Keep It Crunchy
Brewery Ommegang

 

 

 

Pours a dark cola-colored brown that forms a half-inch khaki head that is slow to dissipate, leaving behind solid lacing and superior retention. The aromas are dominated by oats, roasted malts, nuts, hints of vanilla and cacao. Taste is roasted malt, pecans, cacao nibs, vanilla, hints of honey and brown sugar. The can claims cranberries but I could not detect any fruit flavors. Medium body. A fine oatmeal stout, but it lacks some of the boldness that separates the great stouts. Still, a fine treat at good cost.

 

An OK brew, but I usually expect to get blown away by Ommegang beers!!!! Poured from a 16 oz can into a pint glass, this beer was looking good!! A dense black color with some reddish highlights coming through. The head was big, frothy and khaki colored with good retention and broken bands of foamy lacing on the glass. Taste and aroma were pretty average: some bready malt, a little vanilla and a grainy "breakfast cereal" like aspect. On the whole, rather undistinguished!!! Mouthfeel was rich enough for the style, a little alcohol warming (but no "burn" or harshness) and otherwise smooth. I just didn't think there was enough here, especially from Ommegang!!!

This version is 9%. Pours an inky black with a finger of brown head. Reduces to a thin ring and a decent cap. Nose is cola, baked bread, and honey granola. Taste follows suit with a coffee bitterness finish. Feel is medium thick with a good carb bite making it nearly effervescent. Overall, a good experience if only slightly above average.

What the heck happened to Ommegang?I never had a bad beer from them until last year.However,had their Three Philosophers last year,which I buy every year,but I wasn't impressed for some reason.Now,my wife has their Keep It Crunchy Stout....its ok,but not anywhere near what I would expect from this brewery.And,it has caramel color added(right on the can).If I had seen that,I wouldn't have allowed it to be bought.
Looks good,dark and brown.Smell,inoffensive,sweet,no complexity at all.Taste is inoffensive,vanilla forward,no complexity as it moves down the tongue.Lots of oats?, feels thin to me.Overall,inoffensive,nothing bad,but a mediocre beer at a premium pricepoint.

 

Not sure if I should tell everyone what I tasted here as I drank it past the BB date, so I will just state that this should be consumed fresh, not cellared.
Wasn’t bad at all, just no flavors listed still remain, save the vanilla which was actually bitter.
Drink fresh!

 

 

It is what it says it is, just not what I am looking for in a beer.

 

 

Black in color with minimal light penetration. There’s a quarter inch of creamy brown on top. Moderate, soapy lacing is present. The aroma is of caramel, toffee, cranberries, pecan, cocoa, and dark malt. I’m tasting caramel, toffee, pecans, and cranberries. The mouth is smooth and dry.

Heavy malt aroma from this stout. Black pour with a fairly large beige head that eviscerated to a lacing. Aroma is
certainly a bit granola in nature with plentiful oat aromas though the vanilla and cranberries are subdued. The pecan is present and there's certainly cocoa nibs present, specifically in the bit of bitter notes permeating through this one while drinking. The honey is indiscernible, save for some lingering notes in the aftertaste. It's a good stout, and while it seems packed with adjuncts they really bow down to the oats and stout essence itself and act secondary to the beer's style rather than taking on prominent notes.
BB of 6/16/22 on can and consumed on 6/16/22.

16 oz can enjoyed about one month prior to the June 2022 BB date stamped on the bottom of the can.

Appearance. The clear but dark reddish-brown body is topped with a good off-white head.

Although the ABV of this stout is 'only' 6.5% it drinks like a bigger imperial stout. There's plenty of flavor, in clouding both sweetness and a more dominant piney bitterness. Tasting all Idaho brings hints of roasted nuts, chocolate, and vanilla.

Mouthfeel. Fairly smooth full body with near medium carbonation.

