(Press Release)
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y.—Seven Hells! Seven Kingdoms Hoppy Wheat Ale, the newest beer in the Game of Thrones series from HBO Global Licensing and Brewery Ommegang, is slated to debut this spring ahead of the premiere of season six of HBO’s critically-acclaimed and Emmy award-winning show. The brew will be available all throughout the realm – the United States that is – both on draft and in large-format 750ml bottles.
Seven Kingdoms is a marriage of a traditional Belgian-style wheat and a hop-forward American ale – but unlike so many of the marriages on the show, the resulting hoppy wheat is pleasant, playful and inspired. At 6.9% ABV, it possesses a nuanced complexity that pairs nicely with the hop-forward characteristics that make it surprisingly refreshing.
“We love bringing as much inspiration, thoughtfulness and creativity to the Game of Thrones beers as we can,” said Mike McManus, Innovation Manger at Brewery Ommegang. “This last season, the imaginativeness of the show was pretty astounding so we aimed for a beer that could hope to match that. A fusion of two wonderful styles was an idea that really excited our team.”
“With Seven Kingdoms, Ommegang has crafted another excellent brew which we know our fans will love,” said Josh Goodstadt, Vice President of Global Licensing at HBO. “The world of Westeros is varied and complex and this varietal embodies those characteristics while offering a new and unique taste to beer drinkers.”
Seven Kingdoms pours a hazy pale yellow with a thick cap of pure white foam. The aroma is floral, citrusy with a touch of passion fruit and a slightly herbal hop aroma underpinned with yeast notes of banana, ripe fruit, and spicy phenols. The taste is a full, round hop flavor with tart orange and lemon with a substantial wheat maltiness and the finish has slightly lingering hop notes without being harshly bitter. The mouthfeel is smooth and silken owing to the wheat and oats.
The new brew is hopped with Bravo, Centennial, Citra, Cascade, and Columbus, and brewed with pilsner, white and red wheat, oats, and a touch of sugar to lighten the body. Ommegang’s unique house yeast is used in both primary fermentation and bottling conditioning.
Seven Kingdoms follows the re-release of the first two Game of Thrones-inspired beers, Iron Throne Blonde Ale and Take the Black Stout (fall 2015 and spring/fall 2013), Three-Eyed Raven Dark Saison(spring 2015), Valar Morghulis (fall 2014), and Fire and Blood Red Ale (spring 2014). Due to the popularity of this series of beers, Seven Kingdoms will be brewed at 3.5 times the volume of the first beer released in spring 2013. It will be available nationally in March 2016 on draft and in 750ml bottles for the suggested retail price $9.99 per bottle.