Ommegang Biere de Mars
Ommegang Biere de Mars is a fine Belgian-style amber ale with a bit of magical space dust woven in: Brettanomyces Bruxellensis, a wild yeast which imparts added tartness, extra zing, and a touch of funk - while dry hopping enhances the hop aroma.
3.7
433 reviews
Cooperstown, United States
Community reviews
Bottle gives a slightly underwhelming pop but pours a deep amber coloring most similar to a DIPA. Very visible carbonation when held to the light and red and yellow colors burst forth. A finger head is soapy white and disappears quite quickly.
The first scent on the nose is a roasted caramel with a strong wine like prescence. The Belgian yeast starts to show soon and gives off spicy aromas. A dubbel like scent of figs sits in the middle of this and weighs down a slight tartness. The "barnyard" really starts to come out as it warms.
Really clean earth caramel like tastes hilghlights the front of the tongue. It’s rather sweet but not cloying. There’s also an apple flavor here. I start to get a slighty tart earthy flavor on the center of the mouth, it helps the fig-like dubbel flavors come off lightly. The tartness starts to peek out on the back of the tongue but it’s not as strong as I usually enjoy. Still, very delicious. There’s a slight "red wine" tang to all of it too.
Very refreshing and crisp on the palate. It doesn’t sit at all.
A wonderful beer but far from my favorite Ommegang offering. I’d rather drop my dollars on some Hennepin.
pours from a bottle, light amber color with a medium white head. smell of brett, taste of brett, slightly sour/funk overall a very enjoyable beer
Poured into a tulip. Batch #3 from November 2008.
3.0 A: Opaque amber plum color. Two and a half fingers of foamy off-white head. Retention is poor and no lacing is left. It’s old, so I’ll cut it a break.
4.0 S: This still smells great though. Grassy earthiness galore. Slightly herbal as well. Despite its advanced age, there isn’t a whole lot of brett character in the nose. Sure, there’s some, but it’s no different that a lot of fresh brett’d beers. Just a light sweat sock funk there. The complexity in this beer comes from layers of depth in the grassiness and earthiness components
5.0 T: The taste brings on a bit more brett, but this is still all about the herbalness, grassiness, and earthiness. Hints of dandelions, heather, and chamomile. Soft wet earth and grasses are abundant. Everything is so complementary and well balanced. The time has really smoothened this beer up. It’s a great drinking experience.
4.5 M: Medium body. Mellow, but sufficient carbonation. Silky, slippery mouthfeel that just plain works and works well.
4.5 D: The more I drink this, the more I enjoy it. I had to change a few scores as I progressed through the glass. This is so smooth and balanced that it should be a crime to be such a way. It’s not the most complex, nor does it have huge flavors, but what’s presented is nearly perfect.
Serving type: bottle
Reviewed on: 08-19-2012 03:07:55
This cork and caged bottled brew from a bottle shop poured a medium sized head of frothy medium sized off-white colored bubbles that were mostly diminishing and left behind a strong bubbly carbonation hazy dark orange brown colored body and a good lacing. The mild aroma was brown malt. The mouth feel was tingly at the start and at the finish. The strong bubbly palate drowned out the flavor which was unnoticeable to do it. An OK brew just nothing special.
A: This beer appears a light shade of sunburst. Atop the beer rests a fizzy head that fades rapidly leaving very little lacing.
S: Brettanomyces, apples, white wine.
T: Lots of brett flavor emerges right away, with notes of apples, lemons, white wine or possibly white grapes. Alcohol is hidden pretty well. There are some nice intricacies here and overall a nice tasting brew.
M: Very fizzy, with the subtle sweetness of apples getting stronger as I make my way through the bottle.
D: A good beer with a decent amount of complexity. Recommended.
Bottle split with mcberko and manuchampions. Pours cloudy orange with sporadic lacing and lots of sediment. Aroma of yeast, citrus fruits, orange peel, some molasses and funk. Flavour of yeast, and other flavours listed above. Quite earthy. Medium bodied, but not much flavour.
