If vengeance were bottled up and made to drink, it might have a sweet, fruity finish with a slightly bitter aftertaste. That is, of course, if it came from the land of Westeros.
Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown, New York has had major success with its series of Game of Thrones-inspired beer, and its back with its fourth installment: Valar Morghulis, meaning "all men must die" in the fictional language of Valyrian.
The latest Game of Thrones brew has a special twist though; it was picked by you. Brewery Ommegang and HBO posted a poll on the Game of Thrones Facebook page in December asking fans to pick which of four beer options (name and style) they'd want to see next. The Valar Morghullis phrase won out against Seven Kingdoms (Tripel), Hand of the King (Quad) and Khal (Quad).
The description for the winning brew highlights why the flavor resonates with the name: "Valar Morghulis is an Old Valyrian saying closely associated with the desire for vengeance. A Belgian-style Dubbel was chosen to capture the sweetness of revenge as well as the dangerous consequences that come with it."
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 serve.”
"The fan base for Game of Thrones keeps growing larger as each new season debuts, and the popularity of the beers is growing right along with the show,” said Josh Goodstadt, Vice President of HBO Global Licensing, in a statement. “For this fourth beer, we found the perfect opportunity to give those diehard fans the power to choose what beer they wanted to drink.”
Valar Morghulis follows Iron Throne Blonde Ale (spring 2013), Take the Black Stout (fall 2013) and Fire and Blood Red Ale (available now).
Valar Morghulis will debut this fall on draft and in corked bottles (25.4 ounces) for about $8.50 each.
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