What's on tap: Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence is one sweet stout
Article Tools
For What's On Tap, we speak to people for whom beer is life—brewers, bar owners, writers, and so on—about a specific beer, be it one they've made or one they just happen to enjoy. Up now is Phil Leinhart, brewmaster of Ommegang Brewery in Cooperstown, N.Y. The subject: an occasional stout called Chocolate Indulgence.
"The Chocolate Indulgence first came out to celebrate our 10-year anniversary in 2007. We wanted to try to marry two great Belgian products, beer and chocolate. It’s a stout, or close to a stout; it has the same roasted malts and roasted barley as a stout, but it’s heavily hopped and fairly bitter. We also add some Belgian chocolate into the process at various points.
"In creating a beer, of importance to me is balance. That the sweetness of the malts is balanced by either the degree of fermentation, the bitterness of the hops, or the astringency of spices—balance is key. Brewing is all about taste—tasting the raw ingredients, the water, the beer in process, the finished beer. With Chocolate Indulgence, we use a powdered dark chocolate, but this year I reformulated a little bit to use nibs. It seems to give a little bit of a deeper and richer chocolate flavor.
"Next year we’re going to start it as a seasonal beer—we’re currently brewing it off and on. We’re going to be putting out six seasonal beers, and Chocolate Indulgence is going to be the first, so it’s going to hit bars in January. Next year we’re going to do 85 hectalitres, so about 72 barrels, or about 2,245 gallons of beer. Compared to some more permanent products of ours, that’s not much beer—we’re going to make about 60,000 gallons of the Rare Vos [an amber ale], for example.
"I’ve been in the industry since 1984, and a lot of things about Ommegang are special. Its location is unique and special. The area [Cooperstown, N.Y.] has a strong tie to the brewing industry, and in the 1800s this is where the hops were grown. The building itself is beautiful and is styled like a Belgian farmhouse. All the beers are Belgian-style or Belgian-inspired, and we’re owned by a Belgian brewery, Duvel, which gives us a certain uniqueness."
Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence can be found at a number of bars in New York, including Mug's Ale House (125 Bedford Ave., Williamsburg, 718-486-8232) and The Habitat (988 Manhattan Ave., Greenpoint, 718-383-5615).