 

Poured from a can into a pint glass
Appearance – The beer pours a very dark brown color with a head of billowy off-white foam. The head has a decent level of retention, fading over time to leave a light level of foamy lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell – The aroma is strong of a milk chocolate and roasted malt smell mixed with some oat and grainy aromas. Along with these smells comes notes of honey and caramel as well as a little bit of a vanilla and a touch of nuttiness.
Taste – The taste begins with a nice mix of roast and oat, that is accented by flavors of a cocoa and a bit of nuttiness. Sweet flavors of a caramel and brown sugar nature back the tastes, with all the aforementioned flavors fading slightly as the taste advances. At the same time other flavors of vanilla and honey seem to increase, along with a light, slightly bitter cranberry flavor coming to the tongue. With a little bit of graininess and an increase in the roast, one is left with a somewhat drier than expected, nicely roasted taste to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is medium in thickness and creaminess with a carbonation level that is average. A little thicker body would have been slightly better, but overall, pretty decent.
Overall – A rather decent oatmeal stout with an easy drinking nature. At least worth a try.

L: pours cola black with a nice tall dark tan head. Head disappates after about a minute.
S: oats and honey granola bar with notes of malt.
T: chocolate and coffee up front, honey oats and vanilla come in afterwards.
F: medium body up front, doesn't hold up too long as it warms. Not an unpleasant texture, but didn't hold up to what the smell and taste offered.
O: A pleasant stout, the granola flavorings play nicely with the traditional coffee and cocoa.

 

 

Haven’t had an Ommegang beer in ages as this was available via a single can at Gary’s in Wayne. This wasn't the type of beer that I was accustomed to from these guys and after having it, it was a bit easy to see why. No, this wasn't a disappointment but it wasn't as crunchy as I hoped as this was a bit too cluttered and unfocused on me. Sure, I ended up going to 10 National Parks not too long after buying this as this would have been great to have on the trail but was it like a crunchy granola beer that was fermented? Not quite...

Too much carbonation was apparent in the pour as there was a ton of head and bubbles left on the side of my glass. Loads of tart cherries and cranberries, as well as honey and pecan were in the nose as the taste was just as thin, fruity, and subtly sweet. A bit more oats and malt would have made this truly crunchy but as it was, this felt like a thin Stout with a strong, nutty undertone that made this feel drier than it should have been. More grain, chocolate, and malt would have enhanced this as the pecan and vanilla undertones made this feel like a novelty beer and not a Stout that I'd reach for again.

The alcohol was subdued and I kept waiting for the crunchy, granola-natured aspect of this brew to take hold, but it never did. At least I had it by the "BEST BY" date of 6/27 that was printed on the bottom of the can, and the artwork was quite lovely, but I'd sooner reach for an energy bar to meet my craving than have this again. Worth a go once for the trail, but a chaser of water and maybe even a stronger beer to finish off with would be called for after having this. Crunchy, this was not...

 

Pours an effervescent cola/hazel color with 2+ fingers of tan, a bit of a gusher. Good lacing & slightly above average head retention

S: Cocoa, nutttyness

T: Follows the nose, some caramel, a little dryness, some vanilla notes as well up front. Powdery cocoa as this warms, some sweet nuttyness, vanilla. Finishes sweet, nutty, with a little cocoa & vanilla, plus a touch of carob

MF: Medium body, fairly firm carbonation. Body thins out a bit as it warms

Solid, pretty darn drinkable, but not one I'd buy again

 

 

 

A - Dark brown pour with tan colored lacing.

S - Pecan, vanilla, light toasted malt all wrapped into an aromamatic sweetness.

T - Very delicate toasted malt, caramel, vanilla, and pecan and ends well balanced with a lingering light chocolate roast.

M - Medium body that's dry on the very back of the tongue while the rest of the mouth waters.

O - This is a really easy drinking stout. Enjoyable and recommended.

 

 

Pours dark. Tan foam. Sweet aroma. Big cocoa body. Pecans and vanilla. Sweet finish. A little bitter. Pretty good. Worth a taste.

