20th Anniversary Ale
Brewery Ommegang

20th Anniversary Ale20th Anniversary Ale
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From:
Brewery Ommegang
 
New York, United States
Style:
Belgian Dark Strong Ale
ABV:
11.5%
Score:
94
Avg:
4.27 | pDev: 6.09%
Reviews:
23
Ratings:
62
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Oct 03, 2021
Added:
Jun 20, 2017
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  22
2017
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by BEERchitect:
Photo of BEERchitect
Reviewed by BEERchitect from Kentucky

4.35/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Nearly legal and playing the mature role, the Brewery Ommegang embarks upon their twentieth year with a regal, robust and highly complex taste that shows that shows just how far the little Belgian brewery of Cooperstown has come. Darker, stronger and richer, the quadruple styled ale meets bourbon barrels for a stately array of flavors, textures and aromas.

And living up to those darker promises, the beer pours with a deep and clear burgundy austere, crowned with an ivory creme that swirls amongst the rim. Rich aromas swoon the nose with macerated fruit, simmering spice and an underlayment of candy and oak. And once the ale slathers the tongue, the flavors of hard candy, spice cake and sorgum play robustly with the initial taste.

And then the complexities align on the middle palate by revealing plum, blackberry, black cherry and red grape for a robust, sweet and succulent ester profile. Darker and more tar-like flavors follow with prune, raisin, date and fig as the brown sugar malt sweetness begins to relax. Light tartness comes with a red wine impression with allspice and peppercorn trailing closely behind. Caramels, worn oak, vanilla and whisky spice plays like sherry and rum as much as it does bourbon.

Full in body, the lavishly complex, malty sweet beer carries a rich body that's lightened just enough from tartness and alcohol to offer a great sense of palatability and refinement on the finish. A long a savory aftertaste resonates soundly with red wine and whisky as hints of coconut and spice cake continue into the next satisfying sip.
Sep 27, 2017
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.4 by DruC4 from Michigan

Oct 03, 2021
Photo of stortore
Reviewed by stortore from Illinois

4.34/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
750 ml bottle into a tulip snifter. Bottled Mid 2017, had 4/26/19.

Pours a semi- opaque cola color, with a one inch foamy head and some foamy lacing. Aromas of bourbon, caramel, figs, malt, plums, raisins, dates, spices- cloves for one, light Belgian yeast, some chocolate, light molasses. The flavor takes the same path- bourbon, oak, caramel, malt, raisins, figs, dates, plums, cloves, other spices, light molasses, faint licorice. Smooth, a very good medium body, well carbonated.

Happy anniversary! Really good barrels, top notch base, great aroma and- especially, flavor, nice balance. Solid from top to bottom. Very enjoyable.
Mar 20, 2020
 
Rated: 4.24 by TinFang from California

Jan 02, 2020
 
Rated: 4.23 by DokiDokiLitFam from New Jersey

Sep 30, 2019
 
Rated: 4.25 by Gkruszewski from New York

Jun 12, 2019
Photo of jlindros
Reviewed by jlindros from Massachusetts

4.26/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.25
Been sitting on this a while. Finally watching GoT, but drank all the GoT beers so figured this would be good.

Pours a dark fizzy head that fades very quickly, no lacing, good legs, very dark almost opaque molasses brown color

Nose big sweet candy malt, molasses, a little caramel and toffee, biscuity, background roasty like and coffee notes, then plenty of fruity aromas, dark candied fruit, a little fig jam, light toasted buttery oak and hint of bourbon

Taste quite fruity as well, more jammy fruit, dark prune, fig paste, etc, then big bourbon, juicy bourbon barrel and some vanilla toasted oak, raisin as well, with big warming tingly alcohol, perfumey alcohol, into malts, rich malt with toffee, caramel, biscuity, a little roasty like, medium sweet overall with light drier finish with lingering alcohol warmth

Mouth is fuller bod a bit syrupy, hot alcohol and tingle, more than expected, medium fizzy carb

Overall pretty good except a bit too hot alcohol, the bourbon barrel was quite nice, dark jammy fruits were nice too, base malts pretty good, slow sipper that can be enjoyed, more in winter than late spring
May 26, 2019
Photo of Dope
Reviewed by Dope from Massachusetts

4.26/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
A: Dark dark brown pour with a mid-sized light brown head. Head dissipates fairly quickly, as it typically does with bourbon-barrel beers. Very little lacing on the glass as well.

S: Yow, huge bourbon aroma. Lots of brown sugar, oak, caramel and vanilla in there. Heavy, dark bread. Yum.

