Death rides a hobbled Donkey named Swift, and wields a giant Candy Cane!

Wait, this isn’t the image of Death that most of us has in mind.  If our perceptions align, than it would be something similar to this.

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This is how most perceive Death, fearsome, intimidating, and a harbinger of finality.  Or, at least the imagery predominantly consists of corpse laden, dark, sinister visuals.

Therefore, when a company chooses to name their product Death, one would expect a fair emulation of these ideas.

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The label certainly delivers.  Observe the corpse/skeletal depiction, the burning hellfire in the eye sockets, and the promise of ferocity in your mouth from the ghost peppers.  Everything about the label practically shouts “Beware!  This is the vessel that holds Death itself!  Consuming me will be end your existence!”

And with trepidation, did I uncap this accursed bottle.

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Death – Rivertown Brewing Company – My first impressions were a bit startling.  When pouring this, the body was a rich brown color and not the black-as-midnight that I was expecting.  It was noticeably thin and perceivably bubbly, but had no head retention or lacing on the glass.  The smell was lacking, and had a mild roasty chestnut smell coupled with a hint of barely discernible pepper notes.  The body was a no-where-close-to-russian-imperial-stout thin, and failed to deliver on my expectations of a chewy, robust mouthfeel.  The taste reminded me of a watery brown ale that poured into a dirty glass that some careless individual sprinkled with tabasco sauce as they were adorning their bar fries.   This purportedly was an 11% abv beer, but after drinking the bomber, it only felt like about 7%.  This brought me to the title of my article, and the imagery impressed upon me by Death, from Rivertown Brewing Company. 4/10

Court Death if you will, but this manifestation in beer form, will only leave you chuckling at its weak taste profile, false advertising via label work, and overall disappointment in delivery.

Humbly yours,

J