Glass of dark beer next to a bottle of Falling Knife Brewing Death's Head.

Breweries throw the best birthday parties, because they brew even more amazing beer for all of us to enjoy. To celebrate three years, Falling Knife Brewing created three crazy barrel-aged brews (along with an anniversary triple-IPA). Where does one start? Grab a brew and go-to. Falling Knife Brewing Death’s Head is huge imperial stout action.

Death’s Head

This barrel-aged brews is Death’s Head, a rye barrel-aged pistachi-o imperial stout with chocolate sandwich cookies, pistachio, and vanilla. At 14% ABV, it’s got big alcohol, that’s really hidden in all the other action.

This bottle pours a thick black liquid into the glass and a small deep-brown head forms. With time, it slowly settles and leaves no sign of its previous existence, other than a bit of oily residue on the glass.

Take a sniff and you’re bowled over with huge aromas of chocolate, vanilla cream, and bourbon. There’s a touch of pistachio cream in there too, along with a hint of coffee and layers of more warm chocolate. It’s lovely.

Sip and the huge malt fills the mouth, slides across the tongue and quickly coats everything in its path with rich delicious chocolate. There’s a bit of light creamy warm caramel before the bigger flavors take over.

Those sandwich cookies? They’re here and it’s like dunking them into a whipped glass of creamy vanilla and light nutty pistachio milk. Each sip is like a delicious dunk and bite of cookie-bliss.

The rye-whiskey barrel comes through in a big way, once you hit the aftertaste. Sweet rye is in full effect, and then dries wonderfully into the aftertaste, where a touch of milk chocolate and light vanilla cream live on. You’re aware of the 14% ABV, but not because of any alcohol heat, just the big and bold body.

A Stout Sipper

Anniversaries are about celebration. What you’ve created thus far, but also showing a path ahead. Falling Knife Brewing is three years in and showcases what they’ve accomplished in that time but also that there are even better brews to come.

Pop over to the Falling Knife taproom to get a taste and raise a glass to many more years of FK’n awesome beers. Grab this one while you can.