Alright, folks. I hope everybody had a great weekend. We've got a cool one today, the second in Ommegang's Game of Thrones series. Craft beer and epic fantasy, two great tastes that taste great together! I talked about the first beer in the series Iron Throne Blone Ale back in March. Check that one out here. I liked it quite a bit, but something about it didn't feel super Westerosi (Maybe Dornish? I don't know). Take the Black though? This is more of what I had in mind, a big hearty black ale. One minor critique, that will only be apparent to idiots like me. I love the name, Take the Black, very evocative, but the art on the bottle doesn't really mach up. Take the Black refers to the Night's Watch. The weirwood tree on the label isn't a symbol of the Night's Watch though. The weirwood is an important part of the religion of the old gods. And While Jon and Sam Tarly took their oath before a weirwood tree that is because they keep the old gods. Most of the brothers of the Night's Watch are worshippers of the Faith of the Seven. The old gods are still kept in the north and beyond the wall so the weir wood is more of a symbol of the north than the Night's watch. Whatever, it looks cool and it's a cool name, and only weirdoes like me will take any exception to it. What is far more important than anything on the label is what is inside the bottle, a 7% ABV Belgian style stout. To the beer!
