Hennepin (Farmhouse Saison) - Brewery Ommegang

hyuga

North Carolina

4.53/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pale golden with a hint of orange, and a white head that stays exceptionally well. The aroma is a spicy sourness that really is refreshing. I definitely detect saaz hops, also some delicate malt character. The flavor starts out quite tart and hoppy, then more hoppy and malty near the middle. There's also a lot of sour fruitiness going on. Grapefruit especially. More delicate malt is detectable, which is a little bready. Even with the hop bitterness, this is very smooth. Great mouthfeel. Sourness and malt in the finish. Great beer! This could be considered a warm weather refresher, but I'm enjoying it on a cool evening, and it's working great. Another one of those beers that I'm very glad to have 750 ml of to enjoy, 12 oz. just wouldn't be enough.

Serving type: bottle

01-20-2003 00:16:09 | More by hyuga

cretemixer

Indiana

3.78/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a cloudy orangish gold with a fairly thin off white head. Reminds me of fresh apple queezins in appearance. Sweet/tart aroma of apples too. Smells tart and yeasty, slight malts too. Citrus hop notes come forward first, slightly dry. Grapefruit tartness. I was expecting more depth and complexity to this brew, but it held back until the finish. It mellowed to a nice balance at the end and the tartness faded to sweet. There was a spotty lace left on the glass, kind of like the beer itself.

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2003 07:19:35 | More by cretemixer

Thrasher

Oregon

4.1/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Have enjoyed this many times but never sat down and tried to describe it. I'm finding it difficult for some reason, I think mostly because there's a lot going on. Shimmering platinum with blossoming head, although I did not experience the retention that many described. A floral, perfumey nose with champagne-like yeasts. Flavors include lemon, white grapes, almonds, apples (yellow or green), spices and pepper, with a quite sour finish. Malts are incredibly delicate and hops only underscore the spices of the big yeast profile. A saison perhaps, but I found this merging into Duvel / pale / tripel territory due to its brightness and zesty lemon flavors, and almost none of the tea or peach flavors that I associate with a saison. I imagine a good meal would bring out the heartier aspects of this brew. As such it remains an excellent US version of a Belgian and surprisingly cooling and refreshing.

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2003 14:56:08 | More by Thrasher

yen157

New Jersey

3.65/5  rDev -12.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Huge off-white head on top of a quite hazy orangish-yellow brew. Sticky pale malt aroma with a healthy dose esters thrown in. Tastes sweet without being overly sweet itself. Flavors like pale malt, honey, vanilla. There was even a tiny toastiness that found its way into my glass. Hop flavor or bitterness wasn’t too prevalent, however there was some pepperiness to the beer. Carbonation was bigger than I’d like and the beer was more viscous than any Saison I’ve come across. Although there was some sourness, there is not as much as I had expected from a beer of this style.

Serving type: bottle

01-06-2003 06:16:24 | More by yen157

mrjimcat

New York

4.05/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

This beer was received as a Christmas gift in the three pack from the Ommegang Brewery. The beer poured quite lively into the glass forming a dense long lasting head with a beautiful color. The overwhelming nose was that of apples. I took some time just enjoying the aroma. The taste on the palate was clean and light with the bitterness being subdued and later. The beer tasted deceptively light for the high alcoholic strength. The finish was short and clean. Before I knew it, the glass was empty. A fine and tasty example of the style.

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2003 18:51:54 | More by mrjimcat

bditty187

Nebraska

4.83/5  rDev +15.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Cloudy, honey-orange, rocky whitish head, laced well. Unrefined honey, light mustiness, and the faintest pepper assembles the organic bouquet of the nose. A fairly potent peppery flavor in the foreground, soothing light banana-honey in the middle, a bite of citrus at the end, tart but not overpowering. Hennepin is a fulfilling quaff without a brawny body, a remarkable accomplishment. Impressively complex, unrefined… raw, yet, unsacrificing towards drinkability. This is too good to be domestic, a gift from the beer Gods. Highly recommend and very worthy of its elite status.

‘Taste’ merits a rating higher than “5”!

