Ommegang Cup o Kyndnes
The Belgian-Scotch brewing connection dates to World War I, when thousands of Scotsmen spent years in Belgium. To satisfy their new customers, Belgian brewers learned to brew Scotch-style ales, and the style became a new and significant part of the Belgian brewing tradition. This fine Ommegang ale uses heather tips and a wee bit of smoked malt to bring the taste and aroma of Scotland to the forefront.
3.6
241 reviews
Cooperstown, United States
Community reviews
Bottle pours brown with a medium tan head. Aroma is brown sugar and caramel malts. Flavor is green raisins, plums, caramel and toasted malts, big burnt sugar finish. Nice stuff.
Bottle/750ml - Pours a dark brown in color with a small light tan head that settled to a thin covering over the beer and produced some minor lacing on the glass. Aroma is Malty and sweet with a bit of smoke and also a bit of heather. Flavor is slightly sweet with some of the smoke hidden behind along with the heather, neither of which were that prominent in the flavor profile. Fairly sweet malts are the dominant flavor and it is just a bit too sweet for me... a hazard of the style. A well better than average wee heavy...
bottle - Pours deep amber with a sizable head. The aroma is malty with toffee and dark fruit character. The sweet flavor has similar notes in a bubbly, medium bodied quaff. It’s very good.
Date: October 25, 2010
Mode: Bottle
Source: Brusin Ales, Asheville NC
Appearance: clear dark ruby red, creamy beige head, thick lace
Aroma: sweet malt aroma, earthy, touch of candy sweetness
Flavor: rich malt flavor, touch of caramel sweetness, plenty of drying earthyness, light bitterness
Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 12/20
Rating: 3.1/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: ** /4
Dull and cloudy chestnut brown. The aroma is malty, maybe a bit oxidized but with earthy and slightly peppery notes. Caramelly, slightly toffeeish with a vague hint of dark fruits. Quite yeasty. The alcohol comes out a little bit, along with light acidity to balance the sweetness. Certainly not inspiring, with respect to the sweet flavours I think they are quite dull, and there’s little else. I admit I’m a bit disappointed.
Dark brown with a large off-white head. Aroma is of malt, light leather, spicy, caramel and yeast. Taste is of caramel, light chocolate pudding, a little roasty, and raisins.
Bottle. Opaque, looks yeasty, stable tan head. Color is a shade of mahogany. This one needs to warm. Has generous amounts of simple, sweet brown bread in the aroma tempered by something lightly herbal like cedar. Very, very soft carbonation feels nice. I am appreciating the restraint on the ABV, it’s big enough to sip without ever getting hot. The flavors are skewed toward the sweet side, but it’s not cloying. The sweetness is pleasant, and the malt has a juicy bread pudding character with an ever-so-slight whisper of cedarwood in the finish. Had a few sips with some salty food, and the salt really brings out the unique herbal astringency of heather. I highly recommend trying it with something salty to see how the flavors emerge. More complexity couldn’t hurt it, but it’s still a nice brew.
I let this bottle warm a bit first out of the fridge. Then it poured with a huge, light tan, very frothy, foamy, fluffy head that settles down and a little lace. Color is a very clear amber red with some slow large bubble trails. Aroma is on the mild side - beery, malt, roast, hint of peat. Flavor is similar to nose with the sweet peat up front the a little bitter n tang. Body seems a touch thin to me, ditto carbonation. Finish is like flavor, fairly clean and balance; easy to drink. Good beer for some repeats.
Appearance: thick and muddy, small soapy off-white head, minimal lacing, syrupy legs. Aroma: almost stout-like--notes of chocolate, caramel, a little booze, and some yeasty spiciness. Taste: malty and sweet, with notes of caramel, clove, chocolate, raisins, anise, and yeast. Finish: roasty, spicy, with a lingering light sweetness. Notes: Seemed almost more like a Belgian strong dark ale and stout hybrid. Nonetheless, pretty delicious. Palate was oily and just a tad weak. On tap at Kloby’s Smokehouse in Laurel, Maryland. Paired very well with the barbecue.
