Last weekend Meg and I hit up Paradiso in Gtown for dinner. I had been searching the area for the mythical Obamagang by the Cooperstown brewing giant Ommegang (I think that they qualify as "giants" now that they are part of the Duvel family of beers, no?). Well I found it, sure enough the 'diso had it on draft downstairs in the birreria paradiso (try saying that three times fast). If haven't heard of the Obamagang it was a special release brewed for the inauguration of one Mr. Barrack Obama. The TTB wouldn't officially let them call the beer Obamagang on the keg labels, so it is known legally as Inauguration Ale 2009. It had a limited release in DC, NYC, Syracuse, Philly, Chicago and Boston.
So how was it? I enjoyed this one immensely. Perhaps in line with our new prez, this beer defies any style classification. I think it is described somewhere as between a porter and a stout with kriek added. I guess that's a pretty decent description. This beer is all about malt, so don't go expecting much in the way of hops. In the above picture (sorry for the graininess, I used my cell camera) it is the beer on the right. As you can probably see it pours up an opaque brown with a small amount of white lacy head. The smell is largely toffee and chocolate. The taste has notes of chocolate, espresso, and interestingly roasted peanuts. I actually was drinking while eating some salty olives and the combination of the two left me with the distinct after taste of pretzels. The beer actually finishes with a little bit of tartness due to the kriek, which I thought was really unique.
If you can find this special release in your neck of the woods, don't delay because I'm sure its drying up fast.
-HolzBrew
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