We made and paired a poached plums and lemon sorbet flambe with Bend the Knee Golden Ale. It is the newest addition to the Game of Thrones series of Brewery Ommegang in collaboration with HBO. Our love for Belgian ales and Game of Thrones amplified to the max during season seven's premiere. I can't even.
It was not easy to find Bend the Knee Golden Ale in a craft beer lovers' town like Fort Collins, but we did it!! We got a hold of two bottles with the seal of House Lannister. There are two more bottle designs of the same brew, one with the House Stark seal and one with the House Targaryen seal.
Lannister is definitely not our favorite house, although we strongly favor Tyrion and completely agree that without the Lannisters' existence the game of thrones would not be the same game. We are loyal to the Starks, fans of Jon Snow... Clearly we still have much to aspire for in the coming months in terms of appropriately decorated bottle label:), but we are still very grateful, because the Belgian golden ale brewed with honey was pure perfection.
Brewery Ommegang is based in Cooperstown, New York and distributes their expertly crafted brews nationwide, with the exception of ID, MS, MT and WY. They also have a presence in Ontario, Canada. They make the best Belgian style ales in the United States. Hands down.
I cannot tell you how many people I have met over the years who have expressed this opinion. Belgians, born and raised, people who have lived in Belgium long enough to become familiar with the flavors of the Belgian beers and can recognize when something is off, brewers... I always wondered why that was until last year I watched a video lecture/discussion on the microbiology of brewing produced by the American Academy of Microbiology, which included a Q&A session on the subject with two authoritative (and very entertaining) personalities.
One of them, Rebecca Newman, is an expert on microorganisms and fermentation and has worked at Russian River and Dogfish Head. She was asked why Ommegang seem to make the best tasting Belgian style ales, and explained that they understand that the yeast is not everything in a Belgian ale and are experts in achieving the right acid balance in their brewing and pay really close attention to the primary fermentation. (You can watch Microbes After Hours - The Microbiology of Beer if you are interested, 33:50 is the explanation).
Every Ommegang ale I've ever tasted has been a complete source of craft beering delight. Bend the Knee Golden Ale is brewed with pils malts and noble hops (my favorite combo), honey and of course the famous Ommegang yeast, which contributes its notable fruitiness. It is pretty high in alcohol (ABV 9%) with a dry finish and absolutely enticing aromas. I wish we had another bottle - writing this is not easy without being able to taste it:).
Back to the poached plums and lemon sorbet flambe. I chose plums because Sersei Lannister (via her henchman Qyburn) bribed the kids who ultimately helped her blow up the Sept containing a number of her enemies with ... candied plums. Plus, plums lend themselves quite nicely to poaching.
Bend the Knee Golden Ale is sweet, but just for good measure, we threw in some brown sugar. We wanted the plums to taste sweet, almost no traces of tartness so that they would contrast the lemon sorbet just like the flames of the dark rum we used for the flambe would contrast the frozen sorbet (we used store bought, there was no time to make our own).
With most of the oak aged dark rum's alcohol gone post 'burnum' we basically bathed the dessert with warm buttery flavors, infusing and liquefying the sorbet... Chris is such a trooper - he held the vessel with the burning rum for way to long until I could finally capture usable fire shots in daylight...Thank goodness for hand mitts.
With a 'song of ice and fire' dessert in front of us and glasses of Bend the Knee Golden Ale to pair it with we watched Aria Stark sort out what remained of the Freys. So stoked about this season, it has been a long wait.
This fall there will be another Game of Thrones inspired ale. Brewery Ommegang will release a Belgian style double white ale called Winter is Here! (ABV 8.3%) and will also re-release the Fire and Blood Red Ale spiced with ancho chiles (ABV 6.8%) which was the third beer made as part of the series.
I guess we won't be that sad about the end of summer. But not for a while.
PS. Do be careful with the rum flambe if you decide to make this dessert. Consult the recipe and wear protective mitts.
Recipe
Tales of Fire & Ice - Bend the Knee Golden Ale Poached Plums & Lemon Sorbet Flambe
Ingredients
- 10 oz Belgian style golden ale
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ stick cinnamon
- 3 medium sized plums peeled and sliced
- 2 cups lemon sorbet
- 4-5 oz dark rum 80 proof
Instructions
- Combine the ale, brown sugar and cinnamon stick in a sauce pan.
- Bring to simmer, stir for sugar to dissolve and add the plums.
- Simmer for about 5 minutes and remove fruit.
- Let plums chill.
- Arrange sorbet and chilled plums in dessert cups.
- Meanwhile, in a small sauce pan warm up the rum. Do not over heat as it may spontaneously catch on fire.
- Remove the saucepan with the rum from the heat, and while wearing protective hand mitts light the rum with a long matchstick or long lighter.
- Let flames burn for a few seconds and drizzle over the dessert.
- Be very careful handling the flambe! Make sure there are no items in proximity that may catch on fire.