T: Vanilla and caramel up front. Sugary sweet with candi sugar. Tons of dark fruit with a little toffee on the back end. Quite a boozy hit on the back end, while we're here. Lingering sugary sweetness from a variety of sources.

M: Heavy, sweet and boozy.

O: One hell of a sweet BSDA. It's not cloying or syrupy but it seems like all of the flavors have at least some level of sweetness to them. Still nice though, I just couldn't get through the whole 750ml.
Mar 27, 2019
Photo of HattedClassic
Reviewed by HattedClassic from Virginia

4.25/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
The beer pours a nice looking khaki colored head that dissipates quickly. The beer itself is a good looking dark brown color that borders on black but doesn't tip into it.

The smell is pretty good. It has a nice and moderate bourbon note that mixes well with the dark fruit notes and the slight candi syrup note to it. There is a slight Belgian sugar note that is slightly burnt.

The taste is good. It has a much stronger bourbon note than the smell but it's washed out a little bit from a the hop bitterness that is there. The Belgian sugar note comes out more as a bittersweet Belgian syrup note. The dark fruit note is more of a plum note. The booze comes out slightly and adds a nice warming feel to it through it all.

The feel is good. It's more drinkable and thinner than a usual dark ale but not watery. There is a nice crispy carbonation feel.

Overall, this is a pretty good beer worth getting even after it was released.
Mar 22, 2019
 
Rated: 4.42 by generallee from Virginia

Feb 26, 2019
 
Rated: 4.58 by Shaun_S from Maine

Feb 19, 2019
 
Rated: 4.46 by craigdb from Pennsylvania

Sep 07, 2018
Photo of LiquidAmber
Reviewed by LiquidAmber from Washington

4.24/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Poured into an Ommegang flute glass. Pours a dark reddish brown with a one finger khaki head with good retention and lacing. Aroma of fresh and dried plums, caramel, vanilla and light bourbon. Flavor of mildly caramel malt, dried and fresh plums, raisins, vanilla, bourbon and suggestions of cherry and light oak. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess and fine mouth feel. A rich, fruit forward strong dark Belgian with a very nice level of barrel oakiness and bourbon flavors. The fruit, caramel and bourbon are well balanced and flavorful. A fairly complex lingering flavor of oaky bourbon and light toffee as well as the dark fruit notes. A very worthy 20th Anniversary ale from one of the best brewers of Belgian style ales in North America. Kinda wish this was annual and available in smaller bottles all the time. Still glad I picked up one of these to enjoy now. Happy anniversary, Ommegang.
Jun 25, 2018
Photo of FriedSlug
Reviewed by FriedSlug from North Carolina

4.29/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Super dark with a tan head. Leaves a few globs of lacing behind. Smells and tastes of all of these: bourbon, raisin, vanilla, oak, chocolate, toffee and caramel. Nice and fizzy. Pretty great beer.
Jun 05, 2018
Photo of brentk56
Reviewed by brentk56 from North Carolina

4.24/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Appearance: Pours cola colored with a dense one finger ecru head (not up to Ommegang's Belgian standard but this is 11.5% after all); spotty lacing all around

Smell: Plum and caramel with a shot of Bourbon; mixed in are oak and cherry tones

Taste: Plum, caramel and Bourbon, forward, with the Bourbon tones building, through mid-palate; through the middle, layers of oak, cherry and coconut flourish; the finish marks a return for the Bourbon and caramel

Mouthfeel: Full bodied with moderate carbonation; warmth in the gullet

Overall: Every time I drink a BSDA, I hearken back to the early days of BA when this was a style to be reckoned with and the Trappist ales were among the top 100; I don't drink the style often these days but it is always fun to try a new one; here, we have the marriage of American Bourbon barrel aging techniques with a traditional Belgian style; we need more creativity like this around the Trappist styles
May 31, 2018
Photo of sunsjammer
Rated by sunsjammer from Arizona

4.46/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Sampled with Arizcards and Maclagerhead on 5/18. Thanks Bro!
May 21, 2018
 
Rated: 4.18 by KensWorld from Florida

Apr 28, 2018
 
Rated: 4.5 by Radcpa from Washington

Apr 18, 2018
 
Rated: 4.19 by bigpoppa67 from Wisconsin

Apr 08, 2018
 
Rated: 3.8 by bigred89 from Maryland

Apr 07, 2018
20th Anniversary Ale from Brewery Ommegang
Beer rating: 94 out of 100 with 62 ratings