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2002 11:32:48 | More by bditty187

49degrees

British Columbia (Canada)

4.47/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

An excellent Belgian styled ale. Pours a medium golden hue complete with very small, champagne like bubbles, and a tight foamy head. Reminscent of the strong belgian beers likes Chimay White or fellow North American brew, the Unibroue Eau Benite.

Incredbly smooth tasting considering its crisp, hoppy characteristics, all of which make this a great choice for those lazy afternoons.

Serving type: bottle

12-25-2002 16:26:29 | More by 49degrees

purplehops

Maine

4.97/5  rDev +18.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Hennepin pours a cloudy honey yellow with a snow white head that billows out of the glass. The head looks of whipped egg whites. Buy the time you finish this ale the glass is covered with foam (it's not really a lace pattern). The aroma is heaven. The first thing you notice is the fruity yeast followed by grains of paradise, orange, lemon, coriander, and hints of alcohol. The taste is very well balanced with the malt flavors up front. This is followed by citrus flavors and spice flavors blending in with the malt and being balanced with the effervescence of this well carbonated ale. The finish is dry with notes of apple and pear and just a hint of hops balanced against the alcohol. The aftertaste is a lingering sweetness with citrus and alcohol notes. The mouthfeel is full and pleasant with effervescent tingling. IMHO this is one of the best Saison's made in the world. It goes great with food or just sipping in the afternoon. Summer or winter.

Serving type: bottle

12-15-2002 12:39:18 | More by purplehops

BeerManDan

California

3.88/5  rDev -7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Started out pouring a nice golden hazy yellow with an average head of foam. The smell and taste was pleasant, but not what I expected. The carbination and bitterness was well balanced, but I was just not impressed with the taste!

Serving type: bottle

12-02-2002 16:57:44 | More by BeerManDan

AtrumAnimus

Texas

4.47/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Cooperstown, NY. - Who would have thought that fine belgian style ales and Tippel style beers could come from there. Well they have.

A very competent brewery when a real sense of tradition and quality. This beer is a fine trippel, extremely drinkable and very well rounded flavour. Medium to light maltiness and a medium hoppiness. Very smooth. The bouquet is excellent. A great beer.

Are we sure this one isn't from Belgium?

Serving type: bottle

12-02-2002 12:37:27 | More by AtrumAnimus

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

4.47/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pale yellowish color. Fresh, floral,citrusy nose, quite like a witbier.Very beautiful, very inviting, who could refuse a sip of a brew so friendly?Taste is extremely satisfying, if lacking depth, but then, like many pretty things, it's not meant to be deep, just delicious, d'lightful, d'lovely!

Serving type: bottle

12-01-2002 17:21:25 | More by feloniousmonk

doho95fu

California

4.7/5  rDev +12.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Very Nice beer. This is the second Ommegang I have tried and now I can't wait to rip into the Rare Vos I have chilling downstairs. The color is a pale orange and the beer is hazy. There is a soapy type head that leaves wide lacing.

The smell is fruity, almost like a Hoegaarden. The taste is great, fruit, a tad of spice, real light for the ABV. Very Drinkable - the 750 was perfect with the Thanksgiving Turkey.

Serving type: bottle

11-29-2002 06:05:15 | More by doho95fu

OatmattStout

Connecticut

4.43/5  rDev +6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Had a 750 ml bottle and this beer was excellent. It poored great with a big foamy, rocky amber head. It has a great fruity, sweet nose. It's taste is malty w/ a honey start that drys a bit on the finish. 7.5% abv but very drinkable and one that I will be drinking regularly when I want an Belgian style ale.

Serving type: bottle

11-23-2002 17:40:25 | More by OatmattStout

Admiraldinty

Massachusetts

4.72/5  rDev +12.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Holy crap! That's all I can say about this beer. It pours a hazy orange, with a thick head. The one overriding flavor theme that I found in this beer, yet no one else has mentioned is apple. Perhaps my tastebuds are screwed up, but everytime I drink this I can swear I taste apples, like in a strong (nay, very strong) cider. It's a shame I've only seen this stuff in four packs.

