Brewery Ommegang will celebrate 25 years
Sep. 7—Brewery Ommegang will celebrate its 25th anniversary on Sept. 9 and 10.
The term Ommegang originates in 1549 when Holy Roman Emperor King Charles V visited medieval Brussels with hundreds from his Royal Court, said Tim Holmes, community and events manager at Ommegang.
To welcome the king, merchants, vendors, cooks, brewers, musicians, theater troupes, dancers and more lined up around the city walls and joined in a celebration as his entourage passed by. The parade became known as the "Ommegang," a word that means "coming together" and "walking about," according to information provided to The Daily Star from Brewery Ommegang.
Brewery Ommegang officially started in 1997 on its 130 acres of property in the town of Middlefield, Holmes said. The property was initially a pre-prohibition hop farm that was well known for its hop production.
"During prohibition the hop farm was closed down and converted to a regular dairy farm," Holmes said.
In 1996, Belgian breweries Duvel Moortgat, Affligem and Scaldis joined with importers and entrepreneurs Don Feinberg and Wendy Littlefield to build an authentic Belgian-style farmstead brewery, according to the information provided.
Ommegang then opened officially in 1997 with a small tasting room and brewing facility, Holmes said.
The brewery creates an average of 12 to 15 brews per week and brewers work 24 hours, four days a week, according to Holmes.
"We always have our year round flagship brews such as the Abbey ales, Rare Vos and Nirvana. We then have our G-Series such as Neon Rainbows and our seasonal drinks such as Hop State. We currently have 20 draft lines in-house and we are always coming up with new brews," Holmes said.
"We had a really good summer, bigger numbers than 2020 and we've been planning our 25th anniversary since February, working with the town to permit the Saturday parade and the police to help as well," he said.
On Sept. 9, Ommegang will have its Firepit Friday Finale with the Erin Harkes Band from 7 to 10 p.m. The Tap House Cafe will be open until 9 p.m. and the food trucks and patio bar will be open until 10 p.m., Holmes said.
"All events are free and open to the public. All ages are welcome," he said.
There will be a 25th Anniversary Parade at 11 a.m. and a Cooperstown Pub Crawl all afternoon. Passes can be obtained at the Ommegang tent in Pioneer Park, Holmes said.
"We wanted to have a parade in town because we want everyone to be able to celebrate our anniversary. We could not have gotten here without everyone who lives around the area and has supported us," he said.
The bar crawl stops include Doubleday Cafe, The Pioneer Patio, Sherman's Tavern, Cooley's Stone House Tavern, Natty Bumppo's, The Lake Front Hotel, Rusty Bison, J & D's Wagon Wheel, Upstate Bar and Grill and Brewery Ommegang, according to Holmes.
Fully stamped passports can be entered in a drawing for two grand prizes, Holmes said, the first prize being two tickets to one of Ommegang's monthly beer dinners this winter and the second prize being two VIP tickets to a 2023 concert of the winners choice.
"We're getting very excited for our big 25th anniversary weekend and we encourage everyone to come out and celebrate with us. We just ask no outside food or beverages," Holmes said.
Alexis Ochi, staff writer, can be reached aochi@thedailystar.com or 607-441-7213.
