There is something classically American about the summertime beer festival. These large, outdoor, events are the grown-up equivalent of the weekend camping excursions or long road-trips I used to take as a youth and then throughout college. This time, however, you are taking that trip with a few hundred of your best, new-found, beer friends. Held annually at Ommegang Brewery, Belgium Comes to Cooperstown is pinacle of the east-coast’s summer beer festivals.

Now in it’s eleventh year, the 2011 Belgium Comes to Cooperstown event was part camp-out, part beer festival, and part live concert. It kicks off with a few hundred people camped out on the 140 acre Ommegang property… an old hop farm that now produces some of the finest Belgian-style beers in America. Then, of course, there is beer… over 75 breweries from around the world came and shared some of their finest, and rarest libations. Standouts included rare bottles of both Rosso e Marrone and Cuvee de Castleton from New York’s Captain Lawrence Brewery, Chardonay-Barrel-aged Stateside Saison from Stillwater Ales, a hoppy-session ale from Vermont nanobrewery Lawsons Finest Liquids and Scratch #44, a massive Belgian quad brewed with Black Currants from the Tröeg’s Brewery, and many, many more.

Vermont’s rising-star nanobrewery, Lawson’s Finest Liquids, proves a favorite of the festival with their citra-infused Session in the Rye Ale

But beyond the beer, the festival also featured a full on music stage with live blue and rock bands throught the day and well into the night. After sundown, the brewery sparked up a giant fire pit for festival-goers to gather around, and there was even a midnight screening of Spinal Tap projected on three screen on the side of the barn. Top that off with a rousing fireworks display and you have one jam-packed 24hr festival.

Early attendees made short work of one of the festival’s highlights… rare bottles of Chardonay-barrel aged Stateside Saison from gypsy brewery Stillwater Ales.

But one of the more enjoyable aspects of the festival was in the people. Often times, festivals of this magnitude and with beer of this caliber are either (a) overcrowded or (b) overly chaotic. But Belgium Comes to Cooperstown was neither of these. The beers flowed freely, the festival was not oversold, and the whole crowd was both friendly and inviting… of course, four hours of strong Belgian beer will put just about anyone in the right mood! Overall, however, we walked away from BCTC 2011 with great memories and more than a few new friends. Mark this one down on you calendar as on of the great not-to-be-missed festivals and we’ll see you there in 2012!

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A group of revelers celebrate Gnommegang, the collaborative brew between Ommegang and La Chouffe

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Tags: 2011, bctc, belgium comes to cooperstown, camping, Captain Lawrence, cooperstown, Duvel, festival, Ommegang, Stillwater, summer 2011.

Date: Tuesday, February 2nd
Time: 6:00pm – close
Location: The Pony Bar, New York City, NY – map
Click here for official site

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The Pony Bar plays host to Brewery Ommegang from Cooperstown, New York. 10 draft lines, some rarities and, even better, Brewery Ommegang beer rep Ken Erdogan will be on hand to keep us all entertained.

The good times start at 6pm.

Tags: Ommegang, pony bar.

Brewery: St. Somewhere, Tarpon Springs, FL
Style: Belgian Strong Pale Ale, Amber Ale
ABV: 8.0%
IBU: 28 (approximate)
Availability: year round
Pairing: Roast Pork with Port Cherry sauce, slow cooked meats, savory deserts, sweet chocolate
Summary: Another fine Belgian style from the folks at St. Somewhere. This one pours a bit sweeter and heavier than their other offering but the result is a great evening sipper and friendly introduction to the style.

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St. Somewhere can do no wrong. Time and time again these boys from Tarpon Springs, Florida prove that they can create Belgian styled beers with the best of them. The Lectio Divina is one of their darker offerings which I have seen categorized as a Belgian Strong Pale Ale or – as their bottle states – an Amber Ale. Categorization aside, what we are talking about is a rich, complex belgian style ale. Mine came in the form of a 750ml bottle that was so carbonated that the cork literally shot out on its own upon uncaging.

Appearance: Pours a cloudy orange amber with lots of head which clears to very little lacing on my oversized wine glass

Smell: Very sweet, slightly funky nose. Honey, bread dough and persimmon all come to mind

Taste: There are lots of autumn and stone fruit notes on the tongue initially. Hints of apple, plum, port, cherry and pear come forward. But as the glass warms, darker and sweeter flavors develop transforming Lectio Divina into a completely different beer. Now there are hints of dates, prunes and agave syrup. There’s also quite a nice, complex malt back which goes from almost non-existent when cold to a sweet caramel with undertones of chocolate and a roasted flavor when reaching room temperature.

Mouthfeel: Medium light body with lots of effervescent carbonation. The bottle conditioning results in a bubbly, almost tingling carbonation on the tongue similar to – all though not as extreme as – a champagne. There’s a surprisingly dry mouthfeel for a brew with such a dark color.

Drinkability: The 8.0% alcohol is well hidden making this a really drinkable strong Belgian. But the over-carbonation interrupts the brews drinkability making it more of a celebratory sipper than one to pair with dinner.

Overall: I really like everything St. Somewhere does. It seems that they have found a nice brewing niché and everything coming out of this small, Florida brewery istop notch. While I don’t enjoy this one as much as the Saison Athene or its wine barrel aged cousin Lectio du Chene, that is mostly a personal preference as the Lectio Divina is an extremely well crafted brew. This is a great beer to introduce someone to the complicated flavors of Belgians and if you are a fan of Ommegang’s Abbey Ale then this one will sit nicely with you.

Side Note: According to Wikipedia, “Lectio Divina is Latin for divine reading, spiritual reading, or ‘holy reading,’ and represents a traditional Christian practice of prayer and scriptural reading intended to promote communion with God and to increase in the knowledge of God’s Word. It is a way of praying with Scripture that calls one to study, ponder, listen and, finally, pray and even sing and rejoice from God’s Word, within the soul.”

Tags: Abbey Ale, Belgian, Ommegang, St. Somewhere.

Style: holiday / Belgian strong winter ale
ABV: 10%
Availability: annual, mid-October through December
Pairing: dark roasts, wild game, braised short ribs
Summary: An excellently crafted, American version of the Belgian dark winter ale. A nice fireside sipper to visit again and again,

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Tasted on tap, the Ommegang Adoration pours a brilliant deep mahogany color with a nice creamy head and a soft mouthfeel. There is a subtle hint of dark fruits and spice in the nose but nothing overpowering. The flavor comes across as a really drinkable belgian dubbel or perhaps a more hefty Fat Tire but with a nice kick of spice. There aren’t really any standout spices (Ommegang lists them as coriander cumin, mace, cardamom and grains of paradise) but they are balanced nicely against a heavy malt back.

Overall, Ommegang are masters of the American Belgian brewing movement and Adoration is no exception. This is a very approachable holiday beer and great sipper for cold winter nights.

image source

Tags: Adoration, Fat Tire, Holiday Beers, Ommegang, Winter Beers.