Review: Ommegang’s new Game of Thrones beer
releases Fire and Blood, the latest beer in its collaboration series with HBO’s Game of Thrones.
the same Belgian brewer that bought Boulevard
last year. The red ale is brewed with some pretty bold ingredients: Ancho chilies, licorice root and star anise.
We popped the cork on a 750-milliliter sample bottle yesterday to see if Fire and Blood is as brutal as the fire-breathing dragon on its label. Spoiler alert: There’s nothing brutal about this easy-drinking beer.
Fire and Blood has a reddish hue — more rosy-golden than blood-red — and a pretty aggressive head of foam. The aroma is slightly fruity, with just a hint of rye spice.
The first sips are mellow, with no pepper punch or licorice bite. “You could serve this to somebody who drinks Bud,” said one of our taste-testers.
Because it comes in a 750-milliliter bottle, you might expect this beer to have a high alcohol content. But at 6.8 alcohol by volume, it’s not as strong as, say,
, which is 9.1 percent alcohol by volume.
One of our testers, a guy who doesn’t usually drink beer, tipped back his Dixie cup of Fire and Blood like it was no big thing.
“It’s awesome,” said a beer-loving tester who, admittedly, was just happy to be away from her computer at 3 p.m. “I mean, it’s beer in the newsroom.”
Other tasters noted that the malty yet well-balanced beer “goes great with Mexican food” and tastes like a less hoppy version of Free State’s Copperhead Pale Ale.
Only a couple of us could detect the licorice and star anise flavors, but everyone noted an underlying raisin-like fruitiness. As for the chilies, they kicked in after a few sips with a slow burn that left my ears tingling.
The bottom line:premiere party on April 6, your quest ends here.
Want to try Fire and Blood before it hits stores and bars on Monday? Head to Alamo Drafthouse on
Saturday night for the screening of Dragonslayer
. The 1981 fantasy flick will be accompanied by samples of Fire and Blood. Also, fire performers.
Looking for local stores that stock Ommegang beer? Use the brewery’s
.
For regular updates on beer news, follow Sarah Gish on Twitter @sarah_gish.This story was originally published March 28, 2014 at 12:47 PM with the headline "Review: Ommegang’s new Game of Thrones beer ."