Cave-Aged for Christmas

Christmas beers are nothing new to the craft brewing scene. Many U.S. brewers release xmas brews, usually something overloaded with spices. Brewers around the world also contribute to the holiday beer selection list, though like Samual Smith of England many focus not on spices but extra heartiness to compliement the food and temperatures of the season. Some Belgian breweries that offer such a beer take this sort of approach. They may be somewhat spiced, but subtilly, producing a flavor detail.

So what does it mean to offer an xmas beer? Really it just means you have something special to celebrate the season with those who enjoy your beer. That could mean spicing or increasing your gravity or hopping rate, or it could mean something else. This year, Ommegang is something else.

A festival that occurred in Cooperstown a while back made sure to have plenty of Hennepin available for their patrons. Most was consumed, the little that was left went in a cellar and sat.

And sat.

A year later it resurfaced, and the people who make Ommegang great were there to see how it fared. After all, the brewery hasn't been around all that long, opportunities to evalute aged Ommegang and Hennepin have been scarce. And the controlled temperature of the basement where the leftovers had been stored made this an opportunity indeed. So what was the result of this tasting?

Some beers age gracefully, some do not. There are a couple of factors, alcohol level being one, general complexity being another. Ommegang's beers are pretty big in both areas. Ommegang and Hennepin both use a significant mix of spices, though not in such a way where they become individually recognizable. Still, when you spice, things tend to change over time.

Don described year old Hennepin as being somewhat honey-like or "meadish" (mead is a honey-based fermented product). He hestiated in referring to it's clarification, being careful not to limit the implication of that to merely settling of yeast. It was more a referrence to it's "coming together".

"You know when you tap a glass with a fork and it makes a higher pitched thud, but when you tap crystal it make a delicate and resonating 'dingggggg'?" Don asks. "That's what happens to properly aged Hennepin. It's lightly spiced flavor evolves into a tightened, delicate complexity".

To accomplish proper aging the storage facility is crutial. Mr. Feinberg is a big enthusiast of local heritage and resources, and found the perfect storage site in Howe Caverns. With a constant temperature of 52F, the New York state cave complex was perfect - and proprietors were delighted to help! So together, on February 15th, they lowered 280 cases of Hennepin 156 feet into the cavern depths and bid it goodnight. Like the ancient monks of Chinese legend, Hennepin will find itself during its patient solitude. As the Christmas season nears, it will be retrieved, labeled "Grisette" and distributed as best as 280 cases of a popular beer can!

So why "Grisette"?

In Belgium, saison - the style designation of Hennepin - is a regional creation. Different areas even have their own words for saison. Of these, the one that seemed to fit best was Grisette, which translates to young woman - and as such represents coming of age.

The last thing I needed to know, was why Hennepin, why not bigger Ommegang?

The saison's bigger abbey-style brother would in some ways be a better choice, but it had one failing. Because of it's greater intensity a year is not enough. In my adventures as a brewer, I have discovered some beers start nice, take a dive then after a while come back stronger than ever. This is the situation with Ommegang. It's been around just long enough for it's evolutionary cycle to have been observed. After a year, it is not as good as it could be, perhaps not even as good as a younger bottle. To be of Christmas beer caliber it needs two years. So maybe in 2003!

But be warned, with only 280 cases sleeping in the depths of Howe Caverns there won't be alot to go around. It will be distributed sparingly within the U.S. mid Atlantic region, the closer you get to the brewery, the greater the odds of finding it. Try to pin some down, I know when I see it I'm going to run away with all I can.

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