Three Philosophers - Blueberry Coffee
Brewery Ommegang

Dark brown. Nice, beige head. Dark fruits, coffee, raisins, blueberries and malt in the aroma. Balanced taste with coffee notes on top of classic Three Philosophers. Moderately sweet. Pleasant and warm.

 

 

 

 

Poured into a teku glass from the can.

Appearance: Slight hazy dark amber colored beer with an off-white head rising half a fingers length off the body which settles super quickly after the first pour.

Smell: Fruity aroma consisting of mixed berries and banana skin with a yeast aroma.

Taste: Not too bitter, light yeast and almost like a hoppy sweet. Very smooth and evident in alcohol.

Mouth: Light-medium carbonation, perfect balance that just compliments the taste.

Overall: Very good beer, personally I prefer the original even though this one has some coffee notes which are slightly bland to the body. Always in a glass salud!

 

12 oz bottle, born on 8/19/2020, poured into an Omme Gang tulip glass at 55 degrees F:
L - caramel with a hazelnut head that lingered
S - blueberry and biscuit
T - blueberry with a light quad taste in the background. Cherry and a bit of toffee and biscuit
F - medium mouthfeel and carbonation
O - a bit too fruity for my taste, the first of four 3 Philosopher variants from the cellar

 

Ommegang Blueberry Coffee Three Philosophers Quad, 9.7% ABV. Pours opaque brown with a 3+ finger beige head that left some lacing. Nose is coffee and blueberry. Taste is coffee all over the place, with vague fruit in the background that is probably blueberry and cherry, slightly tart, no sweetness, moderate coffee bitterness. Decent mouthfeel, overall good.

I've actually never been a huge Three Philosophers fan, but the idea of this beer being combined with blueberry coffee felt just weird enough to work in my opinion, so I picked up a single of this one to see how it is.

3P is already a blend of quad and kriek ale (though the blend is pretty amusing, I think it's like 98% quad and 2% kriek or something), so adding flavored coffee to it is a bizarre and intriguing idea. The pour here has a very odd color; kind of a muddy brownish hue with a distinct ruddiness to it. The head is a quickly-forming and rather retentive khaki color with nice stability to it. Great surface coverage, too, and the lace is consistent enough to remark on. Not sure about the color of this one, but everything else about it is great, aesthetically-speaking.

The nose starts off with some brown bread, chocolate, and a mix of raspberry and cherry with some light roasty notes and a subtle Belgian yeast-driven funk kicking around. Hints of brown sugar, a bit of yeasty chalkiness, light baking spice, and finally some blueberry as it opens up a bit. Earthiness and some more sweet-ish malt undertones as it warms as well.

First sip is oddly-satisfying, with flavors of blueberry and cherry melding well with some roasty coffee, cocoa powder, and chewy malt notes. Kind of a biscuity and flavorful grain profile with bright berries mixed in. Actually tastes pretty good, and in a sense, I prefer this so far to the original 3P (though it's honestly been years since I've had the base beer) because there is a good bit of complexity rather than it just being a slightly-fruitier version of a boring quad. That said, there is still a little bit of a cough syrup taste to it that comes out at times, and even the cool blueberry coffee element doesn't mask that.

Feel is somewhere between being lively and being on the chewier end of things. The yeast does drive some of the flavors and, indeed, it also influences the mouthfeel quite a bit, but it's definitely less expressive than some actual Belgian quads, which works in this particular variant's flavor because it doesn't feel overly-pushy. Carbonation is mostly a light prickle that nevertheless possesses a solid follow-through all the way to the finish, where it ends semi-sweet and earthy with a parting berry note that feels appropriate. I have a chocolate version of 3P that I may open up later on just to compare with this.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poured from a bottle into a chalice glass

Appearance – The beer pours a rusty brown color with a one finger head of tan colored foam. The head has a decent level of retention, fading over time to leave a good sum of foamy lace on the sides of the glass.

Smell – The aroma of the brew is strong of a blueberry and cherry smell mixed with aromas of toasted malt and a bit of Belgium spice (coriander and clove). Along with these smells comes notes of a light coffee aroma as well as a decent showing of some funky and hay smells.

Taste – The taste begins with a rather big showing of lightly toasted malt flavor mixed with some cherry sweetness and a decent hit of candied sugar and some yeast and spice (coriander and clove). As the taste advances, notes of blueberry and coffee come to the tongue, with the former increasing in intensity as the taste advances, while the later remains light throughout the flavor profile. At the same time some of the funky and lightly sour tastes detected in the nose come to the tongue, bringing on the kriek flavors of the brew. At the end, the blueberry surpasses the cherry tastes, and while not heavy, it combines with the toasted malt and kriek flavors to leave one with a fruity quad/kriek taste to linger on the tongue.

Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is on the medium side in terms of thickness and chewiness with a carbonation level that is rather average to slightly higher. For the mix of fruitiness and funkiness, the feel is great and makes for a nice sipper overall.

Overall – Not much coffee in this one, which actually I think does the brew well. The blueberry mixed well with the cherry and the funk to produce a nice smooth sipper overall. A tasty and fun renditioning of the original.

 

True quad. Full, lasting head. Blueberry notes as expected. Not a coffee drinker and noted others downplayed coffee notes. I, however, did find coffee notes which diminished appeal to me. Despite that, was still an enjoyable beer although not my particular cup of tea.