Serving type: bottle

11-20-2002 20:55:49 | More by Admiraldinty

nathi

Colorado

3.75/5  rDev -10.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Excellent golden color with just a tint of amber, thick head , nice a creamy looking, almost invencable in this tulip glass.

Big aroma, reaches up from the table to you. Very fruity with a strong spicy hop pressence. Sweet malt in back, a bit more then typical for the style. Not as spicy and complex as many, but still big and inviting.

Flavor is malt and fruit at first, but quickly fades into a very dry, spicy, and alcoholic finish. High carbonation dries it out even more. Has a stong citrus rind character with complexity of bannanas and pepper. Almost a berry seed character, interesting. Lots of spicy hop character adds to the overal spicy finish. Pretty bitter for the style, maybe a litle more then I prefer. . The spice comes through in the middle with a hell of a lot of complexity, almost like fresh herb. A lot of pine notes wich is very intersting. After taste is dominated by alcohol, almost grain alcohol like without the complex fruit and spice notess. This higher alcohol character is a big turn off. Also seems a bit tannic, almost oak like in finish. No sourness are tartness, which is fine, but is really a character that I think works well for this style in beers like Pipax and Fantome.

All in all this is a decent beer, with a lot going on, but is not one of the best saisons out there. The finish is disapointing and loses a lot of the complexity. Aroma is great, and appearance is perfect, but just dosnt come all together like some. If you like this try the Fantome Automn, it has the same smoth malt bas and spicy complexity, but just works better and all blends. Dupont, Pipax, Fantome, Pizza Port...all much better.

Serving type: bottle

11-20-2002 17:31:37 | More by nathi

MaineBeerMan

Maine

4.53/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Cloudy light golden color with one of the biggest merangue-like heads ever. The foam could stand almost an inch over the rim of the glass without running down the side and there was plenty of bubling action even though I rinsed the glass twice in anticipation of a frothy beer. The head on this beer left a total curtain of lace down the side opposite the one I drank from.
Aroma was full of fruitiness, with some weizen type banana smells and some peach and grapefruit evident as well. Slightest bit of clove and a dash of grassiness apparent in small low quantities.
The flavor is deeply complex with hints of grassiness, hazelnuts and peach and citrus fruit, as well as a good amount of clove and hints of other spices and a bit of musty yeast.
Very smooth, easy to drink mouthfeel, despite the zesty, high carbonation. It is a tradition in my family to bring a bottle of wine to the Thanksgiving Dinner for all to sample, but I think this year I will surprise them all with a couple of 750 ml. bottles of this. I am sure that they will enjoy it and if you have yet to taste this great beer, you will probably enjoy it too.

Serving type: bottle

10-26-2002 21:16:50 | More by MaineBeerMan

tigerpaws

South Carolina

4.68/5  rDev +12%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

To put it simple Ommegang is one hell of a brewery! This nectar pours a cloudy golden color with a slight head and good lace along the glass. The scent is somewhat of a fruity one but not overly sweet like some Belgians. The taste is perfectly balanced more toward the malty side IMO. And it sits well on the palate, this beer is very drinkable for anyone. I think this is the one i would choose for the uneducated beer drinker to start with, it won't scare them off, and we BA can enjoy it also. I didn't think they could beat Ommegan but I think I loke this one better. I look forward to trying the other beers from this brewery when I can get my hands on them........CHEERS

Serving type: bottle

10-18-2002 15:57:28 | More by tigerpaws

jmatthew

Pennsylvania

4.88/5  rDev +16.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Cloudy golden yellow with a foamy head that pours with the deadly ability to climb with vigor right out of your glass and onto the table. (which happened to me) The bouquet reveals musty fruit with a bit of spice and a slight alcohol presence. The taste is strong at first with a bit of the alcohol up front and a yeasty spiciness which rounds out to reveal a strong fruit presence and some slight hop bitterness that surfaces towards the end. Intense fruit flavors ride out throuh the very long and smooth finish enticing another swill. Well structured with good complexity, very well balanced, and dangerously drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

10-14-2002 09:04:04 | More by jmatthew

Mick

New Jersey

5/5  rDev +19.6%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Realistically one of the best beers on the market today when tallying in so many different factors. Deserving of a 5 across the board.

