Ommegang Witte
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“He who has provoked the shaft of wit, cannot complain that he smarts from it.”
– Samuel Johnson (from the Ommegang Witte label)
Today I begin a series of Ommegang beers — for the next few days I’ll be going through some of the most popular creations of this Belgian-inspired brewery in Cooperstown, NY.
I discovered Brewery Ommegang after developing an affinity for Duvel a few years ago — Duvel purchased Ommegang and leverages the the American brewery for distribution here in the U.S., so I decided to try a few of the 750 ml Ommegang bottles that accompany Duvel on shelves.
For this beer-a-day challenge, I managed to find 12 oz Ommegang bottles — so as much as I’d enjoy the bigger bottles, each beer in this week’s Ommegang series will be the single serving variety.
My journey begins with Ommegang Witte. The bottle admonishes the drinker to “pour slowly so as to not disturb the yeast sediment, but with enough vigor to create a luxurious head” — but no sediment appeared in my bottle, despite sitting undisturbed for weeks. As it was, the thick head forced me to interrupt this 12 ounce pour three times. Ommegang delights in this fierce foam, even printing on the label the tagline, “Worth the wheat!”
Ommegang Witte poured cloudy and pale yello-gold, with that big white head and a pleasant, citrus aroma cut through with hints of orange peel. There’s also a sweet, sugary smell that pairs quite comfortably with the citrus.
The taste is smooth and refreshing, with lots of wheat malt and enough bitter orange peel and coriander (more spice than the aroma announces) to balance the candy sugar sweetness.
The beer’s body was very soft and thin in the mouth, but the sugary sweetness and abundance of wheat created a thickness of taste and a lingering, saliva inducing tangy bitterness.
The Ommegang website describes its Witte Ale quite poetically:
High, white, fluffy summer clouds. A soft breeze through a citrus grove. A heavenly bite of orange chiffon cake. All of these come to your mind as you lift our pale golden wheat ale to your lips. It’s so soft, so light on your tongue, you think, as the tart lemon, bitter orange, and subtle spiciness of coriander arrive to round out the intriguing delicacy of this delicious ale. You smile, knowing there are five more of them in the fridge.
I liked this Witte quite a bit — too many Belgian-style whites play up the citrus and overlook the spice, but Ommegang pulls off a softer spiciness while still being true to style. And at 5.1% ABV it’s easy to order another — for those of you allowed more than one, that is!
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