From notes: poured hazy red-amber with a small bone-colored head. Aroma was grassy and earthy. Medium-thick, deep, with a long finish. Slightly smoky and yeasty flavors, with an earthy finish. As it warms, a grassy, spicy note becomes more pronounced.
Bottle.
Pours a thick, desnse mud brown with a stained yellow head that leaves dense lacing. Aroma is peaty biscuit, autumn leaves, and a touch of earthy cinnamon. Flavor is bready grapefruit pudding with raisins and a touch of cinnamon. Nice mouthfeel. Tasty.
(draft @ Tap and Mallet - Rochester, NY - 2010 vintage) Deep copper pour with a very thin dirty white head. Sweet malty and smoky aroma with nice hits of caramel mixing in. Sweet and malty flavor at the beginning with a very pleasant and smooth smoke and malt combination. Sweet and slightly tangy aftertaste. Really smooth finish.
Pour was chocolate brown, some head. Aroma of smoke and peat. Out was sweet and smokey, somewhat earthy. The beer seemed well crafted, rich and full in the mouth. I just can’t get that excited about this style. Too sweet for my tastes, but not bad for style.
750ml bottle. Pours an opaque brown color with a two finger beige head that has good retention and leaves patches of lace. Aromas of toffee, biscuit, dark fruit, light smoke, cocoa, and a touch of alcohol. Smooth caramel malt flavor followed by a bit of spice, over ripened dark fruits. Smokey character provides a nice spiciness with floral hops that comes through in the finish. Very light feeling on the tongue with a medium amount of carbonation.
Bottle. Heavy malt aromas of cookie, cereal and caramel, moderate herbs and orange for the hops, dough for the yeast with background notes of date, wood, smoke, brown sugar and faint nutmeg or cinnamon. Head is average size, frothy, light tan with darker streaks, with no lacing and is almost fully diminishing. Color is muddy reddish brown. Flavor starts lightly sweet and moderately acidic, then finishes lightly bittersweet and moderately acidic. Palate is medium, oily with a lively carbonation and a chewy finish. Not as sweet as I would expect from a Scotch Ale, but it has all the other good aspects for the style.
On tap at burger. in Santa Cruz. Pours a deep clear brown with almost ruby corners. Creamy tan head leaves sheets of lacing. Smokey boozy aroma with sea salt, light meatiness, peat, dark fruits, and cheetos? Flavor is smooth and smokey, light chocolate notes, dried figs. Great mouthfeel, creamy and smooth, full-bodied with an almost nitro-esque carbonation. Satisfying and tasty.
Draught at MacGregors. Pretty amber-orange with lace. Aroma os smoke, caramel, roasty malt. Roasty, very smoky flavor, dry, with caramel and dark chocolate, grass, and earth. Interesting--amazingly dry and slightly funky. Low carbonation and medium body. Dusty. Not what I think of as a Scotch ale, but good.
Bottle. Brown pour with a bit of tan head. Peaty malt, light sweeter tones and spice, some boozy aromas. Flavor is of wood, smoke, scotch, and some sweet malt tones.
Pours a murky brown color with an off white foam head. Has an aroma of spice, caramel, with some hints of clove. Sweet malty taste with some belgian spice. Good brew. Thanks to Leafs93 for this.
750 ml bottle shared by Tmoney99. Pours a clear dark amber color with a small beige head. The aroma has sweet caramel, herbal notes, and tea leaves. The flavor opens with sweet caramel malts and mild fruits with a hint of smoke. By the finish, there are more grassy and herbal hop notes coming in. Mild bitterness to the finish. This was an interesting spin on a Scotch ale.
On tap at Frisco. Amber color with white head. Sweet malty caramel aroma with a little smokiness. Sweel malty flavor with caramel, chocolate and smoke. Slight yeast flavor in finish with alcohol.
