Ommegang Game of Thrones - Valar Morghulis
The phrase is a part of a strong theme speckled throughout HBO’s fourth season, which started airing in March. As Arya Stark sets out to avenge those who have fallen, she adopts it as a mantra against the people she wants dead. The label art features a two-headed coin, which was given to Arya by Jagen H’ghar, one of the "Faceless Men of Braavos" assassins who can change their appearance on demand.
Each cork is fire-branded with “Valar Dohaeris,” the traditional response phrase to “Valar Morghulis” meaning “all men must die.”
Valar Morghulis possesses a deep chestnut brown color with a persistent and creamy tan head. Rich aromas of caramel, toffee, ripe fruits and burnt sugar, with a hint of cloves. The taste is delicately balanced with rich malty sweetness, caramel and just enough bitterness to balance out its malty backbone. A surprisingly dry finish is light on the tongue, which belies the initial aroma.
Each cork is fire-branded with “Valar Dohaeris,” the traditional response phrase to “Valar Morghulis” meaning “all men must die.”
Valar Morghulis possesses a deep chestnut brown color with a persistent and creamy tan head. Rich aromas of caramel, toffee, ripe fruits and burnt sugar, with a hint of cloves. The taste is delicately balanced with rich malty sweetness, caramel and just enough bitterness to balance out its malty backbone. A surprisingly dry finish is light on the tongue, which belies the initial aroma.
3.7
376 reviews
Cooperstown, United States
Community reviews
Bottle (BB July 2018).
Head is initially average sized, frothy, light brown, mostly lasting.
Body is hazy dark amber to medium brown.
Aroma is moderately malty (caramel, roasted nuts, toasted grain), lightly to moderately yeasty (basement), with notes of clove, licorice, brown sugar, orange peel.
Flavor is moderately to heavily sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, lightly bitter.
Finish is lightly sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, moderately bitter, spicy.
Medium to full body, watery/velvety/syrupy texture, lively carbonation, lightly to moderately alcoholic.
Quite clovey-spicy (almost as if spices were added, as they do with their year-round dubbel) and fairly acidic as well, two things that make it hard to get really enthusiastic about this one. The aftertaste similarly seems spiced, and it becomes fatiguing fairly quickly from that despite being well-balanced for the most part. It’s clean, solid, and nicely made, it just doesn’t excite me.
Bottled 7/18/16 Deep crimson. Off-beige foam exhibits near 5-star retention. Maltcenrtic nose of black plum, tobacco, vanilla, hazelnut, raisin, and suggestive melanoidins. Hints of aniseed (Spalt?) and dried leather. Fluffy and expansive carbonation. Elegant and deceptively weightless maltiness delivers a mouthwatering smattering of springy tobacco and cookie notes on initial taste. A tinge of vanilla further softens the languidly evolving maltiness, enriching the squeaky clean fermentation with extraordinary textural richness including silky melanoidins. Nutty and claylike yeast imparts Abbeylike character without affecting the sparkling attenuation. Distant German-hop-derived candied fennel suggestions are seamlessly integrated within the malt-dense core. An "airy" and peppery dimension keeps the sugars in check, unveiling a blindingly bright assortment of zingy rock candy and perfectly ripe plums as it gracefully sweeps the palate. Suggestive creamed java attests to the skillful malt extraction, as a buried snap of candied pecans and breadcrust bring additional contrast to the richer elements. Masterfully balanced finish is semi-dry and gently coarse in its pepperiness, with a sweet tobacco and dusty yeast punctuation. As with the tripel in this series, this is absolutely bang-on to style, and simply top-notch nectar. "Purity" is the descriptor that repeatedly comes to mind when describing the malt character in this, and the level of sophistication found here is not to be overstated. It has all the complexity I look for in the style, yet never feels overcrowded, and the high degree of attenuation, coupled with the exquisite balance, is a divine match and just makes this effortless to throw back. Obviously German noble hops, to boot. I’m so heartened that Ommegang has been elevating their game these past few years and still occasionally churns out some unapologetically traditional styles like this one, sans the bells and whistles. Hats off!
Bottle: Brownish, a bit of a ruby hue, thin to moderate light beige head, little lacing. Musty and barnish soft bready nose. Slight dark pitted fruit. Seems like a moderate Belgian Dubbel. Backside has the same barnish and musty bready notes with some mild dark pitted fruit. Seems pretty Belgian, but also somewhat pedestrian. Moderate body and mouthfeel. Clean finish. Very moderate or average example, but fairly good. Wished it were a bit more pronounced/brighter, but otherwise fairly decent.
Pours clear ruby red-brown with a 1-finger mocha colored head. Nutty malt aroma beneath notes of apple and maybe cherry. Body is medium-to-full and lightly syrupy. Dry finish. Flavor is earthy, mixed with nutty malt. Fruit notes show at the back.
Bottle. Original spicy aroma, caramel, dried fruit. Taste: wine with dried pear, dried figs, spicy and very cool.
750ml bottle 7/25/16 (Binny’s Downers Grove)-46° in Trappist Glass-Pours a ruby red with a small off white head. Aroma of sweetness, yeast, malt, and caramel. Taste of the same with a bit of spice. this medium to full bodied brew is well balanced and quite tasty.
The aroma is fruity and malty with floral hops. The appearance is deep amber with a big head. The taste is like the aroma. The palate is smooth. Overall good.
A little too soapy with a nice malt, combo, heavy flavor. Like the astringent from nuts. Unworthy
B. Pours a murky Ruby brown color with khaki head. Dried fruits and burnt sugar
Pours a reddish brown with a frothy beige head. Aroma is sweet caramel and belgian candy sugar. Some purple fruit in here as well. Taste is a little sickly sweet, plum, raisin, caramel. Nice beer but too sweet for me.
