Field Artillery
Two Ton Brewing

 

 

Two Ton Brewing

Field Artillery Russian Imperial Stout with Lactose

I was excited to find out that the packaged,
to-go offering from this brewery was a RIS. Then they brought me the two bottles and I read the “L” word on the label. Yes, “lactose.” Disappointed? Yes. Still intrigued to try a stout from this brewery, yes.

This beer is a continuation of my new brewery experience yesterday. I’m sharing the accompanying brewery review here since I just finished writing it.

I see that @MacMalt is the only other one to review this beer.

Look: This beer pours opaque, pitch black. It looks thick streaming from the bottle, but not the most viscous looking stout. An espresso cream colored head that sits a couple fingers high. It settles and leaves just a small amount of lace in its wake. No visible carbonation.

Smell: Coffee, milk chocolate, hint of cinnamon, roasted malt aroma. Creamy vanilla note. Upon warming and a deep whiff the ethyl alcohol comes through noticeably, but not distractingly. I would describe it as a soft vanilla flavored vodka/extract aroma. Again, not overpowering, but notable. The aroma is inviting and generally this beer is sweet smelling.

Taste: Up front a flash of milk chocolate and dark, dried fruit. Mid palate there are some hazelnut, dark chocolate / cocoa powder notes. Then the beer quickly shifts to one focused on roasty, toasty, bitter and aggressively hopped stout. The piney and lemon pith bitterness lingers. Really bitter.

Feel: I like the mouthfeel on this beer. It’s moderately carbonated and smooth. Round. The finish is very dry, with a burnt toast characteristic.

Overall: I’m enjoying this beer. The lactose made me skeptical. But this turned out to be a very nice, aggressively hopped and toasty RIS with a prominent bitterness. A really enjoyable drinking experience starting out with some hints of sweetness, dryer notes mid palate to an all out assault of bitter hops and toastiness. A very good RIS and one that meets my needs for the style. I do wonder WHY they added lactose to this beer. Perhaps it’s helped to dial back the bitterness that I described? I don’t know Perhaps I’ll ask the next time I’m back, which I assure you I will be.

I wouldn’t say the brewery had an overall military or police theme, but there were definitely hints. The name of this beer. There were also Thin Red and Blue Line flags hanging on the wall as well. “In Brothers We Trust” motto which could be taken literally since it’s a family business, and figuratively.

Overall, I enjoyed my experience at this family run business yesterday. Cheers to good beer, and more importantly, good beer.

 

I had this on draught at the brewery. It was served in a tulip glass. It pours a dark, dark walnut with a fluffy, mocha cap and creamy lacing that dissipated quickly. The smell included burnt coffee, leather, tobacco smoke, chocolate, nuts, and just a whiff of dark fruit. It has a decidedly smoky taste with roasted malt, burnt coffee grounds, char, bakers chocolate, and nuts. Initially, there was just a hint of black cherry but it became more evident as the glass warmed. It finishes with more hoppy bitterness than I expected. The mouth feel is moderately creamy with lite carbonation, and the 11% ABV, though warming, was not as obvious as I anticipated. Overall, this is a solid RIS from a relatively new brewer. It isn't an easy style to perfect and Two Ton has done a nice job. If the dark fruit can be accentuated a little, and the mouth feel made thicker, Field Artillery will be a really fine offering. I'll try another pour soon.