Brewery Ommegang’s Take the Black Stout: A Deliciously Confusing Stout

Night gathers, and now my watch begins. So begins the oath of the Night’s Watch, the protectors of the northern border of Westeros in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series. As the darkness of the long night of winter descends upon the land, the Night’s Watch was charged with steadfastly patrolling the brutally cold wastes of the North. The order was originally raised to protect against “the Others,” undead wights that threatened to kill all those living in Westeros who appeared thousands of years ago during the Long Winter. These watchmen forsook all of their claims to land and wealth in order to serve the Night’s Watch, taking the black cloaks of the Night’s Watch for their own, shedding any heraldry and vestments of their previous lives (although a good deal of the men were less than savory characters; criminals who had the choice of death or serving the rest of their lives in the Night’s Watch in order to fill the ranks of the once noble Watch, which became less popular as the summers lengthened at the beginning of the series). Eventually, winter falls, and the Night’s Watch soon saw itself threatened by a resurgent push southwards by the Others.

Against this bleak backdrop comes Brewery Ommegang’s Take the Black Stout, a part of their series of beers based off of the TV adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire, HBO’s Game of Thrones. The second of four beers in the series, after the Iron Throne Blonde Ale, the Take the Black Stout is a stout brewed to mirror the complex brotherhood of the Night’s Watch, the watchmen in the darkest of nights, the “sword in the darkness,” and basically the badassery of Jon Snow. Well that last part might have been my own interpretation, but I still think it’s pretty apt. Ommegang’s Take the Black Stout comes in at 7% ABV and is available for a limited time in 750mL bottles and on draft. Thankfully, they brewed twice the volume of the Take the Black Stout than they did the Iron Throne Blonde Ale, which sold out ridiculously quickly (I was pretty boned when all the stores nearby sold out). Coming from a brewery that specializes in Belgian ales (being owned by the Belgian Duvel Moortgat Brewery), I was interested to see what kind of stout they put out. And wow. This is probably the most confusing beer I’ve had. In a good way. It’s delicious, but just really, really confusing.

Appearance– When poured into a regular tumbler pint glass, it borders on opaque black. With what little bit of light that is able to penetrate closer to the bottom of the beer, a garnet red hue is revealed, like the eyes of the direwolf adorning the pommel of Longclaw. It pours with a thick and foamy head, tan in color, reminiscent of a root beer float.

Aroma– When poured out, one is met with a strong malty aroma, mainly made up of roastiness accompanied by chocolate and coffee aromas. It has a very strong aroma; as the beer sat on the table next to me, I was able to smell the chocolate and coffee from an arm’s length away. Interestingly, as the beer warmed, the aroma takes on a clove-y and herbal aroma, similar to a Belgian ale.

Taste– The first taste that grabs you immediately is the bitterness of the roasted malt. As the bitterness dissipates, chocolate maltiness emerges and asserts itself along with the coffee flavor notes in the beer (although the bitterness of the roasted malts never really goes away). It has a somewhat herbal afterbite from the licorice and the star anise, but they work well off of the dark roasted malts. As the beer warms towards the end of the first glass, more herbal, almost phenolic-spicy flavors are present, which I am guessing are from the licorice and the anise. But as I keep drinking this beer, I become more and more confused with the flavor. As the beer warms and more flavors are released, the herbal/spice flavors are almost reminiscent of Belgian yeast driven ales. As I finish the second glass, I feel like I am drinking a Belgian dubbel that has been brewed with a ton of roasted barley and darker malts. It may just be the licorice and anise, but it does make for confusing drinking. The acrid roasted barley flavor persists throughout, however, which is a hallmark of the stout as a style.

Mouthfeel– The mouthfeel is silky smooth. It has a nice and light-medium body that makes it a really drinkable beer with a subtle creaminess to it. It has a dry attenuated finish. The acrid bitterness of the roasted barley lingers, but it finishes dry, making for a drinkable stout.

Overall Impression– Confusing. But also delicious. My first impression of the beer was that of a solid stout, with a ton of chocolate and coffee flavor notes, paired with the acrid bitterness of the roasted barley. However, as the beer warmed, more and more flavors became apparent, like those of the licorice and anise, herbal in character, making the stout almost taste as if it was a yeast driven Belgian ale over time, instead of a stout. I really did enjoy this beer, but I don’t know if the licorice and anise worked in its favor. I really enjoyed the first glass, tasting like a good stout, but the funk that came out as the beer warmed threw me off a little bit. If I was not a fan of yeast driven Belgian style ales, I might find myself unhappy with Ommegang’s Take the Black Stout. But I personally think this is an interesting beer. I also think that if I had one glass on draft, I would definitely think this is a solid stout and not give it a second thought. Buying a 750 mL bottle forces you to appreciate the beer over a longer period of time, and you can appreciate it over a longer period and see how the beer unravels over time. I decided to get two bottles of the Take the Black Stout so I could let one age for a couple of months. I’ve never had an aged beer, so I am excited to see how this beer will age over time; we’ll see if it cleans up a bit and matures some of the maltier flavors. I’d imagine that cracking open my second bottle when George R.R. Martin publishes the next installment of A Song of Ice and Fire would be appropriate!