Ommegang Brewery Belgians, part of Duvel

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BrewinDuluth

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In my continuous quest to try new beers, I stumbled upon a group of 1 Pint corked Belgian beers by Ommegang Brewery out of Cooperstown, NY. I saw on the label that they're part of the Duvel family of fine ales (one of my favorite beers). My favorite so far has been a Belgian quadrupel called "Three Philosophers". I've also tried their Witte and Belgian Dubbel Abbey Ale. Has anyone else had the opportunity to try these?
 
I just ordered a three philosophers at my local liquor store and look forward to trying it.

To read reviews and critiques of beers check out beeradvocate.com. I dont know if you knew about it already but I think everybody that loves good beer should be familiar with that site.
 
I've had their Abbey Ale, Rare Vos, Hennepin, Three Philosophers, Witte, Ommegeddon, Chocolate Indulgence, and their Triple. Omegeddon is my favorite. I didn't like Chocolate Indulgence at all.

The rest of it is pretty good. They make good examples of the styles they're making for sure. I wouldn't be disappointed with any of it.
 
Their Abbey Ale was one of my favorites for awhile. Three Philosophers is good also, but I'd put it behind their Hennepin.
 
I love all of their beer. Hennepin is one of my favorite Saisons. They are really the best of both worlds. Good Belgain style beer, good price, and much fresher than an import.
 
Three Philosophers is hubby's all time favorite beer. I bought him a case once (big bucks $$$) and he hoarded it like it was gold. :D

We haven't attempted brewing Three Philosophers yet but we have made the Ommegang clone from Austin Homebrew Supply and it turned out so fantastic our taste buds had tiny little orgasms.

Our brew buddy just bought the Chocolate Indulgence clone so we will be brewing that very soon.
 
Their Abbey Ale was one of my favorites for awhile. Three Philosophers is good also, but I'd put it behind their Hennepin.

I tried the Hennepin 2 weeks ago. I hadn't had a Saison before, so I was pretty excited to give it a go; it turned out to be one of the most boring beers I've tried in quite a while. Vaguely malty/fruity with not much else going on. I'm unable to reconcile what I tasted with reviews I've read elsewhere, so I'll probably give it another go in a few months.

The Three Philosophers is pretty good and widely available (e.g at most grocery stores I go to), so I drink it on a fairly regular basis.
 
I tried the Hennepin 2 weeks ago. I hadn't had a Saison before, so I was pretty excited to give it a go; it turned out to be one of the most boring beers I've tried in quite a while.

Yeah, when compared to IIPA's and the other over-hopped "imperial" crap so loved by BA fratboys, I'd say Hennepin is boring. Though, for a Saison it's a pretty damn fine beer and one of the best of the style. Give it another shot.

Ommegang also released a "cave-aged" Three Philosophers that was better than the original. I don't know if it's still available, but it is definitely worth seeking out.
 
I was just there not too long ago picking up a few bottles. I don't live too far from the brewery. I too am a big fan of the Hennepin. I like the Rare Vos as well. Ommegang makes a great bottle of beer. My local bar had the "Obamagang" on tap around election time, but it was gone before I got a chance to get there! Popular stuff.
 
Yeah, when compared to IIPA's and the other over-hopped "imperial" crap so loved by BA fratboys, I'd say Hennepin is boring. Though, for a Saison it's a pretty damn fine beer and one of the best of the style. Give it another shot.

I don't really like most IIPAs; unbalanced hops aren't fun to me. Stone Ruination is the one exception that comes to mind (it's definitely very hoppy, but manages to have some balance as well), but I certainly prefer DH 60 over the 90, and the 120 just isn't a very good beer IMO.

So it wasn't a matter of hops. The Hennepin just seemed kind of boring and tasteless even compared to some pretty simple and low-key adjunct lagers, let alone the rest of the Belgian spectrum (forget strong dark/pale ales, but duble/triple/flanders red/wit/belgian pale ale/etc).

I definitely intend to give it another shot, but I want to wait a few months first to give it a fair shake--my first impression was that it was more watery and bland than some pretty mundane macro lagers (e.g. Yuengling, Kirin, Pacifico, etc, none of which are particular favorites of mine).

