Ommegang Three Philosophers
Three Philosophers is a Belgian Quad, a high ABV Belgian
beer for which there is also a growing number of domestic examples worth
drinking. The most recent release of Gravitation from Smuttynose caught my
attention earlier this year and I've wondered how it compared to the offering
from Ommegang.
Ommegang is known for their true-to-style Belgian beers as
well as paving some new ground, and I can't say I have ever been disappointed
with one of their beers. This Quad was not what I expected however, but in
fairness there isn't anything wrong or off about it. It is just much drier than
I expected. All of the aromatic and flavor notes are representative, dried
fruits, dark sweet fruits, a breadiness and some spices. The alcohol is
moderate at 9.7%, and is not a detractor. In the mouth it's all there, but it is
very subtle because of the low residual sugar.
Having had a few homebrewed versions that are sweet and
viscous I checked the BJCP Style Guide to see what the ranges in the different
attribute categories might be. Category 18E, Belgian Dark Strong Ale is where a
Quad could be classified. The alcohol is expected to be between 8 and 11% and
the bitterness low. As for the sweetness, there are two sub-styles, Trappist
& Abbey, that differ greatly in this aspect, while retaining considerable
similarities otherwise. OK, glad I checked. The BJCP style guide is one of the
ways I have been learning about beer styles and the two different versions
(based on dryness) of Belgian Dark Strong Ales was something new to me!
At the end of the day this is a sweet style of beer for me,
which is a good thing to know. I haven't ventured to make a Quad yet, but I do
like Belgian beer so after trying a few more who knows!
Cheers!
Jason
1 comment:
I had this the other night as well! I've always been a big fan of Ommegang's offerings, though I found the alcohol to be a litle over powering on this one.
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