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Not too many beers are named after the glass you pour them into, but Super Bolleke (the bowl-shaped chalice in which beer is served) a collaboration from Ommegang with Brewery De Koninck from Antwerp, Belgium is.
The beer will be a Belgian-style amber ale (an imperial version of the classic Bolleke) that hits 7.8%-ABV.
It is important to really recognize craft brewing milestones and Brewery Ommegang has reached one and they have thankfully eschewed an IPA for an imperial amber ale with orange peel, grains of paradise and coriander.
I like blended beers because it is such an art meets science moment.
Mixing two strong fruit flavors in the process just adds difficulty. But if anybody can pull it off, Ommegang can. Plus it is in a 12oz can, which is a great serving size for a tart beer.
When Ommegang teamed with HBO and Game of Thrones for Westerosi ales, I thought of it as a cool novelty and I was excited about the first few releases and even went to a few GoT themed beer events.
But instead of one beer per TV season, the line grew and I could not really keep up and you may have noticed that I haven’t even posted about what appears to be the final beer in a fancy large format bottle.
For the Throne is a beer/wine hybrid with Champagne yeast that sounds like a fun, experimental beer. One that I will probably pick up when I binge the final six episodes later this year.
Ommegang has handled this tie-in admirably from a beer standpoint and it got me to thinking, what is the next franchise (Movie or TV) that will have such a long and fruitful relationship. Avengers as a franchise is still going but is geared more to teenage boys and comic book geeks. The Rising Skywalkers is one movie from completion with hesitant spin-offs. Hellboy might make a leap but that is even more of a niche than GoT.
It would need to be a newly established show, something with hints to wine and beer drinking but nothing firmly canon. It would need to be something R rated otherwise any drink that are product placed will be of the pandering to the teenage boy crowd and you end up with weird approximations of ButterBeer. I would take the not long leap that it would need to be something in the fantasy / SciFi realm as well to allow for creativity, though a long shot might be a comedy where the main characters have a favorite beer.
I do think that we will not see the like of the Ommegang Throne beers anytime soon though.
Next up for the holiday is Adoration from Ommegang …
Take their Dark ale and then barrel age it and then open on Christmas to relax.
Ommegang (much like their NE brethren, Allagash) continue to expand upon their strengths. This time Ommegang is combining Brettanomyces with fruit, hops on top of their witbier.
The beer is called, Fruittanomyces (try to spell check that) and it “is brewed with malted and unmalted wheat and oat flakes and is spiced with sweet orange peel and coriander. The beer is fermented with mango, kiwi, and passion fruit juices and dry-hopped with Citra and Cascade hops before aging in the bottle with Brettanomyces.”
Seems like Ommegang is more prolific than George R.R.R.R.R Martin as well as yet another beer is on the way for the Mother of Dragons….
This blend actually is the most interesting choice (though somewhat obvious) of the recent releases.
When Game of Thrones isn’t on, I tend to pass on the related beers from Ommegang. I am certainly not going to drink them while watching Westworld.
But the beer name might suggest to those looking for any clues that a woman would ascend the Iron Throne.
Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, “the second of four special beers in this year’s Game of Thrones-inspired Royal Reserve Collection. Inspired by Cersei Lannister, this exceptional blend of Belgian sour ale and Belgian-style blonde ale.”
Now I need to get bottle 1 and 2 and cellar them until the show returns.
As we close in on the close of the series for Game of Thrones has Ommegang tipped their hand a bit? (sorry, horrible word choice). Will a Queen rule the Seven Kingdoms? Either way, I am glad to see a barleywine for the next GoT beer. It makes a nice change of pace from previous entrants.
…the next Game of Thrones TV tie-in beer from Ommegang is
Winter is Here, an imperial white ale bearing the sullen visage of the White Walker leader and his snazzy hair style.
I admit that I missed the last release. None of the beers have been super-duper to me, though to be fair, would probably go over well in Westeros.