Aroma is sweet with yeast, bread, and spice. Flavor starts with bready malt, caramel and toffee. Finish has spice and a little funk and is very dry. Pretty different and really good.
750ml bottle - Pours up a huge, hazy, fizzy head. It has a fruity aroma with berries, citrus, and brett funk. It tastes sweet, tart, and funky with a bubbly palate, a medium body, and a funky finish. Very good.
Batch #2 October 2008. Pours hazy red amber with a quick large off white soapy head that dissipates to a soapy film. Aroma has an awesome funky sourness. Taste is funky and musty with subtle tartness and subtle sweetness that brings spice all around and some faint dry hops. Palate has full carbonation and somewhat chalky with a dry finish. Very enjoyable.
Pours a dark orange amber very carbonated aroma is brett yeast, bready malt, and pears. Flavor is spot on the same excellent biere de mars...not too malty and sweet like some can be just right.
Batch #2 from October 2008. Carbonation blew the top off this with a POP! Pours amber with nice white head. Aroma is very earthy, horse blanket, musty. Flavor is musty as well, quite earthy. Not overly tart or acidic. Initial flavor is definitely musty and funky. The hop flavor is reminiscent of old aged hops common with these brews. Flavor lingers as expected for this style. This is an excellent example of the Belgian style made right here in the good ol’ USA. Nice job to the folks at Ommegang
2008 Bottle @ the Cheese Bar... Poured hazy her with a light beige head. Nice retention. Fruity and yeasty. Quite dry from th extended bottle conditioning. Notes of squash, bread-like grains, and bitter lemon peel.
Bottle sample at the 2nd Israeli Sour Tasting. Thanks beerandbeyond. Hazy honey orange with a nice head, aroma of brett, floral notes, barnyard, nice sweetness, flavor of peach, brett, smoked malt, strong carbonation, medium bodied
Bottle, Batch 2 from Oct 2008. A very murky light amber with a huge off white head. Aroma is sour, malty, fruity, acidic. Taste is mild sweet, mild bitter, some malt and spice. Doesn’t live up to the aroma at all, no sourness. Dry finish. Medium bodied, well carbonated.
Bottle sample at the 2nd Israeli Sour Tasting. Thanks beerandbeyond. Hazy dark orange with an off-white head. Aroma of some flowers, fruits, yeast, spicy notes and some brett. Sweetish flavor, slightly sourish, with a bit of malt, fruits, light funky notes and spicy hints. Medium-bodied.
2008 bottle into tulip glass. I stumbled upon this in one of the many nooks and crannys I have bottles hidden. I was worried that it was a bit too old, but it turned out pretty awesome. Aroma has lots of funky yeast as well as a bit of sourness. A little bit of fruitiness as well. Pour is hazy orange with a thin white head. It has a very crisp finish as well. Very delicious.
Pours rusty orange, with slight haze. Soft head that quickly fades. Aroma is fruit and yeasty, with hints of tropical fruits, mostly pineapple, and a bit funky typical brett aromas. The taste is crisp and lightly bitter, with lots of apricots and piney, earthy hop flavors. There is a velvety, medium body. Long fruity, funky finish. Good beer
Pours a hazy orange with thin white head. Aroma is sweet and slightly sour with a hint of funk. Flavor is fantastic too.
750mL bottle, split with manuchampions, Matts_Property and uhlan, pours a cloudy reddish orange with a small beige head. Aroma of dry orange peel, tropical fruits, yeast, citrus, leather and horse blanket. Flavour of dry white wine / champagne, dry citrus / orange peel, some subtle spices and light tropical fruits. Extremely well-balanced and flavourful. Excellent.