Bottle pours a clear amber with a thin tan head. Scent of wood, sugar and nuts. Taste is roasty, sweet, yeast and caramel.
750 ml; packaged 8-2-2010; bb 8-2012. Clear mahogany, with a ruby tint and a lasting quarter inch of sticky foam. Aroma is spicy molasses, dark fruits, tart cherry and a hint of smoky evergreen. Big rich flavor is raisin, chocolate, evergreen, sour cream, plum and a great finish of earthy smoke and molasses. Medium-heavy body is smoothly carbonated, to the sweet side, but very drinkable. Pleasant surprise on this one, as I have been rather unimpressed with the half dozen other Ommegang offerings I’ve tried.
Bottle. Murky coppery brown with a light tan head. Raisins, prunes, light sweetness and spice in aroma. Earth, biscuit, spruce and flowers, dark grapes and warming finish. Medium body and vibrant carbonation. Ok stuff
750 bottle-pours a cascading tight tan head and copper color. Aroma is earthy, medium malt-roasty/some chocolate. Taste is spruce (the heather I guess), spice/earthy hops bite, roasty/peat. OK carbonation.
THOUGHTS: Very nice. I still prefer actual Scottish Scotch Ales, but this was probably the best Belgian-style one I’ve had so far.
TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a dark, reddish amber what was nearly brown with an enormous, tan head that was painfully slow in diminishing and left, excellent, thick lacing. The aroma had light to moderate molasses, caramel, cocoa and hints of chocolate; moderate, spicy and slightly funky yeast; apple; cherry; toffee and maple syrup. The initial flavor was light to moderately sweet, lightly sour and slightly acidic; while the finish was moderate to rather sweet, moderately sour and slight to lightly bitter with a short to average duration. There was cherry, apple, slight smoke, light wood, sour cherry, caramel and burnt wood (in a good way). There was lots of flavor up front, but it really dropped off in the finish. The medium body was a bit oily and then rather dry with fizzy carbonation and a dry and lightly astringent finish.
My Bottom Line:
Salient smoke licks caramelized berries, as heather’s earthy and herbal nature spruces up this Scotch Ale’s subtle caramel malt flavors.
Further Personal Perceptions:
-An airy head of foam decorates the orange-hued brown.
-The fluffy effervescence increases drinkability.
-The flavor profile is harmonious and full of personality.
-I’ve had very few Scotch Ales of the sort (most are either heavier or blander), but I can say this is very well rendered and quite memorable.
-The smokiness is not too intense to put off those who don’t like this type of flavor.
Bottle.
A Belgian Style Scotch Ale, Why not.
Pours a deep ruby color with a finely bubbled off white head that dissipates quickly but leaves some sticky lace on the way down. The nose is sweet with cherries and plums, spicy wheat notes and a hint of smoke. A swirl of my glass releases some phenolics and a hint of bubble gum. Taste is smokey with a hint of herbal almost minty tastes. A chalky roasted grain vies for attention in the background but is overwhelmed with smoke and bubbly carbonation. Spicy wheat becomes sweet dark fruits that linger on the finish. Taste is a little sweet, but never becomes cloying. Medium to high level of tightly held bubbles, Medium body, Bubbly syrupy mouthfeel. I love a good Scotch ale, I love a good Belgian Style ale. I’m not sure I love them mixed together. Some of the flavors I feel clash with each other right now, but maybe with some time this will be more harmonious. As is I could take it or leave it. There’s nothing really objectionable here, but nothing really excites me either.
My new favorite scotch ale, although one could argue it has a bit of style drift. The heather notes are added bonus to a damp dusky malt backbone. Pours with a bit of gas and a thick tan head. I lovely smokiness mixes with the lighter heather to produce a full, rich body.ice going Ommegang!
Bottle @ Papsø. Pours a clear amber color with a small off-white head. Has a fruity malty spicy yeasty heather aroma. Sweetish malty spicy heather flavor with yeasty hints. Has a sweetish spicy heather peppery finish with yeasty hints.