Arabesque - Strawberry
Phase Three Brewing Company

Sweet milk chocolate and caramel covered strawberries, dark red fruity, port wine, and a vanilla-bourbon barrel boozy nose on this one! Taste follows with a caramel/toffee, sweet red berries, brown sugar, and a sweet bourbon barrel finish. I picked up more strawberry on the nose than I did on the palate. It came across the taste buds as a sweet, almost port wine vibe...and I am here for it! Ha! This has a nice and viscous mouthfeel to it as well...and it has aged really well! This is well done!

 

 

Dark brooding coloration; golden hues support a dark brown pour. Very little head buildup allows for quick recession into a flat, motionless liquid.

The strawberry is immediately present on the nose. Lifted by supporting notes of caramel and boozy bread pudding, there's a nice balance of the base arabesque and the added fruit. With time, some dark chocolate comes to the forefront, a great (and classic) marriage with the strawberry.

On the palate, there's again a surprisingly solid balance of adjunct and base beer. The flavors integrate more of the barrel; a touch of blistered oak and burnt caramel bring balance to the acidity presented by the strawberries. The finish has a touch of dryness as well; both a compliment to the acid and an emphasis toward the barrel character.

Great mouthfeel; viscous and coating. Verges on overly syrupy when combined with the acidity of the strawberry, but rides the line nicely. There's a subtle dryness that accompanies great warmth on the finish.

 

Had on tap. Pitch brown pour, no head save a short lived brown cap. So let's name the elephant in the room: it is reminiscent of strawberry jacket, but though it has been a few since I had SJ, I find this one to be more jammy where the SJ was somewhat more barrel forward and certainly brighter. Think of this like a dessert cordial of a barleywine: jammy strawberry meets dark fruits, bourbon, caramel, and barley in a warm but not rustic way, hint of fudge near the end of the sip is odd but not bad, very finish gives us the charred oak. Smell focuses on the strawberry and bourbon first, rest of barrel next, with general caramel and molasses supporting. Feel is very warm and smooth in a rich way, thicker but not heavy, definitely sticky