Ommegeddon Funkhouse Ale

I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for Brewery Ommegang, since they produce Hennepin Farmhouse Saison, the first beer I had to pop a cork to get to. Since then I’ve tried pretty much every style produced by this Belgian inspired New York brewery, including a few limited editions served at festivals. And feeling particularly festive on the night after the presidential elections I picked up a bottle of the only style I had not yet tried, the slightly pricy Ommegeddon Funkhouse Ale; a golden ale with some extra off-notes provided by Brettanomyces yeast. Also it has a big mushroom cloud on the label, and I’m a sucker for a good label and clever name.

Ommegeddon pours a slightly clouded golden orange with a high and thick head of tiny white bubbles that take a while to disappear and coat the glass as they recede. The beer smelled strongly of citrus and cloves with some fungal and hay funk hiding behind the more powerful foreground.

In taste the acidity and spice are the most prominent elements as well. Those cloves I spoke about are still very much present with some green apple, cinnamon and lemongrass. The funky yeast is more of an afterthought, a little bit of cheese that comes off as entirely inoffensive. Also the alcohol content is moderately high (8%) but not extreme, so you never get any of that annoying Listerine effect that some beers have.

Really a great option and it was enthusiastically enjoyed by my girlfriend who is not the biggest drinker of craft beers. The price is probably going to keep me away from buying more of this in the immediate future but it is one more excuse to get together some people and have a good Brewery Ommegang taste test, or maybe I’ll just curl up with a bottle of Three Philosophers and call it a night.