Jas @All that's Jas
I love alcohol in my desserts and I'm pretty sure my husband would love to move in with you, lol.
CraftBeering
Haha, you are both welcome, Jas! I have a feeling we would all have a grand time cooking, eating and drinking together! Especially if you whip up some of your recipes that are dear to my heart:)
karrie @ Tasty Ever After
Pinned this recipe right away because it looks amazing AND I love anything Brewery Ommegang! So glad Chris survived the flames too. #professional 🙂 Totally going to impress the hubby one night with this dessert after a nice steakhouse dinner at home. Believe or not but we don't watch Game of Thrones. We only watched the first couple episodes and now we have to find time to power watch all the seasons in one weekend because EVERYONE is talking about it. Dang it!
CraftBeering
Karrie, I am actually happy for you. Binge watching Game of Thrones is absolutely awesome!!! I had to catch up to Chris and this summer we watched the previous two seasons before season 7 started. It is sooo worth it.
Leslie
OMG, this sounds so good. I can't wait to give it a try! Thanks so much for joining us at the #happynowlinkup!
CraftBeering
Thank you Leslie!
Amber Harrop
I am a big Game of THrones fan so I would have to try this !!
CraftBeering
Yes, yes, yes! GOT rocks!
Jess
Wow...sounds yummy!
I would love for you to share this with my Facebook Group for recipes, crafts, tips, and tricks: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pluckyrecipescraftstips/
Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
CraftBeering
Thank you Jess!
Melissa
This is a must try recipe! Thanks for sharing at the Friday Frenzy Link Party this week. I can't wait to fix it for my hubby, I'm pinning and yumming for later.
CraftBeering
Thank you Melissa! I have a sneaky suspicion you might like it too:)
Leanna
This post is not a recipe it is food art. Wow this sounds spectacular. The flavours will be amazing. Pinning.
CraftBeering
OMG, thank you so much Leanna, such encouraging words!
annie@ciaochowbambina
WHOA! I love how the name just rolls off the tongue! I've been wanting a dessert made with stone fruit and this looks amazing! This is an epic treat, my friend!
CraftBeering
Thanks Annie! I was trying to insert a Game of Thrones clue into the title somewhere, lol.
Dawn - Girl Heart Food
I haven't watched Game of Thrones before, but I think I'm going to have to give it a go! I've never poached peaches in beer before either so this sounds quite intriguing! I remember years ago hubby flambed something and I was totally freaked out...amazing to watch that's for sure!! Since this beer is available in Canada, I'm going to have to keep an eye out for it next time I pick up some (like, this weekend 😉 ). Sounds pretty delicious. I'll have to get extra - some for dessert and some for drinking straight up, lol!! Pinned!
CraftBeering
Please, please watch Game of Thrones..This is not a show where you want to commit a sin of omission, lol. The ales are so hard to find, it sounds like we will not be getting any more until fall...If you don't find the exact one, just get a good Belgian golden ale like Duvel. I've hear of several pretty good Canadian ones true to the style, but have only had the Unibroue 16.
Miz Helen
What a wonderful dessert that we will really enjoy! Thanks so much for sharing your post with us at Full Plate Thursday this week. Hope you will come back and visit us again real soon!
Miz Helen
CraftBeering
Thank you so much Miz Helen!
Akaleistar
I don't watch Game of Thrones, but that looks delicious!
CraftBeering
Thank you, Ashley. It really is:)
Kelly @ Kelly Lynns Sweets and Treats
Thanks for sharing on the Friday Frenzy Link Party! This looks amazing! Pinned!!
CraftBeering
Thank you Kelly!
Elise Cohen Ho
There are so many things about this that sound perfectly divine.
CraftBeering
Thank you Elise, trying to enjoy life in the present moment, for no one can predict the future..
Nicoletta @sugarlovespices
I tried to watch an episode of Game of Thrones after hearing people praising it so badly, but my poor Italian ears and -thus- comprehension, didn't make it through the strong heavy accent of the dialogues. So I quit 🙂 .
But I'm loving everything about this dessert: the poached plums, the sorbet, the ale. I've been to Brussels many times in the past, and I just love their beer!
CraftBeering
Oh no! I hope you can somehow get access to it with subtitles in Italian, it's one of the best shows ever, seriously:) So beautifully shot and such a great tale... Makes you want to eat flambe desserts for sure:)
Kelsie | the itsy-bitsy kitchen
I have to admit I've never actually made it through a whole episode of Game of Thrones, so most of the words in this post were unfamiliar, haha :). Maybe I need to try again? But poached plums and lemon sorbet I love! This is a perfect dessert for summer. Have a great weekend, Milena!
CraftBeering
Lol, I didn't get into Game of Thrones until the third season, Kelsie. I am slow like that, all the best shows get discovered by Chris, I resist for a year or two, then give an episode a chance and get completely hooked! So I binge watched Game of Thrones' first two seasons and was completely obsessed. At least it was better than with Dexter, I joined in at the end of season three:) Devastated when it ended..