When a pint can of this was emptied into a clear glass liter mug, it was ridiculous. Albeit; the temperature of the can's contents were close to room temperature, but this is an unexpected result of a reasonable pour. Immediately, two thirds of the vessel is full with foam. It takes a second pour to fit the contents of a pint can into a liter sized vessel. There's something wrong there. As almost always, a big starchy and foamy head recedes unevenly and is unattractive. Once again, wheat in the wort is the likely culprit. As the head recedes, there's an irregular and unappealing glass lacing. Once getting passed the distraction of that visual mess, the body is a dense dark chocolate color. The head is biege, but unattractive, even if some of it endures. The smell is malty first, but not in the roasted malt way. There's also a hint of some grains, likely oats. Soft, almost flat to the palate, this is drinkable, but hardly outstanding. Of all the listed inclusive flavors, it's the pecan that stands out at the finish. Certainly, cocoa is there, too, with a balance of vanilla. The cranberry probably adds a level of tartness and even the honey sweetness is subdued. Overall, this is a muddled mess. With only hints of the array of flavoring ingredients and without any one being outstanding, there seems no purpose for this concoction. It's not nearly as grainy to taste as it could be, the inclusion flavors are hard to find (maybe not a bad thing) and it's a little flat across the tongue. There's nothing here that's crunchy, just a marginally decent brew.

i have to open by saying its so weird to see an ommegang beer with "caramel color" and "pecan flavor", i know them for bottle conditioned, mega authentic belgian stuff, so this sort of thing seems like a major departure, not just because its an adjunct stout, but because it appears to be somewhat cheap in the ingredient sense, no pecans just pecan flavor, and who need caramel color in a stout? are we skimping on dark grain? are we meant to see caramel though black? it just doesnt make sense. now that said, i think this is very tasty beer, impressive even, and its true to the theme of the granola, with even a little appreciable dried cranberry tang in nose and taste, plenty of dark and bakers chocolate character swirling among the dark malts, and the oat aspect here is real both in texture and flavor, even some honey sweetness permeating, it comes together well. sexy in the glass too, and funky can, obsidian black with the same shine, airy tan head, wonderful retention, high roast in the nose with good espresso character and more from the chocolate. the cranberry part is subtle but appreciable, and its neat with the pecan, whether its natural or not, the proportions are great, these are all little flashes and accents, nothing overdone. full and creamy from the oats, drier at the end than it starts with the honey and indeed some definite caramel flavor to me, good low end roasty bitterness though too, and its not overly desserty. impressive quality still, even though this is a weird look for ommegang, neat to see them branching out i guess, but its a slipper slope. hopefully their next new beer is something bottle conditioned and old worldy, got to stay true to the roots! fun stuff though, better than other granola inspired beers ive had in the past...

L: Dark brown/black, nice big head.
S: Vanilla forward, coffee/chocolate dark malt on nose. Didn't get pecans (?) on nose?
T: Dark malt roast. Didn't get as much sweetness as was anticipating from vanilla smell. Pecans? (Brain not trying hard enough?).
F: Medium body, medium/light carbonation ...fitting for it's look.
O: I'd buy it again.. at right price (and refrigerated). This time around decent price since comes 16x4 (w/ usual west coast markup)

 

Aroma is nuts/granola, dark malts and dark fruit. The flavor is dark fruit, granola, dark malts and a tart/acidic/dry finish.

3/1/22 Jet black with a tan head. Tastes of chocolate granola with vanilla overtones. Moderate sweetness. Not bad but hoped for more.

Ommegang Keep It Crunchy Granola Stout, 6.5% ABV. Pours dark black with a foamy 4+ finger light brown head that left decent lacing. Nose is faint granola/nuts, taste follows, plus malt, no sweetness, moderate bitterness. Decent mouthfeel, smooth due to oats, dry finish. Overall very good. Hardly any granola compared to other beers I've had, notably Drekkers, where they use it to simulate pie crust. Wasn't crunchy.