Rare Vos by Ommegang Brewery
Trying another beer from one of my favorite breweries, that brewery is Ommegang Brewery. The beer I am trying tonight is called Rare Vos, which is an Amber Ale. Amber Ales focus on the malts but can have a decent amount of hops added into the beer. One of the most popular Amber Ales is Troegs Nugget Nectar and is an interesting/complex style to look at. Rare Vos is the first Amber Ale that I am trying and reviewing for the blog and I am hoping that the more I try new brews that my palate will begin to evolve. Rare Vos has an alcohol by volume or ABV of 6.5% and IBU of 21. Ommegang Brewery is located in Cooperstown, New York and is also known for brewing beers related to the hit Television series Game Of Thrones. But, I am trying Rare Vos and now it is time to dive into this brew to figure out what makes this beer.
Glimpse of the color of Rare Vos
Now taking into account that Rare Vos is an Amber Ale, the color appearance makes sense. The color of this ale is amber or in a sense almost more like a copper hue. I am noticing how clear the brew is and that looks intriguing to me because this is an Amber Ale. The head or foam is white, robust and a creamy top to this beer. Looking at the color and the head I cannot help be curious about this beer. Typically this is not my style of beer, but sometimes palates change and maybe this is the start.
Now aroma of Amber Ales can be tricky because most of the times when I have had them before I typically only smelled a bitter hop note. Rare Vos is different though, it almost reminds me of a wheat beer from it's aroma. The aroma that I am noticing strongly is coriander and an orange note. Mostly this style of aroma is found in wheat style ales. I am curious to see how it plays out in terms of the taste of this beer. There is another intriguing aroma that I smell and the aroma is a sweet malt aroma, which is common in Amber Ales. Looking at the aroma and the appearance of this beer I am thinking this is a blend between an Amber and a wheat. Only one way to find out and that is to do the tasting part of this review to figure out what Rare Vos is.
I am nervous about tasting this brew because of the style of brew it is, which is an Amber Ale. When I think about the aroma and gain curiosity to sample this ale. Time to dive in and take a long look at Rare Vos. Trying the first sip all I can think about is wow, Rare Vos is smooth and very enjoyable beer based off of the first sip. First taste note that I picked up on was the sweet malt characteristic when I was sipping this beer. After that it has a sweet and spice combo after that malt note. The malt note that I pick up on is a caramel malt taste and then I picked up a dried fruity note, which added to the complexity/sweetness.
In terms of mouthfeel this is a medium body and finishes with a moderately dry finish. This is a very complex buy enjoyable beer . I think that this being a Belgian style Cafe Ale, but also being a Amber Ale shows the complexity of Rare Vos and also shows why it got its name in my mind.
Rare Vos by Ommegang Brewery
Overall this is a very good and smooth beer. I would recommend anyone that is looking to try new styles of beer try this as a step into Amber Ales. Another point if you like Belgian style beers than this is a beer you should try as well.
Now looking at price and distribution aspects of this beer. When you find this beer in a store where you can buy six packs, you will notice that Ommegang sells theirs in four packs. Which in my mind is curious because usually that happens to beers that are high in ABV and you cannot have more that two at a time. Price of these four pack are around $13 bucks which is on the pricey side, but I think for the quality of the beer, I am willing to pay it. The other interesting note that I looked at is that Ommegang paired up with Duvel Brewing for distribution purposes to help them attack the craft beer market. This is a smart idea in my mind because they are focused on Belgian style brewing, why not pair themselves with a strong Belgian import like Duvel. Last note about distribution is that if you want you can also get Ommegang brews in twenty two ounce bombers, which I think adds to the intrigue about their beers.
Below are the website and twitter for Ommegang Brewery.
No comments:
Post a Comment