Beer Review: Authoritarian (Short Throw Brewing / Equilibrium Brewery Collaboration)

Name: Authoritarian 
Brewing Company: Short Throw Brewing Company / Equilibrium Brewery
Location: Richmond, VA / Middleton, NY
Style: Stout – Russian Imperial | Russian Imperial Pastry Stout
ABV: 8.2%

A thick, sweet, decadent dessert stout from two “hot” breweries.

From the untappd Page for the beer:

We teamed up with our homies at Equilibrium to make an oppressive beer, which demands obedience. Authoritarian: a Ptichye Moloko Russian Imperial Pastry Stout. Ptichye Moloko, translated as bird’s milk, is one of Russia’s most beloved desserts. Silky yet light layers of custard are separated by thin, fluffy layers of sponge cake

Over the last year or so, I’ve been seeing cans of Short Throw Brewing on the shelves in a couple of stores in my area. I had one of their beers previously which was good, so I figured I give them another try for International Stout Day. This beer is brewed in collaboration with a New York brewery who makes some of the most highly-acclaimed ales, Equilibrium. I like Russian Imperial Stouts and like them even more when there’s some kind of sweet adjunct to offset what is typically an extremely bitter (but good!) beer.

On to the beer…

I’m immediately struck by the appearance of this beer. This has to be one of the blackest, thickest, darkest beers I’ve ever had. It is extremely thick and viscous, one of the thicker beers I can remember having. As the kids say, this beer is Thiccc. A dark khaki, or chocolatey chocolate milk head tops the beer. I like the look of this one a lot.

The aroma of roasted malts and maybe some coffee and vanilla mix in to add to the anticipation.

Diving in with my first sip, I realize this beer is feels as thick as it looks. That’s a good thing. Immediate flavors are of a tasty Russian Imperial Stout – big on the malt, slightly bittersweet but thick to the point I can almost chew the beer.

The chocolate flavor emerges more with each sip of the beer. The vanilla plays really nice as a bridge between the bitterness of the coffee and sweetness of the chocolate. But what I appreciate the most about this beer is that it finishes like a Russian Imperial Stout. When I think of the epitome of the American version of a Russian Imperial Stout, I think of Old Rasputin, which I reviewed back in 2018. Russian Imperial Stouts typically have a high hop bitterness level to keep them drinkable and fresh longer. After all the sweetness, and pastry-stout elements of the beer, Authoritarian reminds you that it is a Russian Imperial Stout with a welcome, sharp hop bite. It is aggressive, but it isn’t a lingering bitterness which I appreciate.

This beer is extremely sweet and extremely thick. It is not to be messed with, but to be enjoyed for dessert. If anything, it might be a little too sweet, but I still enjoyed the hell out of this beer.

Highly Recommended, link to 4.25 bottle cap untappd rating check in.

Untapped badges earned with this beer:

International Stout Day 2021