Aroma Thyme Bistro Celebrates Belgium's Independence Day

Aroma Thyme Bistro in Ellenville, NY is one of the most innovative restaurants in New York State when it comes to the pairing of craft beer and great food.  The restaurant offers monthly five course beer dinners in which Head Chef/Owner Marcus Guiliano pairs sustainable food with excellent beer.

This past week Guiliano partnered with Duvel Moortgat, the Belgian owners of Brewery Ommegang, to offer a special beer and food pairing to celebrate Belgium's independance day.  The restaurant offered special Belgian beers as either stand alone pints, tasting flights, or paired with a dish created by Guiliano.

Aroma Thyme offered the following pairings.  

Tarragon & Parsley Steamed Mussels
Duvel

Endive & Potato Soup
Ommegang Belgian Independence Day Ale (Spiced Saison)

Flemish Beer & Beef Stew
McChouffe

Crab Cake and Endive Slaw
Liefmans Cuvee Brut

For me, the best part of the Bistro's celebration was the opportunity to taste Ommegang's new spiced saison.  A beer with a wonderful aroma, it was thick with plenty of spices, some fruit notes, and a light dry finish.  The Cooperstown brewery used white pepper in this recipe and it shows.  Much different than it's cousin Hennepin.  You can check out a more extensive review of Ommegang's new beer here.

With the success of the Belgian celebration, Aroma Thyme will be hosting an Oktober celebration to celebrate the famous German event later in the year.

President Obama and New York Beer

EDIT: I have just confirmed that Aroma Thyme Bistro in Ellenville, NY will be getting a keg of Obamagang delivered today. I will be there on Friday January 23rd to host their monthly beer dinner and I will certainly be tasting this beer. You can look forward to a review shortly after.

Inaguration Day 2009 is rapidly approaching and what better way to celebrate then with beer? Not any beer but Barack Obama beer! Several breweries around the country will be making Barack Obama themed beer and two of them are right here in New York.

This article discusses the launch of Brewery Ommegang's Obamagang or the politically correct name of the beer, "Ale 2009".

This quote explains the reasoning behind the naming controversy. "Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown, N.Y., had hoped to mark this historic inauguration with a single-batch brew called Obamagang, but federal regulators at the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau told them it was a no-go. “They said you can’t use anybody’s name for commercial purposes without their permission,” said marketing director Larry Bennett. The brewery has decided to re-christen the beer Inauguration Ale and plans to parcel out 600 kegs of the draft-only brew among select bars in Washington, Philadelphia, New York and other urban areas."

A press release from Ommegang stated "The TTB won’t let us call the beer Obamagang on the keg label. So it will be known legally as Inauguration Ale 2009, but the tap handles will be more . . . um . . . direct. The style lies between a porter and stout, with a bit of Kriek and a touch of chocolate blended in. It will be on draft only, beginning with the inauguration – in limited areas including DC, NYC, Syracuse, Philly, Chicago and Boston. We will donate a percentage of sales to charities in the respective cities where the beer is sold, and we’ve asked our distributors to match our donations and pick the local charities. (Also please note that the beer is not an endorsement of Obama.)"

This article tells us that some of Sixpoint Craft Ales' Hop Obama beer will be available for inauguration day. When Sixpoint started selling the beer in March and then brought it back from August to election day. The brewery sold 504 kegs, but not all of it was drank. Barkeepers decided to store some away and break it out on Inaguration Day. No word yet on what New York bars will have the beer, but Cambridge Common Restaurant in Massachusetts has sent out a Facebook invite claiming to be "the only (known) beer bar, on the planet, to be pouring this brew".

Please do not ask me why the folks at the Alcohol and Tobacco Tan and Trade Bureau will allow Sixpoint to have the President elects name in their beer, but shut down Ommegang. It is as confusing to me as it is to you. Maybe the new President will explain the hypocrisy to the ATTTB, or whatever the hell initials they use.

The picture was provided by http://www.its-pub-night.com/ a fantastic beer blog based in Portland, Oregon.

Ommegang Rouge

My buddy Marcus Guiliano, owner and chef of Aroma Thyme Bistro, invited me in to try this new offering from Ommeganag. Guiliano said that he received one of only five kegs sent to the Hudson Valley. Rouge is a Flemish sour red ale that Ommegang worked on with Brouwerij Bockor in Belgium.

It poured a brownish, dark red color with a sizeable tan head. The nose was sweet, almost candyish. The first sip was all sweet berries. There was a light malt profile and a hint of syrup. The finish is a big burst of tart cherries. The beer left a small amount of hanging lace. Ommegang's take on the Sour Ale was quite good and I hope to see this again.

The Valley Table is the Hudson Valley's premier magazine for Hudson Valley farms, food and cuisine. The March-May 2008 issue lists Weihenstephaner's Hefeweissbier Dunkel, Flying Dog Brewery's "Wild Dog" Collaborator Doppelbock and Dogfish Head's "Olde School" Bottle-conditioned barley wine-style ale as their seasonal beer picks. I called Chef Marcus Guiliano at Aroma Thyme Bistro in Ellenville, NY and asked him if he had any of the beers since Aroma Thyme has one of the most expansive beer lists in the area. He just happened to have all three on his list and invited me over to try the Dogfish Head "Olde School". Dogfish only produces five beers year round (one of which is available only in the Mid-Atlantic), but produces 18 more seasonal and limited releases. The Deleware brewery has recieved much acclaim over the years for their brews and have been praised for their innovation. "Olde School" is one of those limited releases and was launched in November 2007. The beer pours a dark orange copper with a very thin head. The beer is fermented with dates and figs, and the nose gives off a smooth, fruity smell with a lot of malt. The first sip hits the palate strongly and you can taste a wide range of flavors. This pattern continues into the mid palate before tailing off slightly into a very nice finish. The beer has a whopping 15% ABV but hides it nicely. The beer is very good now but will only get better with time as the flavors have a chance to balance out. I strongly suggest buying a four pack of this beer, tasting one now, and laying the other three down for a while. This rich, complex beer will only get better with time, as the flavors have time to smooth out.