Adroit Theory and Reaver Beach the Death of Cthulhu
I’m not going to lie to you, I strictly purchased this bottle of The Death of Cthulhu solely on the label artwork alone — it’s pretty bad ass. The fact that this collaboration between Adroit Theory and Reaver Beach Brewing is a bourbon barrel-aged Russian imperial stout is just an added bonus. It’s also probably the best beer from the northern Virginia company I’ve enjoyed thus far and one hell of an introduction to their Virginia Beach compatriot.
Weighing in at 12% ABV, this stout is certainly not a small beer. It pours as it should, but I was hoping for something a little more evil I suppose in terms of looks, something to accompany that label artwork. I’m not entirely sure how long the beer sat in bourbon barrels, but the aging influence is just about spot on. The barrel notes are on full blast here, but not so much as to detract from the other elements of the beer. To say an imperial stout is well-rounded sounds sort of silly, but this one is pretty nicely balanced amongst the expected attributes.
I suppose my only complaint for The Death of Cthulhu — and this is a common one for barrel-aged stouts — is that it’s not as full as I would like on the palate. That nitpick doesn’t really take away from the overall enjoyment of this brew, it’s just a personal preference. I may have to dig around for another one of these in local shops as I have a feeling it will age pretty darn nicely.