Our beer flight doesn’t so much travel east as slip into a transcontinental daydream, a Craft Beer Crosscut that hums along the old rails of American brewing ambition, headed straight for the misty, monastery-tinged hills of the East Coast.
Brewery Ommegang arrived in 1997 like a love letter written in yeast and reverence, pitching a Flemish farmhouse fantasy onto a former hop farm in Cooperstown, New York, and daring America to fall hard for Belgian soul. With Belgian beer sage Don Feinberg whispering sacred fermentation spells into the kettles, Ommegang brewed saisons, dubbels, tripels, and other holy relics with monk-level devotion. Then Duvel Moortgat — yes, that Duvel, the golden demon itself — swooped in, and instead of diluting the dream, turned the volume up. The result? A brewery that feels like a pastoral European cathedral that learned to speak fluent American swagger.
Meanwhile, down in Pennsylvania, childhood friends Bill Covaleski and Ron Barchet opened Victory Brewing Co. in 1996 with the kind of stubborn, starry-eyed optimism usually reserved for garage bands and moonshots. They didn’t chase trends; they chased flavor, precision, and old-world technique stitched to new-world nerve. By 2014, a second gleaming brewery rose in Parkesburg, pumping their beers into 37 states like liquid postcards from a parallel universe where lagers meditate and IPAs read philosophy. Victory remains one of the rare hop romantics still using whole-cone hops exclusively — the floral equivalent of vinyl records — delivering beers that feel fresher, softer, less jagged, and more like a perfectly tuned guitar note that lingers just long enough to haunt you.
East Coast, meet your moment. This flight is a history lesson, a flavor séance, and a passport stamp all in one.
Ommegang Rosetta Kriek
5.6% ABV, 9 IBUs
Brewed and blended by Ommegang’s sister brewery Liefmans in Belgium, Rosetta combines old (aged on cherries at least three years) and young Flemish brown ale (or oud bruin) with a lively and fruity kriek, or cherry beer. The blend, which was developed by Ommegang Brewmaster Phil Leinhart, results in a complex yet refreshing mahogany-brown brew that is an intriguing interplay of tartness and sweetness.
Ommegang Three Philosophers Quadrupel
9.7% ABV, 19 IBUs
The quadrupel ale combines malty Belgian-style ale with Liefmans Kriek, an authentic cherry ale from Belgium. Brewery Ommegang describes the color of the beer as, “dark, mysterious cherry-chestnut … full carbonation with smooth, tan head.” The recipe combines four malts (pils, amber, caramel, and Munich) with the cherry Kriek to create a beer reminiscent of sherry or port, with a mix of dark fruit, coffee, and raisin flavors that will only intensify as the brew ages. The yeast really kicks in upon first sip, which gives the right balance of sweet and sour.
Ommegang Hennepin Farmhouse Saison
7.7% ABV, 24 IBUs
With a rich, lasting head, this dark golden ale is quite clear for a saison. It’s all about spices: grains of paradise, ginger, coriander and sweet orange peel. The smell is fruity and grassy at the same time, atypical of the usual yeasty saison scent; you can tell it’s going to be a dry beer by the aroma alone. While it is indeed dry, the Hennepin Farmhouse is slightly sharp with great lacing, and is dangerously drinkable. Take it easy with this one; it goes down smooth.
Victory Golden Monkey
9.5% ABV, 25 IBUs
Victory Brewing Company has labeled this beer as “a magical, mystical Monkey whose golden soul glows with the wisdom of the ages.” We don’t know much about mystical monkeys, but we agree it almost glows. It’s a Belgian-style tripel ale, which means it is brewed with triple the amount of malts than typical Belgian ales. It’s a rich, fruity, profoundly flavored beer that sits lightly on the tongue.
Victory Prima Pils
5.3% ABV
Prima Pils is one of the top-rated German-style pilsners in all the land, combining zesty, lemony hops with a snappy finish. We’ve written and deleted the word “happy” about five times while writing about Victory’s Prima Pils, because, well, this beer is just so god-damn joyful. It may be a little hoppier than your standard pils, but that’s not at all a bad thing.