Ommegang also released a "cave-aged" Three Philosophers that was better than the original. I don't know if it's still available, but it is definitely worth seeking out.

I'd love to find it.

Like I said, the 3P is a pretty darned good beer. I think at the moment my favorite quads and BSDAs would be St Bernardus Abt 12, and Unibroue 12 pistoles, followed not too far behind by Chimay Grande reserve. Three Philosophers would probably come in next on the list, along with Delerium Nocturnum, Gouden Carolus Classic, Allagash Odyssey, etc. The only ones I haven't liked so much to date from those 2 (closely related, IMO) styles are Unibroue Maudite and Rochefort 8. The top beers are probably my favorites in the world in any style.
 
Hennipin is one of my favorite beers and I will probably be drinking it a lot this summer. I've also had three philosophers and thought it was an amazingly complex beer. I've been trying really hard to get my hands on Ommegang's Funkhouse Saison (bretted).
 
I've had their Abbey Ale, Rare Vos, Hennepin, Three Philosophers, Witte, Ommegeddon, Chocolate Indulgence, and their Triple. Omegeddon is my favorite. I didn't like Chocolate Indulgence at all.

The rest of it is pretty good. They make good examples of the styles they're making for sure. I wouldn't be disappointed with any of it.

Ommegeddon is unbelievable. What a beer!

At last year's American Craft Beer Fest Ommegeddon took my #1 beer of night award (out of about 300). Hennepin and Abbey are also great Ommegangs, Rare Vos too.

It's a fantastic brewery, producing great Belgians right in upstate NY.
 
My Uncle worked there as a tour guide so I am very familiar with their beer. Hennepin has been my longstanding favorite, but they are all very good.
 
I love all of their beer. Hennepin is one of my favorite Saisons. They are really the best of both worlds. Good Belgain style beer, good price, and much fresher than an import.

I had a Hennepin Saturday and thought it was great. I brewed a Saison last month and hope its half as good.
 
Contrary to one or two viewpoints listed, the chocolate indulgence was not only my favorite of all of these, it is absolutely on my "top beers of all times" list. The Three Philosophers the jury's still out on. I absolutely hated it the first time I tried and and enjoyed it the second so I have to try it again to break the tie. The Hennepin was very enjoyable as well.

All in all, it's a great variety pack worth the money!
 
Hennepin is a great, great beer. The first time I had Three Philosophers, I was a little disappointed, but it was also pretty young. I went back and bought a second bottle, which I've been cellaring for about a year and a half. Just put in in the fridge the other night, I'll probably crack it this weekend and see if I like it any better.
 
I love all their beers, but chocolate indulgence isn't that good. has anyone had any luck harvesting yeast from their brews? I want to make a three philosophers clone and was planning on harvesting the yeast, but I'm not sure if it is their primary yeast or a bottle-conditioning yeast...
 
Does anyone want to post any recipes for Ommegang beer clones? I would love to brew Rare Vos, that's one delicious beer.
 
The one time I tried Hennepin was in a small tasting flight aside some heavy abbey ales and geuze. I didn't like it at the time, but most of the other beers in the flight were pretty strong in either abv, or acidity. As a few others said above, it seemed boring. That said, I've heard enough good things about it that I'm anxious to try it again in the near future on its own.

I've got a bottle of Ommegedon in the basement waiting to be opened and can't wait! I feel lucky to be living where every good beer I've ever looked for (Pliny aside) is easily available in under a 20 minute drive. :)
 
I had the Abbey last night, but my favorite is actually the Rare Vos. Three Philosophers is a close second. A good friend of mine gave me a MAGNUM of the Three Philosophers that I've been sitting on for two years now. It's about time to break that baby open I think!

Not a fan of the Hen...
 
I love all their beers, but chocolate indulgence isn't that good. has anyone had any luck harvesting yeast from their brews? I want to make a three philosophers clone and was planning on harvesting the yeast, but I'm not sure if it is their primary yeast or a bottle-conditioning yeast...

I can not confirm at this time, but I recall reading that they use a different yeast for bottle conditioning.
 
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