(Ommegang Game of Thrones #4 - Valar Morghulis) Bottle 750 ml from Summer Santa, thanks! Served into a big tulip, ABV 8%
Brown red ccolour on the body, kind of murky, with a big beige head on top, thick and with good retention.
Aroma has red and dark fruits, , alcohol, ripe pears.
Taste is mildly sweet with flavours f dark fruits, red stewed fruits, ripe pears, light berries, alcohol, light yeast.
Medium body with carbonation on the high siide.
Nice.
750ml bottle, courtesy of an Easter guest. Poured a slightly murky chestnut brown with a one finger creamy khaki head. Some lace. Dark fruits and sweetness on the aroma. Hint of maple. Sweet flavors of brown sugar, candied cherries, a hint of molasses and a light spice. Medium bodied with a fairly high level of carbonation. Finishes a bit dry. Tasty!
Tap at Alewife Queens, New York. Colour is brown with very small white head. Aromas and flavours: Ripe fruits, dry fruits, caramel, Belgian yeast and malts. Pretty average dubbel IMO.
Bottle. Pours tawny brown. Aroma is bready and cookie malts, toffee, cherries and plums, and some woody notes. Flavor matches the aroma and is nicely malt forward with good yeast esters and dark fruit sweetness throughout before drying out at the end. Medium/full body.
From a bottle. Pours opaque copper brown with a creamy, bubbly beige head. Tastes like dried fruits, toasted malt, toffee, and prunes. Light/medium body and carbonation. Smells like dried fruits, toasted malt, toffee, prunes, and raisins.
From notes (06/27/2015). Straight-down-the-middle Belgian flavor and aromas, with fruity yeast esters and raisin malt flavor. Solid beer, and speaking from experience it pairs well with GoT marathons.
So, so good. The second time I had it wasn’t quite as good as the first time I had it, so it loses a tiny bit on the consistency side, but make no mistake--this is easily the best Game of Thrones beer that Ommegang makes, and it’s probably because it’s so close to their fantastic flagship brew, Abbey Ale, which is also a dubbel.
on tap @ Vino Bellissimo / Lima OH --- Clear brown color, beige head, blobs and spots of lace. Taste is semi-sweet toffee and malt that grow bigger through a lightly carbonated swallow. Maybe a little dark fruit here, maybe cloves, but the finish arrives with hardly a trace of hops. A reasonably good brew.
750 ml corked and caged bottle. Clear deep ruby copper, large lasting fine tan foam. Aroma of caramel/toffee malts and dark fruits. Rich sweet caramel/ toffee malt taste, riper dark fruits, some hints of cocoa later on. Softer carbonation, medium bodied, lightly hopped. Mediocre for Ommegang. NFL (Not For Lagerboys)
En bouteille. Couleur cuivrée foncé avec épaisse mousse beige. Arômes de sucre d’orge, alcool. Goût malt caramel, sucre d’orge, épices et levures belges. Palais rond, très enrobant, belle chaleur, subtil sucre résiduel avec faible effervescence. C’est une bonne bière dessert, style porto, un délice.
750ml bottle. Pours a lightly hazy garnet with some sediment and a one finger head that is an attractive tan/orange hue. Aromas of raisin, prune, light molasses, a faint hint of spearmint, and a note that makes me think raisin bran muffins. Sweet with a lightly acidic apple sauce note (Weird? Yes. Though I have never tasted such a thing in a beer, it is not unwelcome.) clove, light Concorde grape, with faint earthiness that leads into lighter maltier notes, more dried fruit, and a pleasant clove note in the finish. It’s tasty, and honestly that weird apple sauce note that leads into the clove kind of makes it for me. Thumbs up.
Bottle - 750mL corked and caged. Muddy copper with a tall, frothy tan head. Aroma is sweet and fruity with caramel, sweet malt, dark fruits, candi sugar and yeast notes. Taste is sweet malt, dark fruit, candi sugar, caramel, light cocoa and Belgian yeast. Body is medium with a strong, prickly carbonation. Ends with more caramel, dark fruit, sweet malt, dark bread, candi sugar and yeast. Not bad.
Corked-caged bottle, 1 year in the cellar - pours a luscious red- amber clouded elixir with a massive tan meringue cap. Aroma is lush with red malts, light toastiness, subdued sweetness and a herbal tone from the hops....lush, full bodied, roasty, malty with enough hop balance to to take you into the middle of the profile which hits with a fairly complex - finish is more dry and 2 dimensional with roasty malt anf herbal hopping - nice abbey brew, not a hint of alcohol on the palate
This beer arrived at the door with a few friends... Full mouthfeel of malt and grain surrounded by some sweet Candi sugar. Yup, a Belgian strain of yeast. A nice spike of spice in second half of mouthfeel. loong slow finish.. Yum.
Poured from the bottle a cloudy chocolate with a fine toffee head. Nose is licorice, fruity. First taste has a cherry sweetness that’s not over the top. Floral yuminess shared with good friends.
Purvis Cellars bottle(4-Nov-15)Ripe fruit,toffee aroma.Brown-red,low head&suds lace.Caramel,ripe fruit,herbal flavour.Ripe fruit light spice& toffee tangy aftertaste.
Caramel malt aroma. Murky brown colour fair head and lacing. Malt caramel fruit flavour. Smooth lingering palate.
Very tasty beer from an amazing show, cool concept and overall very solid dubel. Nice caramel color with Malty taste, everything you would expect from a beer like this
Tasted at Kansas City Beerfest at Union Station October, 2015. I had so many that this rating might be a bit off. ;)
Pours a nice dark reddish amber color. Aromas of fruit, and some other hints, maybe some spices, maybe caramel. Flavor is a bittersweet, malty, and a hint of hops with a nice bittersweet finish.