Varietal Beer Co. set out with two simple goals when they opened their doors in 2018: craft high-quality beer with local ingredients and create a community space for locals.

And in 2019, their multiple Gold Medal wins at the Washington Beer Awards and Sip Magazine’s Best of the Northwest Awards solidified Varietal not just as a local favorite, but as a regional powerhouse!

Now, these craft superstars are celebrating their two-year anniversary in the best way possible — with a big, boozy beer that shows off their brewing prowess. Today’s Ghosts of Giants is a highly limited Imperial Stout that packs a 10.8% ABV and a whole lotta deep, flavorful complexity. 

Appropriately for an anniversary Stout, the Varietal team began with a selection of Barrel-Aged Imperial Stouts from different vintages in their cellar. Then, they blended them into this immensely complex super-brew.

Big wafts of bittersweet mocha greet you on the nose, paving the way for dark chocolate roast and notes of toffee bourbon on the tongue. Whispers of oak and blackstrap molasses round out the finish. 

With all the warmth swirling in this brew, we recommend saving this bottle for a cool evening. We do recommend an evening without an early bedtime though — this beast of Dark deliciousness begs to be savored for hours. 

*Isn’t that bottle art cool? It’s a custom design from local Washington artist, Megon Shoreclay.