The latest batch of brews to pay homage to the hit HBO show are here
Winter is here! Yes, we all witnessed the recent events of Season 7, but that phrase now carries additional meaning with the release of the latest collaboration between the hit HBO show and brewery Ommegang. Now something of an annual tradition, the Belgian style brewery has drawn inspiration from the show and its characters to craft special beers, with its latest being a Belgian style double white ale clocking in at 8.3% AVB. According to Doug Campbell, Brewery Ommegang’s President, Winter is here! is a “fortifying and delicious double white, brewed with sea salt and white pepper, sure to keep you warm in winter, no matter how long it lasts.”
So how does it taste? Well, the characteristics of a white are certainly present. Wheaty with hints of banana. The spice notes are well balanced, giving it a citrusy pepper taste. It’s light, but has body with its warming profile.
In addition to being tasty, the release comes in a rather spiffy collectors edition.
Winter is Here! is available NOW, in 750ml single bottles, on draft, and also in a collectable gift pack alongside Fire and Blood Red Ale, originally released back in 2014, in a collectible gift pack complete with a commemorative glass. The Fire and Blood is more akin to an amber, malty with notes of fruit and a light spice from ancho chilies. It’s not an overwhelming spice though. Specific details are in the press release below.
Both represent the perfect tipple to remember those we lost along the way. Pick up a bottle or two and pour one out for Robert Baratheon, for Ned Stark, for Syrio Forel, for…you get the point.
Thanks to HBO and Ommegang for providing product for this article.
Press Release
Winter is Here This Fall with Latest Game of Thrones® Beer from Brewery Ommegang and HBO®. Brewery and HBO Will Re-Release Fire and Blood Red Ale to Accompany New Beer
Brewery Ommegang and HBO Global Licensing are proud to announce that a brand new beer in their successful partnership, available at the end of October, will confirm once and for all that, finally, Winter is Here! An 8.3% AVB Belgian-style double white ale with the fearsome Night King emblazoned on the label, Winter is Here will be available in 750ml single bottles, on draft, and also paired alongside previously released Fire and Blood Red Ale in a collectible gift pack complete with a commemorative glass. Suggested retail price is $11.99 for the individual bottles and $23.99 for the gift pack, both of which will be on shelves in late October.
“For six seasons, Game of Thrones fans like ourselves have watched as the great houses of Westeros battled amongst themselves, all the while knowing that the only battle that really mattered — the great war — was yet to come,” says Doug Campbell, Brewery Ommegang’s President. “In this next season, we celebrate the long-awaited arrival of winter with a beer fit for consumption north of The Wall. Winter is Here is a fortifying and delicious double white, brewed with sea salt and white pepper, sure to keep you warm in winter, no matter how long it lasts.”
“Game of Thrones fans have been waiting for winter since the very first episode of the series debuted,” says Josh Goodstadt, Vice President of Global Licensing at HBO. “Now, thanks to this latest Game of Thrones beer, they’ll have the perfect brew to sip throughout the cold months that lie ahead. We can’t wait for fans to get their first taste of Winter is Here!”
Winter is Here is brewed with pilsner malt, white wheat malt, and soft red wheat flakes, hopped with Saaz hops, and spiced with white pepper, sea salt, coriander and sweet orange peel. Brewery Ommegang’s house yeast is used in primary and secondary fermentation. This double white ale pours a hazy pale straw color with a stark white head. Aromas of banana, clove, and pronounced peppery phenols lead, and the flavor is slightly sweet malt, subtly balanced by hints of sea salt. Despite a full mouthfeel and healthy ABV, it still manages to drink quite lightly. The finish gradually builds in a warming crescendo of peppery spice.
Fire and Blood was the third beer in the collaborative series, originally released in spring of 2014. It’s brewed with pilsner, spelt, rye, and other specialty malts, hopped with Styrian Golding and German Tettnang hops, and spiced with ancho chilies for additional complexity. The hue is deep, dark red with a persistent, creamy, off-white head. The aromas of ripe fruit, raisins, slight spice and malt mix nicely with a slight floral, spicy hop character. The flavor of sweet malt gives way to faint dryness and is balanced by spicy rye and hop flavors with underlying raisin and prune notes. The finish offers balanced malt and spicy characteristics from hops and rye. Fire and Blood is 6.8% ABV, and the label art features one of the original three labels, a fiery image of Daenerys Targaryen’s dragon, Drogon.