Review Date 7/14/2011
Try?
Re-buy?
Not all that long ago, I walked into my local Sherlock’s liquor store in Kennesaw, Georgia in search of beer. Shopping for beer is always an event to look forward to, of course, and I get excited each time I go. Sue me, I’m a geek, but there it is. I picked up a bomber of Jailhouse Midnight Black from a local Georgia brewery (ouch, $8.98 for a 22 ounce bottle), a four-pack of Widmer Pitch Black IPA (same price for four 12-ounce bottles) and a few other beers. When I happened upon a bottle of Ommegang Gnomegang, though, I drew the line. At $12.98 for a 750 ml bottle it just seemed a bit much.
To be fair, I’ve paid more for beers before. Maybe it’s because Ommegang beers have always been such a bargain that I was averse to this one. Some still are, and I can still get a 750 of classic Ommegang for $6.50 or so, a real bargain. I think, though, the general direction of beer prices (up and up for craft brews) was part of the problem. That’s not to say that I have a problem with paying more for premium beers; I don’t. The brewer has to eat too, after all.
These days, however, those prices seem to be increasing out of pace with reality. At the end of the day, any accounting of a beer has to be done first by style, but also by price. Price is always a factor for me when I try a new beer and consider it for a re-buy. If you read one of my reviews and you don’t hear me yak too much about the price, then it’s probably about average. If it’s too high, and you can get another beer of the same style and quality for the same price, I’ll tell you. If the beer has a lower than average price and is a great buy, I’ll let you know that too. Everybody loves cheap beer, as long as its still good beer.
Some reviewers that rely mainly on free samples won’t factor price into their ruminations. How can they if they didn’t buy the beer? Such reviews are always suspect in my mind anyway, as I wonder that the reviewer has to be at least somewhat positive to keep the gravy train flowing. It’s why newspaper restaurant reviewers always remain anonymous; they want the same treatment and quality of menu selection that anybody would get.
“Ok, now!” you say. “Get off your soap box Bruguru and tell us just how you’re going to review this beer if you haven’t tried it!”
Fair enough. The simple answer is, of course, I did try it. There I was, you see, sitting at my local Taco Mac enjoying a beer, when they announced that this beer had just been tapped. Feeling a little guilty that I hadn’t bought it in the first price, I ordered up a glass. It was even pricier on tap, of course, $8.50 for a meager 11 ounce pour. I bit the bullet, paid the piper, and drank the beer.
And it was very, very good actually. Gnomegang is more than an Ommegang beer, it was brewed as a collaboration with Brasserie D’Achouffe in Belgium. Thus the “gnome” connection, as gnomes are the signature mascot of that brewery. The beer is a Belgian Strong Golden/Blonde ale in style. It has an alcohol content of 9.5% by volume, has a grain bill of Carapils, Special B and Pilsner malts along with flaked oats and flaked red wheat, is hopped 3 separate times with Saaz variety, and has 19 IBUs of bitterness. It’s fermented first with a house yeast strain from D’Achouffe, then again with one from Ommegang.
My glass arrived deep golden in color with a very light creamy head formation and a towering rocky foam nose packed with funky belgian yeastiness. A fine layer of Brussels lace clings to the sides of my stemmed tulip glass as the liquid descends. Taking a sip, the rich light crackery malt quickly yields to fruity pineapple, sweet rock candy and Belgian yeasty funk. Later that yeastiness intensifies in the finish, finally lingering on the palate for a time. The beer has a long dry and somewhat warming alcohol finish, though not really a bitter hop one.
Gnomegang is a truly delicious beer, one I would certainly enjoy again were it not for the prohibitive price. A beer worthy of 4 ½ to 5 stars, I rather give it 4 simply because of the hefty case of sticker shock is provides in both bottle and glass.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft
