Ommegang Hennepin (2008) - Tasting and Cellaring Notes
By jason on Sep 19, 2008 in Belgian Styles, Reviews
Name: Hennepin
Brewer: Ommegang
Style: Saison
Vintage: 2008
Cellared On: July 18th, 2008
Original Tasting: August 19th, 2008
Hennepin was one of the first brews I reviewed for the Brew Basement. I liked it so much that this summer I decided to bring it back for another try. Going back and examining my previous review, I saw that it really wasn’t too different from the first time I tried it. The big changes are that I’m a better writer now - and hopefully a better reviewer!
Just like before, Hennepin pours a cloudy pale yellow. I tried to pour carefully, but I’m sure the cloudiness is a result of yeast floating around in there. This brew had that earthy/grassy smell that I’ve come to expect from Saison-style beers. Light malts were floating around in the background as well.
Crisp dry malts bit me right away as I took a sip. They were light, slightly grainy, and had a faint lemon and honey feel to them. The malts also got out of the way pretty darn quickly as the fresh grassy and earthy hop flavors rolled in to dominate my palette. I think I also tasted a nutty kind of walnut note to the earthiness, but I may be way off there (I’ll have to have another sometime to be sure). Besides that, I found it to be a pretty dry beer, with not much sweetness at all. There was also a slight bitterness throughout the tasting, but it was a very subtle thing. Earthy notes linger forever after the finish.
Just as good of a beer as before, and certainly a great bargain for all of us US cellaring folks.
Cellar Outlook: This one has held up well before, no real reason to think the ‘08 version is any different.
Next Tasting: January 2009
Jason
Do you have any longer term experience with Hennepin? I’ve had a 750 of it as well as regular Ommegang tucked away for around a couple years now. I’m quite curious to see how they’ve held up.
Andy Dremeaux | Sep 22, 2008 | Reply
Hi Andy. Nothing too long, I did cellar some away last summer, but that’s the oldest I’ve got. Please let me know how your results go, I’m pretty curious about it myself!
jason | Sep 24, 2008 | Reply