REVIEW 112: GAME OF THRONES: IRON THRONE

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  USA

BREWERY:  Brewery Ommegang

STYLE:  Blonde Ale

ABV:  6.5%

PURCHASE:  25.4-oz. bottle, $14.99

SERVING:  Said bottle, poured into Chimay branded chalice. A standard pour got a standard head of roughly 3/4 of an inch. A fast pour on Round 2 yielded twice that. I went slow on Round 3, and managed just half an inch. Retention is a little better than average but not noteworthy.

APPEARANCE:  Translucent and glowing golden-orange body, with a sudsy white head. To be truthful, the head was underwhelming given the radiance of the body of the beer, which took on the appearance of a Belgian tripel. Centered bubbling action, due no doubt to the engineering of the Chimay chalice. Essentially no lacing.

BOUQUET:  Sweet and fragrant malt aroma, with citrus overtones and seeming hints of banana and witbier spices such as clove and coriander.

PALATE:  Medium to slightly heavy body--to be expected from a beer with an ABV over 6%. Seems a bit overcarbonated; the carbonation is quick to assert itself--particularly right out of the bottle--and will rise sharply if held even a nanosecond too long. It's like Joffrey Baratheon in that respect: Too much eagerness for its own good, lacking the know-how of when to remain subtle. Entry is malty. Hops are minimal, if even detectable. The finish is malty as well, but by this point are complemented by a note of citrus, a trace of banana, and a pinch of yeast sprinkled in. Seems lacking on the back end, which, in my opinion, is where truly great beers are made. Aftertaste has a little peppery kick to it, rounded out by a note of coriander. Finishes like a witbier, in that sense. 

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  At the risk of sounding like I'm desperate for a cheap pun or witticism, I say this is the beer equivalent to Joffrey. Yes. That Joffrey. It's blonde. It's bold, assertive, and ambitious. But it lacks polish. It lacks full-bodiedness. In short, it lacks character. Not to mention, it seemed to "die" in my mouth--yet the effects of its actions carried on a bit.

Sound familiar, GOT fans? 

Thankfully, what is there is still potent . . . to a degree. It seems to have been guided in the right direction, at least in part ([cough]Tyrion[cough]). But it clearly isn't worthy of the Iron Throne.




GRADE:  B-