brown Ale the best, although all five were well-crafted, fresh, and tasty.

The tour was interesting (if brief) and we bought Max (our host) a growler of the Brown Ale as a thank you gift.

If you find yourself in the Pleasantville area on a Friday evening or Saturday afternoon, it’s well worth a visit.

Update: I neglected to mention that the entire time we were there, there was a steady stream of people coming in to get their growlers refilled. A very positive sign, I’d say.

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I haven’t managed to sign up for a real Beer of the Month Club, but I was able to manage getting into a virtual one. 

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This edition of The Session is sponsored by Ray and Melissa at Bathtub Brewery.

Announcing Session #20: Beer and Memories

Is there a beer that reminds you of a specific memory?

If you’re thinking, “Huh?” then you might want to craft your response along the lines of “Whenever I drink [insert brew here] it reminds me of that day …” Or perhaps it’s the reverse. Oooooh.

So many possibilities. I’ve been of legal drinking age for half my life, after all, and beer has always been a part of it.

Should I write about the Schaefer I used to get my Dad when I was a kid? Or maybe the Coors Light he and I would have during a break from moving a ton of dirt by hand? Maybe the Budweiser I bought for my first underage purchase? (The statute of limitations has passed, right?) Perhaps the Miller Genuine Draft that my friends and I drank in our “drinking youth”? Or maybe the Red Dog that I had in Section 4G of the parking lot at Giants Stadium before many, but far too few, New York Giants games?

I don’t drink any of those any more, so there’s no opportunity for one to “bring me back”.

There is, however, Brooklyn Brewery Oktoberfest. I don’t usually get to see my best friends but once a year, and the only time it seems we can get together is in October. We’ve been doing it for years and long ago came to refer to our get-together as our own Octoberfest. Wouldn’t you know? We’re getting together next weekend.

One beer we can always count on is Brooklyn’s Oktoberfest. It’s been a favorite of ours since we first tried it I-don’t-know-how-many years ago. My brother loves it so much that he buys at least two cases of it just for himself. As soon as I see it in the store I know that football is starting, the trees are getting ready to show off their foliage, and our get-together will be soon.

Lots of good memories tied up in that malty treat, and plenty more to come.

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