So, I thought I had never had Ommegang Nirvana IPA before, but I had. I bought a can recently from Half Time Beverage, and when I drank it and went to check it on Untappd, I saw I had checked it in before. That before was in July of 2019, when I had it on tap at Taco Mac. Ommegang beers were featured as beer of the month that month. I bought it on a Thursday night, so I got a nice Ommegang glass with it.
I wrote then:
Ommegang Nirvana IPA. It has some earthy and citrusy hops in the nose, a moderate caramel maltiness better than most these days, citric grapefruit rind, very subtle stone fruit, and a bitter grassy hop finish. Ommegang says the beer is not overly bitter but I find it quite bitter. Which of course I like. Six oh eight with a really cool glass makes this a good deal too.
Ingredients from the brewery website:
HOPS Magnum, Simcoe, Centennial, Topaz, Citra
FERMENTABLES Two-row, Munich malt, and honey malt barleys
YEAST American ale yeast
Ommegang Nirvana IPA has an alcohol content of 6.5% ABV 60 IBU. My can was stamped COOP260925, which I assume is Cooperstown and the canning date of September 26th, 2025. Happy birthday Barbara! It was also stamped BEST BY 26MAR2026. I drank it a few months past that and it was indeed delightful. My can was actually a Rare Vos can with a Nirvana IPA label pasted over it, which I peeled off and scanned into my computer.
About Ommegang Brewing Company
We opened in winter 1997 with Ommegang Abbey Dubbel, an 8.5% ABV traditional Trappist-style dark ale. Brewed with a complex array of spices and packaged in 750ml bottles, Abbey breaks the mold of the emerging American craft beer scene.
Tasting Notes
Ommegang Nirvana IPA pours to a bright orange color with a thick fluffy white head and a nose of caramel malt and citrus orange. Taking a sip, the beer is medium in body, and the caramel malt immediately makes me happy. Bright citrus notes quickly emerge: orange,, tangerine, lemon, raw carrot.. In the finish, earthy herbal grassy notes emerge, they pop with oregano and the beer finishes long dry and bitter.
Value & Verdict
I paid $6.08 for my 23-ounce mug in 2019, and $4.99 for a pint can from Half Time. Total Wine sells it for $12.99 a 4-pack of pint cans in West Orange, New Jersey as I type. A hopgasm to be sure with multi-faceted hop character. I was pleased at how much my tasting notes from my current sample matched the draft from almost 6 years ago.
