CulturAle Press

Ommegang Game of Thrones Series: Mother of Dragons: Smoked Porter and Kriek blend.  Cooperstown, New York. Great Beer for the New Year #5

If you haven’t seen our 12 Beers of Christmas, here are links to most of them:     first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth.

Date:   January 10, 2019

The Story—  Yesterday we featured Boulevard Brewing, Duvel Mootgat’s second foray into American Craft beer.   Today’s beer is from their initial landing in upstate New York.  Ommegang has from the outset employed Belgian brewers to make Belgian beers in the US.   In doing so they’ve offered less than lavishly rich Americans a chance to try a number of excellent beers at close to local prices.   They’ve also produced some beers that soar past our $20 limit, but happily this is not one of them.

Blending is an essential skill in the production of several Belgian styles.  In England, blending of different styles inspired the original porters, so there’s nothing gimmicky about the marriage the brewers have made here.

The Beer—  The blend of smoked porter and cherry kriek starts with the porter and ends with the kreik eventually giving an overall impression of a slightly smoky, roasty, Flemish Red.  Ellie got a bit of funk but more black cherry and late black malt.  It’s not unusual for us to get to the same place, but to perceive ingredients in different orders.

Value —  Good.   Ommegang beers aren’t the bargain that they were when the brewery first opened, but they’re more sophisticated.

Values:  “fair” is a good beer at an above market price, “good” is worth the money, “very good” is a bargain, and “excellent” is a steal.

We’re often asked to share our tasting notes on over 33,000 beers; this blog is iour response to those requests.   Not all our notes, though.  The great beer writer Michael Jackson admirably followed the Thumper Rule, and we’ll try to do the same.  (“If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nuthin’ at all.”)   All the beers we post are from the top half of our ratings and most are from the top quarter.   Of greater value, we think, are the stories behind the beers,   and we try to give you enough about the brewery, the style and the places to find great beer to help you on your own beer journeys.   At CulturAle Press we try to write books and publish posts that will help you “Drink Well and Travel Safely.”