I recently made a weekend trip through Upstate New York, which ended with a visit to the ever so wonderful National Baseball Hall of Fame. Any sports fan or avid history and culture connoisseur should pay a visit to the Hall of Fame and the cute and quaint community of Cooperstown. The New York State landscape is very breathtaking in the hills, mountains and lakes of the Catskills.
Cooperstown is building another claim to fame of being a great craft beer town as well due to the great farm to table ingredients and travelers making their baseball pilgrimage to the Hall of Fame. One of my favorite breweries resides in the foothills not more than 3 or 4 miles from the hallowed halls of America’s favorite pastime. In the rolling hills of Cooperstown, New York lies Brewery Ommegang.
First, I would like to wish Ommegang a happy 30th anniversary as the time of writing of this post. They were founded in 1995, and this post is March 2025. The 136 acre size of the brewery resembles that more of a chateau or villa of a fine winery, but it is distinctively a craft beer haven. They are best known for Belgian style abbey ales, tripels and quads. And they are liberal with the ABV strength. Many beers here will pack a punch of 8% or higher.
The noteworthy beers to try are the Three Philosophers, a near 10% quad and kreik blend, Abbey Ale, Gnommegang Belgian Blonde Ale and several year round and many more limited releases that keep the taplines fresh. The café and restaurant are lively filled with music, trivia and a lot of other participation style events that make the tasting rooms friendly and social.
The staff perhaps is the best part of the brewery. In addition to master craftsmen who are excellent at the brewing arts, the servers and bartenders are friendly, knowledgeable and often engage in the musical and trivia acts of the day. They re approachable and full of good food and beer pairing suggestions.
Ommegang owes its name to an old Brussel festival started in medieval Belgium in 1549. Holy Roman Emperor Charles V visited Brussels and coronated a festival called “Ommegang” or to wander around, which is still celebrated in both Brussels and at Ommegang Brewery every summer. In upcoming posts will be a few reviews of my two favorite ales from Ommegang. Cheers und proost!
