I like stouts. I like chocolate. I love chocolate stouts. Brewery Ommegang is one of my favorite breweries out there. They make readily available and fairly inexpensive beers that are damn good. I’ve been wanting to try Chocolate Indulgence for a while, and during a trip to the brewery this past October, I picked a bottle up. It’s been sitting in the cellar since, and I’m ready to drink it now. What am I expecting? With a name like Chocolate Indulgence, I want it to be like eating a chocolate bar while drinking a very good stout. I am ready to begin.

Into my pint glass (I have a Chocolate Indulgence chalice, not sure why I didn’t pour it into that) the beer pours a pitch black, with a really nice cascading two finger tan head. Aroma is not really strong, some roasted malts are present. No chocolate. Uh-oh. Unfortunately, chocolate seems to be lacking in the flavor department. Flavor is sweet, with a slight roasted taste.  Other than that, there isn’t much else. Body is medium to full. Carbonation is low.

Overall, the beer itself isn’t bad. I think where Ommegang went wrong is the name and the style. First off, Chocolate Indulgence invokes visions and dreams of delicious chocolate syrup pouring from a bottle. I can’t detect a hint of chocolate. Secondly, I don’t consider this to be a stout. To me, it is more like a porter. It’s not that heavy, it doesn’t have that roasted, burnt flavor often found in stouts. Even on BeerAdvocate it’s listed as a Belgian Strong Dark. It’s a good beer, just change the name. C’mon Ommegang! You guys make great beers, tweak this recipe, give everyone the Chocolate Indulgence they crave and deserve!

French translation courtesy of Google. Blame them if it’s wrong. Welcome to the second part of the review of Brewery Ommegang’s Three Philosophers. Part 1 can be read here, written by Clubby. At the time, I never thought I was going to review this beer. Tonight, however, I decided, hey, it’s in the fridge, I’m thirsty, I need to review something, let me tell everyone my take on this beer. I’ve had it before. It is wonderful. I can’t wait. But I must, I need to let it warm a bit before I begin to drink. While I am waiting I’d like to tell you a bit about this beer. As you may have read in Clubby’s review, he talked about a painting by Giorgione. While they do share the same name, it is not what the beer was named after. I recently took a trip to Ommegang, and during the tour they said the three silhouettes on the bottle were the current and former brewmasters of Ommegang, and the brewmaster of  Duvel. I think. I could be slightly off, I drank a lot of samples that day. But I am definitely more accurate than Clubby. Three Philosophers is a blend of a quadrupel, which is a full bodied malty Belgian ale, and a Kriek, which is a cherry lambic. The two blended together create a wonderful ale. OK, the beer is a good temperature now. First, the obligatory picture that I haven’t included in a while, then the review.

That’s a big picture! Upon popping the cork, a sweet aroma with cherries emerged. An off white, 1 finger head was present. Color is similar to a Coke, with a reddish tint. Aroma was the same that came from the bottle. Taste is everything that was expected. Very sweet and malty, with a tart cherry flavor. Cherries are more of a background flavor, which is great. The quadruple is allowed to come through as the star. Every sip amazes me how the cherry is not there, but there at the same time. It is definitely full bodied, medium to high carbonation.

Absolutely awesome. What makes this better is the whole 750ml is mine. Like Clubby said in his review, some beers out there overdo it with the cherries. Ommegang found the perfect ratio of quad and Kriek, creating a myriad of flavors in one’s mouth. I must go now, for I have about half of the bottle left. Good night world!

Yes, I know it has been a while since I have contributed to the website. I’m sorry Greg. I have been quite busy with my MLB 07 the Show. My player, Joe Random, was sent down to AA and I was far too upset to be reviewing beers for a silly old website. There are more important things in life. There is knowledge to be learned, and reality to be lived. Poor Joe Random.

Anyway, there is a beer I would like to review. The name of this beer is Three Philosophers Belgian Style Blend by Ommegang. It is named after the famous painting by Giorgione. This painting, according to interpretation, did not show the three Magi facing Jesus’ grotto, as many in the homosexual community were hoping.  But, rather, represented the three stages of human thought. The Renaissance, the Muslim Expansion Age, and the Middle Ages.

This brew, as well, is art demonstrating different stages of delicious beer. A wonderful Quadrupel, a blend of a deliciously malty Belgian-style ale, and a classic Belgian cherry-lambic.

For the picture, I was trying to make amends for my absence. Considering there is one other person reading this, I made sure to include 2 big balls in the picture. You know you like it Greg, you grotto facer.

Poured into the biggest, yet most appropriate glass possible (see picture), with a 2-3 finger, extremely light tan head. Lacing was grand as we should expect from a brew of this caliber. The aroma was quite mouth watering. Easiest way to describe it would be, a spicy Belgian strong with a slight hint of cherry. The medium-heavy body is slightly filling (I’m fat…so it may fill others more quickly), but the slight warmth from the alcohol makes it hard to stop drinking on a chilly night such as this. It is spice, it is sweet but balanced, it is cherries and belgian grains! Yet, I hate to even mention cherries, as many beers I have had have overdone it with cherries, making it like childrens medicine. Ommegang does it to perfection. For a brew with a 9.8% ABV, it is scary how drinkable it is! It is absolutely delicious.BEER

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