Review: Ommegang Three Philosophers1
Brewery Ommegang, Belgian passion and beers from Cooperstown New York, is one of my favorite breweries. My favorite Ommegang brew? Three Philosophers, a Quadrupel ale. From the first taste you can tell how much passion went into making this beer; it is a true force to be reckoned with. For the purposes of this review, and as a birthday present to myself, I’m using a big ole’ 1PT 9.4 fl oz bottle poured into a pint glass.
Ommegang is nice enough to include pouring instructions on the bottle, I guess to encourage you to not jump the gun and drink it straight from the giant bottle. Once poured in the proper manner the beer is of a deep dark red/brown color with about one and a half inches of frothy head that, just by looks alone, you know is going to help in adding to the nose of this beer.
Three Philosophers smells of fruit (mostly cheery), caramel, malt and just a hint of mint. The head leaves a great amount of lacing as you drink the beer, helping to keep that wonderful aroma going all the way to the end. This is a beer that your neighbor at the bar could easily smell, but not taste as you will surely be drinking all of it.
On the label for Three Philosophers it says 98% Ale and 2% ale with cherries added. The cheery flavor is present but it is kept in check by the other flavors, preventing the beer from becoming overly fruity. Three Philosophers has a well balanced flavor consisting of malt, yeast, cherries, raisins (which I don’t normally like but it works here) and just enough of an alcohol tint to warm things up a bit.
I’m still getting into the whole pairing of beer and food but the Ommegang website says Three Philosophers is “a delightful accompaniment for roasted meats, rich cheeses, desserts, and for after dinner sipping as with a fine port.”
Reviewing Three Philosophers has been a real treat, it is one of my top 10 beers and I love it when I can find it in places that I buy beer. It is also a beer that has some nostalgic feelings attached to it, as it is one of the first beers that got me into craft beer. Overall, a great beer from a Belgian brewery right here in the USA.
Overall: 9/10
Mike Hoff is a Senior Writer for Passion Beer.
He is always seeking out the new, weird and wonderful in the world of beer. When he is not writing for the site, you can normally find him with a camera around his neck and a beer in hand.
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