Guest Editorial: Ommegang! A Road Trip for Fire and Blood

Hail again, Gatewatch loyalists! FaB here, with another article penned by that wayward and occasional WiC correspondent, Daesirae the Dagger.

Daesirae has gifted us with her prose before: Art Inspires Art was penned by her hand. I met her at the San Diego San Diego Comic-Con, and she has been a steadfast reader and lurker since that day. Despite her Daggerishness, she is good people.

(Though I wouldn’t care if she were evil incarnate; I like her wit and verve.)

Without further ado:

A ROAD TRIP OF FIRE AND BLOOD.

On March 31, Ommegang Brewery added another ale to their “Game of Thrones” inspired beer line. Joining Iron Throne and Take the Black Stout, Fire and Blood amber ale is a nod to my favorite GOT character, Daenerys Targaryen. To announce the beer and promote the season four premiere of the HBO series, Ommegang held exclusive first taste events of Fire and Blood across the country.

Tickets for the tastings quickly sold out, with the exception of San Fran and Miami. I decided a twelve-hour road trip was worth it to be one of the first to try Fire and Blood. My fellow funemployed friend, Jamie the Bear (a stereotypically hairy Mormont bastard), joined the adventure to Folsom Street Foundry in San Francisco.

As a fan of Ommegang’s GOT beer line, I attended the Take the Black Stout tasting a year or so ago at Stout Burgers and Beers in Hollywood.

For those who haven’t tasted it, the stout is dark and full of flavors. Flavors like roasted coffee and chocolate, which tastes surprisingly light for such a dark, frothy beer.

On the opposite end of the beer spectrum is Iron Throne.

It’s as blonde as the Lannisters, an acknowledgement to the house that currently rules Westeros. This pale ale tastes of spices and fruit (banana and orange, I think?). It’s light and won’t fill you up, perfect with a meal. Although not the best pale ale, it’s enjoyable.

On March 27, Jamie and I arrived a half hour early to be first in line to the now “sold out” event. Surprisingly, there was no line. There were hardly any people.

And a food truck out front hastily re-named their burgers after Dany’s dragons.

At 6pm, the doors opened. Each guest was given a commemorative Ommegang Fire and Blood glass, two drink tickets, and an Ommegang bottle opener.

Besides the Fire and Blood ale, Ommegang offered several of their non-GOT brews for sale.

The amber color perfectly suits the House Targaryen colors. While I enjoyed the ale, the smells of peppers did not prepare me for the fruity yet bready taste. It’s a complicated drink: somewhat spicy, somewhat sweet, that’s not quite heavy. I think I need another taste, because I still don’t know what to make of it. And maybe that’s perfect for a drink that’s based on an equally complicated show.

We posed for photos at the character cut outs:

Played some Targaryen corn hole (I won, but barely):

And drank our second “complimentary” beer, Witte:

Witte is Ommegang’s wheat ale with a strong citrus flavor, since the beer is brewed with an orange peel and a bit of lemon. If you like Blue Moon, I recommend this drink. The tastes are similar, but Witte has more flavors.

While I’m glad we went, I missed Los Angeles. Maybe it was the unfamiliar faces, or maybe it’s just hard to rival our geek parties. That said, the next time Ommegang announces a new GOT brew, I’ll be there. I just hope I can stay in town.

• Published on 04/05/2014 at 8:00 AM CDT
• Last updated on 10/21/2016 at 12:43 PM CDT