Minutiae (2021)
Phase Three Brewing Company

Cellared 4.5 years. Had on tap. Pitch black pour, no head save a dark brown collar. Big barrel in the nose. Char, raisin, chocolate, toasted caramel, and earth supporting. Taste has a clear tier one of star: big barrel especially the oak, char, and chocolate, then the next tier consists of leather, tobacco, earth and vague dark fruit that has been dried long ago. Feel is barrel driven and heavy, thick layers of stout coat the palate, smooth. Not as complex as others in the series, but a great stout none the less

 

 

fobab 2021.

 

This one pours a very dark black color, with a small head, and not much lacing.

This smells like dark chocolate, vanilla, oak, leather, tobacco, coffee, bourbon, and some slight smokiness.

This is very barrel forward, in a very pleasant way. There’s some char, some light tobacco earthiness, vanilla, marshmallow, dark chocolate truffles, cookie dough, and lots of oak.

This is medium bodied, reasonably thick and very creamy, with no real booziness to it at all.

I think this is my first barrel aged stout from Phase Three – it’s definitely a real winner.

 

 

Released 11/20/21; drank 11/27/21 @ Pierce's Cooperage.

Black appearance.

An even pour yielded almost no tan head; minimal lace.

Oak, fudge, fresh earth & burnt caramel notes in the nose.

Thick, sticky mouthfeel.

Bakers chocolate, burnt caramel, oak & fresh earth flavors up front; as this warmed, fudge & cocoa nibs emerged, as well as some booze heat.

A robust, challenging beer that starts out a Russian Imperial Stout but mellows out to a great American Imperial Stout; this was a stunner.

A great improvement over the 2020 batch, in my opinion.

Served from the bottle in a stemmed glass at the Phase Three taproom.

This most recent version pours a deep obsidian topped by half-finger of brown foam. The nose comprises dark chocolate, deep roast, light toast, mild booze, a touch of whiskey, vanilla bean, and a bit of molasses. The taste generally brings in more of the same, but the disparate elements remain disparate, never truly coalescing into a greater good. Some Nicaragua tobacco and dark stone fruits jump in as well, confusing things further. The body is rather hefty, with a rather light moderate carbonation and a decadently chewy feel. Don't get me wrong, this is a good beer, but the flavors just never quite made it together for me (my buddy disagreed, just to put that out there). I'd still definitely have another if offered, but P3 has put out plenty of better big-boi stouts.