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Belgium Came to Cooperstown ... Again - August 2005One of the disadvantages to living in Toronto is that, save for the bar-sponsored tasting events put together at places like C'est What, beerbistro, Hamilton's Winking Judge and, soon, Café Volo, there are basically no decent beer fests to be found in this burg. The last good one, The St. Lawrence Market Beer and Barbecue Festival, died a sad death this summer, a victim, reports indicate, of the short-sighted merchants of the neighbourhood in which it was held. As for the drinkfest operating under the name of Toronto's Festival of Beer, well, I gave up on that one long ago, and am quite happy that I will again be out of town when it takes place early this month. Which is one reason I regularly travel to events such as the Oregon Brewers Festival, unfortunately missed this year, and the Great British Beer Festival, also missed, but only by a hair. And why I enthusiastically embrace fests which operate within driving distance, especially when they are fun, well-organized and replete with interesting new beers, like Brewery Ommegang's recent 'Belgium Comes to Cooperstown' fest. Held for the second year running as a beer festival, rather than a more culturally driven event, BC2C proved two for two in the Friday night torrential rain department, which might have bothered the large numbers of people camping on the brewery ground but did little to disturb those of us comfortably ensconced in nearby hotels. The weather rebounded for the actual festival the next day, though, and the event was, to say the least, extremely well attended. Structurally speaking, I'd have to say that the good folk of Ommegang addressed and resolved some of last year's issues, but with their success have set themselves up for more potential issues in 2006. Problem one is that last year's BC2C was spoken of so well and praised so widely that numbers swelled considerably this year, and are likely to do the same for the next edition. Which means that in terms of tent space, portable latrines and food line-ups, the brewery will have some hard decisions to make in the future, such as whether to add new acreage to the festival site or limit tickets so that crowds stay at a comfortable level. There is lots of ground at the brewery, no question, but how to use it wisely will be the telling of success or at least partial failure in 2006. As for the beer, the 2005 BC2C has proved that this fest has become an overnight draw for experimental brewers, led by none other than Ommegang's own Randy Thiel. Ommegedon, Ommegang's off-the-wall entry to their own fest, is, for want of a better descriptive, a sour take on the brewery's Hennepin, Tarted up just enough to give it a remarkably refreshing character, kept in fine balance with the core beer's malty, spicy base, Ommegedon is a dangerously quaffable ale which, if bottled and marketed, could well become North America's first broadly successful soured ale. As fine as it is, however, Ommegedon missed ranking as my beer of the fest, a title I split between two other soured ales: Russian River's Supplication and Cambridge Brewing's Cerise Cassée. (Sharp memoried World of Beer readers will remember that Cambridge also provided last year's beer of the fest in the form of the almost stupidly complicated strong ale, Benevolence.) Hazy reddish-copper in colour, the Russian River brew is an aggressively tangy cherry ale aged for a year with all sorts of interesting bacteria in barrels which once held that new darling of wine geeks, pinot noir. Its funky, sour body is balanced well with big fruitiness, including notes of sweet and sour cherries, red plum and raisin, and finishes clean and citrusy. The amazing part is that I'm told the bottled version tastes even better than the draught I enjoyed. Cerise Cassée, or "Broken Cherry," is another of Cambridge's ridiculously complex ales that teeters on the edge of complete disaster while providing full, balanced and delicious results. This one involves cherries, brettanomyces (the main bacteria involved in lambic fermentation and apparently the current matinee idol of experimental brewers across the U.S.), sour mashing and barrels ex of both bourbon and pinot noir. The result is an ale filled with rich, tart fruit, background vanilla, plentiful spice and a deep maltiness that holds it all in line. Although there were far too many beers present at BC2B for me to taste even half - reports had the total count at 150 or thereabouts - it was obvious that brewers both local and from considerable distances away were trotting out their best for the fest. Which points to a very prosperous future for Belgium Comes to Cooperstown, if the powers that be at Ommegang are able to keep up with the popularity of the monster they have created. Feature Articles
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