Beer Review: Brewery Ommegang/Boulevard’s Bigger and Bretter

At Craft of Tap Clayton a few weeks ago, I was given a sample of Bigger and Bretter, a collaboration of Brewery Ommegang and Boulevard Brewing. It was a beer I tried a couple of times during the day.

ABV: 7.60%
IBU: N/A
Style: Bière de Garde
Brewery Description: Where Heaven met Earth and stayed awhile.

A not-so-simple farmhouse ale, sought out for its flavor and revered for its life and longevity.

Bottle-conditioned Ommegang ales such as Bigger and Bretter are living beers, with rich flavors and aromas created by slow refermentation in the bottle; in this case with Brett yeast – a wild yeast known for the addition of a extra layer of complex flavors and welcome funkiness, in the Biere de Garde style.

Bigger and Bretter is a robust, yet beautifully balanced ale. The malt brings flavors of caramel with a touch of honied sweetness. The Brett yeast imparts aromas of cherry pie and cinnamon that develop as the beer spends at least three months maturing in our cellar.

The beer was given out at a festival and drank out of a taster glass. It’s a limited availability beer that normally is sold in 750ml bottles.

Appearance: The beer poured a hazy, copper orange color with about 2 1/2 fingers of white head. There was a good amount of lacing.

Smell: The funk from the Brett was the main smell; you also get some hints of fruit and malt as well.

Taste: The funk was less on the taste than the smell; the biggest taste is the biscuit malt, followed by the funk and fruit. It’s finish is sweet and grassy.

Mouth: It’s a medium bodied beer with high carbonation goes down smoothly. It’s a refreshing beer that can sneak up on you.

Overall: A very good beer. The Brett brings a nice balance to the standard malt tastes. One of the better Belgian styles beers I’ve had recently. Rating: 4.50 out of 5.

The Beer Advocate score is 4.01 and it’s rated #15,867. Untappd has it as 3.72 with 712 ratings.

Have a beer you’d like to see reviewed? Are you a brewery and want some extra exposure? Let me know here.