Ommegang Saison Rose

 

         Here’s a challenge for you the next time you go to your local beer store. Try to find a barrel aged beer that’s not a porter or stout. Also, try to find one that isn’t aged using bourbon or other whiskey barrels. While this won’t be the most gruelling challenge, it will lead you towards some interesting barrel aged beer. Barrel aged beer is something I’ve become a big fan of in recent years. Barrel aging can add great flavor and character to almost any beer.

For one thing, you get flavor from the wood itself whether it’s flavor from the wood, tannins, or the vanilla notes from charred oak barrels. Then you get flavor from whatever originally resided in that barrel. Bourbon and whiskey barrels are used most often, adding bold flavors like porters and stouts. Red and white wine barrels are also used, adding vinous flavors to lighter beer styles like saisons, lambics, and other Belgian styles.

Ommegang does something interesting when they make their Saison Rose. They split the beer into two batches, one of which gets aged in white wine barrels. The other half is fermented with chardonnay grapes and hibiscus flowers. The whole thing is blended together to make a beer that is not only barrel aged, but is a blended ale as well. Ommegang Saison Rose pours into my glass slightly hazy medium amber in color with rose highlights. The head is dense, two fingers deep and lasting.

          Taking my first sniff, the aroma on this saison is delicate, floral, and pleasantly perfumed. The aroma starts off floral, with an underlying mustiness that reminds me of a dusty old attic. All wood, dust, and cobwebs, but in a very enticing fashion. This is where I pick up hints of ripe pear and yeast. All of this is held together by a peppery, Belgian funkiness you might look for in a delicate style of beer like this.

          Ommegang Saison Rose starts off bone dry, reminding me again of that old attic where the beer might have been kept and aged for so many years. Mouthfeel builds towards the center giving me flavors of ripe fruit mingling seamlessly with the beer’s inherent dryness. Flavors in the middle give me peach, ripe berry, and a subtle yeastiness holding the whole thing together. Ommegang’s mouthfeel is smooth, slightly rounded in the middle, with a lingering dry finish that only make one thirst for more.

          Overall, I feel like Ommegang Saison Rose deserves an 8.5 out of 10. It’s delicate, full of fruit and an overall Belgian funkiness making this beer delicious and desirable. It’s smoother than its dryness and spritzy carbonation would lead you to think it should be and the whole thing shows very good balance.

Fuller's London Pride

 

On occasion, the subject of ownership comes up when discussing the quality of craft beer and the breweries who make them. Many are of the opinion that when a multinational corporation takes over a local brewery, the quality of that brewery’s product suffers. All too often, that’s exactly what happens. However, there’s a contrary argument stating that such ownership can greatly expand that beer’s exposure to new markets. Look at what happened when Anheuser Busch took over the Goose Island brewery.

According to articles posted by the Guardian, and BBC News early in 2019 the historic company of Fuller, Smith, and Turner sold the brewery side of its operation to Asahi for 250 million Euros. The sale agreement includes the historic Griffith brewery in Chiswick, where Asahi says they will continue to brew Fuller’s beers, which would allow the brewery’s 400 employees to keep their jobs.

It may be worth noting this sale may ultimately bode well for the Griffith brewery. According to the same article by the Guardian, increasing property values in London has not been good news for other of the city’s historic breweries. Young’s, for example, sold one of its breweries which has been converted into homes and shops. Either way, it will be interesting to see what effect the next couple of years will have on this brewery’s lineup. Fuller’s London Pride is crystal clear and a deep copper in color. Head is dense, cream colored, and lasting.

The first thing I notice when I go in for a sniff is how distinctly British this beer’s nose is. Which is to say it’s a melange of caramel, malt, and what smells at first like a variety of ripe fruit esters. On closer examination, caramel maltiness takes the lead, giving the aroma a certain depth. There may be a hint of bready malts in there, but it’s really the caramel that takes point here. All of this comes together in the end, fading into a sort of sweet finish.

My first impression of Fuller’s London Pride is of a smooth, medium bodied beer with pinpoint carbonation dancing across my palate. On closer examination, I’m getting flavors of caramel and a sweetness from flavors of ripe berries. Minimal breadiness works its way into the mix but without as much presence as one would hope. The finish is crisp, and assertively bitter.

Overall, at 7.5 out of 10, Fuller’s London Pride is a very decent English pale ale. It has the caramels, fruit esters, and crisp bitter finish I look for and enjoy in this sort of beer. The only real down side for me is the mouthfeel comes out a little slick. As a result there’s something lacking in the overall flavor profile that I can’t quite put my finger on. Beyond that, this is a perfectly good pint.

Bishop's Finger Review

 

          To this day I still remember the first time I had a pint of bitter. I was maybe twenty years old and having pints with a coworker at one of those fake English pubs you see everywhere. I decided I was in the mood to try something I’d never tried before and bravely ordered a pint of bitter. The beer came, I took my first sip and absolutely hated it. I mean come one, it had this unpleasant bitter finish to it. How was I supposed to like such a thing?

About a year or two later another coworker recommended I give English bitter another try. I did, and somehow came to love the beer. Somehow that crisp bitter finish became an enjoyable part of a delicious style of beer. Apparently, I wasn’t the only young man to have this experience with English bitter. As it turns out, bitter is England’s most popular style of beer and most people had the same experience with their first pint of this classic English beer.

According to an Englishman I talked to one day, this experience is somewhat like our north American love for a decent cup of coffee. How many people in Canada and the U.S. have had similar experiences with their first cup of coffee? Either way, I was happy to see Bishop’s Finger appear on the shelves of my local beer store recently. Bishop’s Finger pours into my glass crystal clear and a deep copper color, bordering on leathery. It throws a two finger head, creamy in color.

          Taking a sniff, Bishop’s Finger is robust in its maltiness, reminding me of an English brown ale. Dark malts with notes of bread and crackers mix quickly and seamlessly with aromas of caramel, leather, and damp earth. Somewhere in there, I think maybe I’m getting a whiff of berries but can’t be sure. All of this leads into a nutty finish before fading into the peppery, earthy, aroma of European hops.

          On the tongue, Bishop’s Finger is medium bodied and smooth, its flavors held up by pinpoint carbonation. Flavors are rich in their maltiness, starting off sweet up front with its flavors of caramel. Much like the nose, caramel leads into slightly dryer flavors of leather, each one complimenting the other. This is where flavors lead into the bracing bitter finish you would expect in an English bitter.

          Overall, Bishop’s Finger is a very good example of an English bitter. It’s flavorful and balanced. Its bitterness is assertive without being a detriment to the overall experience. The whole thing comes together as being characterful and easily drinkable. I’m happy to give Bishop’s Finger an 8 out of 10.