We spent Saturday at the Ommegang Brewery in scenic Cooperstown, NY, at their annual Belgium Comes to Cooperstown festival. It’s pretty much like any other beer festival. Except almost all the beer is Belgian in origin or style. And as such, it’s really freakin’ strong. And they have camping.

The beautiful, Duvel-owned Ommegang Brewery

It’s truly surprising to discover how far American microbrewing has come. Five years ago, US interpretations of Belgian styles were usually iffy at best. It’s a testament to the tenacity of the brewers in this industry that the dubbels and tripels at the festival were uniformly good, pretty much nailing the style. American brewing just gets better and better.

Legacy Brewing’s Scott Baver

I was going to break down various beers for you, naming show favorites and conducting informative interviews. But I got drunk. I can, however, remember that Weyerbacher had excellent Belgian beers, the names of which escape me at the moment. So much for responsible consumption.

WTF?