750ML in a Trappist glass - Pours hazy orange with light white head with equally light lacing. Nose is yeast, caramel malts and black pepper Aroma is spicy. Taste is somewhat sweet. Full body and oily texture. Late bitter aftertaste. A good brew.
pours hazy amber with a swamp of residual yeast floating around in huge chunks. Aroma is sweet with berries, lemon, champagne, and glycerin. taste is sweet and sour with notes of green apples, fall spices, berries, citrus and grapes. the belgian yeast is rather potent. finishes spicey, fruity and a touch sour with the overall impression of juicy champagne. a very enjoyable beer.
Bottle: Dirty straw, amber hued, thick and cloudy, moderate foamy off-white head, spotty lacing.
Bretty nose, otherwise funky farmhouse, yeasty, slightly bready. Faint floralness, minor pixie stix like
powdered sugar. Comes across pretty much the same on the tongue. Light, but spritzy. Dusty
floralness, somewhat of a dry sweetness. Body and mouthfeel are moderate. Clean finish, lingering semi-
sweetened powdered sugar like candy. Well crafted, good spring/summer brewskie. Feels like less than 6.5%
ABV. Decent offering.
Thanks to PaulUnwin for sharing this one at the last weekend Tampa Crew Tasting. Pours a hazy orange with a quickly-receding white head. Nose is malt, caramel, toffee, and some funk with lemon and citrus. Flavor is similar with funk, lemon, and citrus. A bit one-dimensional with some malt, mild funk, and hints of citrus.
RBESG Sheffield 2009 Grand Tasting @ the Harlequin.
Hazy amber color with medium of white head. Aroma of oranges, farm, apples. Yeasty taste, also both floral and fruity. Mostly sweet with a touch of tartness. Itneresting.
Batch 2 2008 bottle. Been in my Cellar since 08’ (I think)
Pours a deep orange color with tons of floaties, topping this is a medium sized fairly loose head with good lace.
The aroma is remarkable, nice and spicy, still some earthy hoppiness, lots of sweat and horse blanket with a distinct limestone character.
I wish the flavor would have been as brilliant as the aroma. The beer is very dry & very spicy with a peachy fruitiness. The bitterness level is moderate but the beer becomes just a tad too spicy as it warms. The flavor is a bit card-boardy and becomes flatter and more papery as it warms.
The carbonation is lively and carries the beer well.
I can tell it was probably pretty great at some point. It’s still fairly good.
I shouldn’t t have sat on this one for so long.
The aroma is complex, spicy, fruity and yeasty. The flavor is tart and fruity, with an underlying graininess. Bordering on being mildly sour, otherwise this is excellent.
Faint aroma of grass, booze, apricot and sassafras? Slightly medicinal. Very bubbly pour. The taste is coriander, orange peel and apricot. Medium tartness and mild hop bitterness. Not much sweetness. It tastes like it has some Angostura Bitters in it. Dry, warming finish. It numbs the mouth a bit from the spice/herbs. It had some of the largest sediment clumps, I’ve ever seen in a beer bottle.
750 ml bottle from Beers of the World. 2008 Bottling. Araof is musty and lactic, with lemon, yogurt, and dusty. Cloudy amber color, with a fine, low head and lots of bubbles. Dry yet malty flavor, with light funk, dust, some lemon, caramel. High carbonation, with big bubbles in the mouth. Dry, dusty, bitter finish. Delicious. Great with strng cheeses.
Batch #2 bottled in October 2008. Bottle aged nearly 3 years. Pours a slightly translucent, dark copper with a huge beige head. The aroma is caramel, apricots, coriander, and a definite funk. The flavor is very sour and bitter. The palate is medium to heavy, with lots of carbonation and a citrus acidity and astringency. This is a powerful and funky beer, with a great aroma and mouthfeel.
It’s a murky, amber pour, little head or lacing. The aroma is predominantly spicing...maybe coriander. That spice aroma dominates the flavor profile leding a perfumy base spice, with some fruity/apple malt and a slightly tart and zingy profile (but really, only slightly). This was underwhelming and slightly disappointing.