Viking's Lament
Fieldwork Brewing Co.

 

 

Sweet dark chocolate, hint of vanilla molasses, and hint of oak bourbon barrel nose on this one! Taste follows with a milk chocolate, rye spice, and vanilla bourbon barrel finish. This is tasty and feels great on the palate. Great stuff!

16oz can, snifter glass. Pours a thick, foreboding dark brown body which is nearly black, one finger offwhite head, great retention, no lacing. Nice legs. Smell is milk chocolate, mild complex dark fruit and cocoa, very nice forward spicy rye, a bit of oak, vanilla, a bit of spices which I presume are the ones listed on the can. It's interesting and quite complex, and comes together quite well on the palate. Initial smooth milk chocolate sweetness gives way to a slight bit of licorice and dark fruit, which shortly gives way to spicy rye and vanilla, giving this beer a big mouthfeel. It's smooth and appropriately carbonated, but with a lot of complexity where the adjuncts play well together without overwhelming the base porter or the rye barrel. It's a nice harmony of a multitude of flavours and I consider this an extremely thoughtfully brewed beer. The 13.5% is also not noticeable as the rye spice contributes a ton of flavour but hardly any heat.

 

 

 

WOW a crazy BB aged porter.
On tap by chance at The Crafty Fox in San Francisco. Super complex Porter so much flavor coffee,toffee bourbon notes. This one is way out there.

 

 

Poured on Tap from Field Work taproom
Look: Brownish-black in appearance, with no transparency. Slight tan head, along with moderate glass lacing.
Smell: Upfront with chocolate, smoke/ash, and roasted malts. Slight hints of bourbon and dark licorice.
Taste: Initial taste is chocolate, with smoky/ashy backend. Bourbon taste is not overwhelming, with slight heat as its swallowed. As it warmed up, flavor profile didn't change too drastically.
Feel: Feel is medium-full, more on the full end in embodiment. Heavy on the tongue, which I prefer. Low carbonation, and no burning sensation from alcohol.
Overall: I was very surprised by this. First off, this is the most impressive porter I have had to date. Huge profile for a porter. Very bold and smoky, yet smooth. At 13.5 ABV, incredibly smooth. Worth a try.

You would never knows this is a porter. Good vanilla flavor and the licorice shows once the beer warms up. A good sipper at 13.5% and not overly sweet. The 2018 is rye barrel aged which gives a nice spice to the beer. Very well done !

 

 

 

Poured from the can into a tulip, it ran syrupy into the glass producing a thin milk chocolate brown head which clung to the sides of the vessel during consumption. The predominate fragrances in the nose were chocolate, roast malts, dark fruits and a hint of licorice. This "Porter" (I would never have guessed that) has a rich, slick mouth feel without exhibiting a cloying sweetness. It is as rich as seven layer dark chocolate cake, satisfying as a chocolate fudge brownie, indeed; a dessert beer. Consume slowly while warming to the 13.5 % ABV, though apparent during the very enjoyable consumption, is subdued by the nuances of the malts, vanilla and bourbon barrel aging.