Translucent yellow allows a nice glare to lighten the contents in the glass. Colossal head frothy, creamy, and sticky. Excellent texture. It not only hangs on to the end, it wonderfully finishes the great story that this beer is.

Fruity and floral aromas; detected a slight hint of banana and or grassy tones.

Very complex body, very complex beer. At times fuller and chunky, at other times lighter and somewhat sweet. To call it excellent is an understatement. One of the best beers I have ever had.

Serving type: bottle

10-07-2002 10:41:05 | More by Mick

whit

Texas

4/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Nice and warm. This beer is well balanced--the strong malt flavor blends well with the bitterness and subtle hop flavor. Has a slight spicy/phenolic character, but not overwhelming. Alcohol is nocibaly present at first, but fades. Very complex, but no particular aspect dominates. Thany you sir...may I have another.

Serving type: bottle

09-17-2002 04:53:08 | More by whit

StevieW

Florida

4.22/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Initially a shiny clear yellow color, bottle swirl produces the famialer cloudy yellow. Highly charged, bubbly white head, faded fast, but left a small film of lace. Smelled everything from honey, citrus, pepper, and spices. Taste was deeply inticing, new tastes on every sip. Sweet, crisp tart citrus and honey to start. As the beer warmed, more subtle peppery tastes emerge, then noticable alcohol warming takes place. Noticable abv warms you as you drink, every sip is a new taste combination. Good beer to finish the evening. I'm very Impressed this one, and will seek it out again.

Serving type: bottle

09-16-2002 15:06:56 | More by StevieW

BeerAngel

Texas

3.9/5  rDev -6.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a pale yellow "wine-like" color with a white 2 finger head. The smell is that of a sweet and extremely lemony aroma (to me anyway). The taste is that of a semi-sweet fruity tast with a spiciness that is just right. The mouthfeel is a little sticky, but not a problem. Overall, I like this brew.
A Votre Sante or Cheers or sumthin'!

Serving type: bottle

08-24-2002 14:31:21 | More by BeerAngel

BillyBrew

Maine

4.43/5  rDev +6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

As a new drinker of theses Belgo/Franco brews, I say this is a fantastic number. Orangey-brown colour with a massive, foamy, sticky, chunky head that slowy reduces to a heavy blanket of snow. Beautiful nose of honey and light banana and slight alcoholic tones. Earthy tastes with a slight malty graininess, cloves, fruity bananas and nuttiness. Medium, foggy-mouthed body that remains dry with little after tase on the palate.

Looks beautiful, smells soothing, tastes smooth and feels comforting and luscious. What can else can I say? Please drink. Cheers!

Serving type: bottle

08-15-2002 18:27:48 | More by BillyBrew

Murph

Arizona

4.8/5  rDev +14.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Pours a hazy golden color with a decent creamy white head that never fully sinks and leaves a decent lace down the glass. Huge bubblegum, banana and other lighter fruits, and spicy pepper dominate the smell. The taste starts off with some great light fruity flavors that is mostly dominated by banana with some possible peach and orange. About half way through the brew gets nicely spicy with some good peppery qualities to it. Excellently creamy and smooth but also fairly refreshing and excelently drinkable with a medium body to it. This is one damn fine brew and I can't wait to get my hands on some more.

Serving type: bottle

08-14-2002 23:01:15 | More by Murph

mophie

Delaware

4.58/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Coudy golden-orange, with billowy pure white head that sticks around for the long haul. Beautiful. Spicy banana aromas, very complex. Taste is herbal hops, pepper, clove, banana, candied ginger, caramelized orange rind, pear -- it's all in there! High carbonation creates a playful feeling on the tongue, and balances nicely with the spicy and oh-so-bitter finish. This is a damn good beer.

Serving type: bottle

08-09-2002 19:25:39 | More by mophie