Purchased: 750ml bottle (25.4oz) from Walg in Chicago, IL; 2013
Style/ABV: Belgian Ale, 6.5%
Style/ABV: Belgian Ale, 6.5%
Reported IBUs: ?
This one pours a dark, hazy, golden-yellow color, with 3+ fingers of fluffy, dense, cloud-like head. The head is white, even in low light. In bright light, the beer is a nice hazy, pale, golden-yellow. It's remniscent of other Belgian Ales brewed with pils malts (i.e. Duvel). As you would expect, the carbonation is quite lively, head retention is good, and there's some lacing. Nice looking stuff.
There's some nice lemon bite on the aroma, and a lot of clove. I'm getting a lot of Belgian yeast, some mild Belgian yeast funk, grains of paradise, biscuit/dough, and some nice citrus zest: lemon peel, lemon zest, and elusive citrus fruits. I would say the aromas are pleasant rather than mild. And you can tell this was made with legit ingredients.
The taste is where this clearly veers into Belgian Blond territory. This is not as attenuated as Duvel, and finishes with a bit more bready/doughy malt kick. I'm getting a ton of Pilsner grains, grains of paradise, and clove in this. Honey shows up to the party, and there's some nice Belgian funk throughout. You also get some nice hop bitterness on the finish, with a hint of black pepper. There's definitely some lemon peel abound, as it shows up in the front-to-mid palate, and again in the back. Overall, this is really solid stuff.
This is fairly dense for the style, with creamy carbonation, and a medium-full mouthfeel. The lively carbonation does help keep this beer drinkable. For a Belgian Blond, this has good palate depth and good complexity. At 6.5%, this is also very drinkable. Up front is clove, Belgian yeast funk, lemon peel; this rolls into more clove, grain, honey; the back end is trailing clove, hop bitterness, mild pepper spice. The finish is lightly malty and bready, and then semi-dry.
Random Thought: Season 3 of The Walking Dead had some great moments, both in terms of the show overall, and in terms of character development. But through the long haul (16 episodes), the bad writing became too much. The Governor is one of the most inconsistent characters on the show, which makes no sense given how significant he is in the comics. The whole Andrea thing didn't work because I don't care about her character, and the pacing has been way off. While Season 2 was truly bad, Season 3 only managed to elevate things by just a bit. I look forward to the reboot.
Straight up confession: I don't watch Game of Thrones. That's not to say that I won't watch Game of Thrones, or that I have any objection to the show. I don't. It just hasn't made its way to my DVR/Netflix, and I have a bunch of other shows I'm trying to keep up with. Like AMC's The Walking Dead. Uggghh. I'm still disappointed with the finale. I'm hoping this beer will be a nice palate cleanser, if you will. About Ommegang:
Ommegang was founded in October of 1997, in Cooperstown, New York. The Ommegang Brewery is set up on a traditional, Belgian-style farmhouse, and they are known for their unique takes on traditional Belgian-Style beers. Brewery Ommegang was sold to Duvel Moortgat in 2003. Ommegang Ales are made both in Belgium and in Cooperstown, New York.
The Iron Throne is a limited release, and I want to say it's flying off the shelves. Maybe not, as it was well-stocked when I found it. If you check out the Iron Throne page, you can see that this beer is the result of Ommegang partnering up with HBO to commensurate the Season Three debut of Game of Thrones. The bottle describes this beer as a "Blonde Ale with malty sweetness and a touch of fruity spiciness. Noble Hop aromas and notes of citrus." The beer is brewed with grains of paradise, lemon peel, Styrian Golding and Hallertau Spalter hops, and pils, honey, and red wheat malts. This was bottled on 02/06/2013 and is best by 02/2015.
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| Ommegang Iron Throne |
This one pours a dark, hazy, golden-yellow color, with 3+ fingers of fluffy, dense, cloud-like head. The head is white, even in low light. In bright light, the beer is a nice hazy, pale, golden-yellow. It's remniscent of other Belgian Ales brewed with pils malts (i.e. Duvel). As you would expect, the carbonation is quite lively, head retention is good, and there's some lacing. Nice looking stuff.
There's some nice lemon bite on the aroma, and a lot of clove. I'm getting a lot of Belgian yeast, some mild Belgian yeast funk, grains of paradise, biscuit/dough, and some nice citrus zest: lemon peel, lemon zest, and elusive citrus fruits. I would say the aromas are pleasant rather than mild. And you can tell this was made with legit ingredients.
The taste is where this clearly veers into Belgian Blond territory. This is not as attenuated as Duvel, and finishes with a bit more bready/doughy malt kick. I'm getting a ton of Pilsner grains, grains of paradise, and clove in this. Honey shows up to the party, and there's some nice Belgian funk throughout. You also get some nice hop bitterness on the finish, with a hint of black pepper. There's definitely some lemon peel abound, as it shows up in the front-to-mid palate, and again in the back. Overall, this is really solid stuff.
This is fairly dense for the style, with creamy carbonation, and a medium-full mouthfeel. The lively carbonation does help keep this beer drinkable. For a Belgian Blond, this has good palate depth and good complexity. At 6.5%, this is also very drinkable. Up front is clove, Belgian yeast funk, lemon peel; this rolls into more clove, grain, honey; the back end is trailing clove, hop bitterness, mild pepper spice. The finish is lightly malty and bready, and then semi-dry.
Rating: Above-Average
I'm feeling a Decent Above-Average on this. This is a solid one-off, and will help both HBO and Ommegang in terms of gaining new fans. You really can't go wrong with Belgian yeast and Pils malts. You could pair this with some peppery chicken or turkey, rustic potatoes, a hearty stew, and maybe even with pasta. This beer can also stand up to strong cheeses, and I'm about to pair this with either sushi or a corned beef sandwich. This was around 10-12 dollars a bottle...a worthy investment, and something you should try if you like Game of Thrones. I promise I'll hold up my end as a beer fan. Game of Thrones is on my to-watch list.
I'm feeling a Decent Above-Average on this. This is a solid one-off, and will help both HBO and Ommegang in terms of gaining new fans. You really can't go wrong with Belgian yeast and Pils malts. You could pair this with some peppery chicken or turkey, rustic potatoes, a hearty stew, and maybe even with pasta. This beer can also stand up to strong cheeses, and I'm about to pair this with either sushi or a corned beef sandwich. This was around 10-12 dollars a bottle...a worthy investment, and something you should try if you like Game of Thrones. I promise I'll hold up my end as a beer fan. Game of Thrones is on my to-watch list.
Random Thought: Season 3 of The Walking Dead had some great moments, both in terms of the show overall, and in terms of character development. But through the long haul (16 episodes), the bad writing became too much. The Governor is one of the most inconsistent characters on the show, which makes no sense given how significant he is in the comics. The whole Andrea thing didn't work because I don't care about her character, and the pacing has been way off. While Season 2 was truly bad, Season 3 only managed to elevate things by just a bit. I look forward to the reboot.
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