Ommegang Goudenhop

The Brewers:
Brewmaster: Phil Leinhart
Company: Brewery Ommegang
Location: 656 County Highway 33, Cooperstown, NY
Website: http://www.ommegang.com/

The Beer:
Style: Belgian Pale Ale/Blonde Ale/Belgian IPA
ABV: 7.40%
Served:  750mL bottle purchased at Brewery Ommegang

The Drink:
Drank out of my new Council Rock Brewery American pint glass (improper for the style, I know)

Beer pours crystal clear straw yellow/golden with a thick, enduring head; looked more like clouds than beer foam.  Laced fantastically.

Aroma of slight hop resin and citrus character, maybe even some subtle Brettanomyces funk, but not too sure about that (could be some really earthy hops).  Very subdued malted wheat on the nose.

Starts with a vigorous carbonation and slight hop bitter.  Middle is slightly malty and thin (not in a bad way, just light) with a very "Belgian" bitterness from the hops.  Finishes very dry with some definite Brett-type flavors and a lingering hop bitter.  Finish is very dry and pretty lengthy; hop and peppery yeast flavors stick around for quite a while.

Overall:
Brewed only once, bottled August 2012, and is definitely lacking in original hop character because of the long aging process.  Even given the diminished hop aroma, this beer was great.  Good bitterness, refreshingly light with a complex yeast flavor.  Even though the hops are most likely gone, the additional aging has definitely given this bottle enough time to gain some complex yeast flavors, which I'm betting is why I've picked up the Brett characteristics.  I hate to put this up because it's going to be near impossible to find, but if you can get it, do so.  You will not be disappointed.