Since I live in California there isn’t many times that I find a beer that is brewed on the east coast. However, as I was walking around the local Bevmo, I happened to stumble upon this one. It is called the “Hennepin”and it is brewed by the Ommegang Brewery in New York.
This beer is considered to be a unique style of Farmhouse Ale known to some as a Belgian Saison. In the past this type of beer was brewed during the winter months and stored for consumptions during the summer months when the migrant workers were on the farm. The migrant workers were known as “les saisonniers,” which plays into the type of beer that this is.
So lets get into the ingredients of this beer. When I first poured this beer and then tasted it, I was reminded of a wheat beer or heffeweizen. A lot of the ingredients in this beer are similar or the same as those of a wheat style beer. This beer is brewed with ingredients such as orange peel, ginger, grains of paradise and coriander.
When you pour this beer it will pour to a straw yellow or a pale gold and will have a lot of carbonation that float to the top of this beer that allow the head to maintain itself and leave a great trace. When you smell this beer you will get a great sense of the orange peel and the spice of the coriander, which are both very noticeable. Along with those aroma’s you get the sweet smell of the malts that this beer is brewed with, which are the Pilsner and the Pale malts. The pilsner malt is a very common malt in many European and American style beers. The Pale malt in this beer will give this beer more color and will also add to the dryness of this beer. You will notice that this beer will have a dryness to it at the end of each sip. Now that we went over the aroma’s of the beer, lets get into that first sip. When you take that first sip you will be immediately hit with the sweetness of the malts that are in this beer. If you let that sip, rest on your palette for a few seconds you will really start to notice all of the other flavors that this beer has in it. You will notice the orange the most, I think this is the most distinguishable flavor this beer has, followed by the coriander that you are left with after you swallow that first sip. However, in between the two you will get a slight hint of the ginger, trust me, its very mild and probably not noticeable to many. You will also get a hint of the yeast that is in this beer and this flavor is also very common in Belgian style beers as well. As you finish your sip you will notice a slight bitterness to this beer, it is very mild but it is created by the Styrian Golding and the Spalter Select hops. The Styrian Golden hops is a hop that is often found in Austria. It does contribute to the mild bitterness of this beer but it is often used in beer because of its aroma. I would not consider this type of hop to be of the bittering type. The Spalter Select hops is another of the aromatic variety but it also helps give this beer a sense of spiciness to it. With all of these different aspects put together in one beer, you can expect a lot. And a lot is what you get. All of these aspects come together and make a great beer.
I was very glad when I found a beer from somewhere other than California. I will definitely have to try more from this brewer. In the mean time, I hope that all of you search this beer out and give it a try. I’m sure you will love it just as much as I did. This is truly a beer that everyone can enjoy.
Until later,
Cheers!!!
The Best Beer Ever 