Phase Three Brewing (2021)

Also try to get your food the first hour. Long line right now…

 

How slammed is it in the tap room? Trying to plan for my afternoon timeslot.

 

taproom is closed. Minutiae event only. Consume, down the street has a P3 pop up taproom open.

 

His comment says “trying to plan for my afternoon time slot”

 

It also says “how slammed is the tap room”. Do you mean tap lines?

Edit: line is slammed the first 30 mins then easy peasy.

 

Is everyone packed in the tap room like sardines in a tin?

 

No, you do walk thru the taproom but everything is in the production area. Still pretty packed but garage doors are open and there is a good amount of room.

 

Appreciate the heads up. Thanks much.

 

The coconut peanut butter won the day for me.

 

We’re they handing out totes for the bottles since Eunoia b7 dropped today also? Need to know if to pack one along with my aluminum foil for the burger.

 

clear plastic bags that will fit all 3 bottles and your glass

 

Really good time today. Did some 5oz pours but also split some to try extra). Here’s what I thought of the pours:

Didn’t try: Sandwich cookies (3), cocoa nibs and cinnamon (6)
Not going to assess: Minutiae (tasted great but had towards the end)

Tier 1:
(9) Coconut and PB
(2) Papa New Guinea Vanilla Bean

Tier 2:
(5) Coffee
(8) Smore

Tier 3:
(7) cinnamon/coconut/syrup (too maple heavy)
(4) Vanilla and marshmallow (something on the finish that I wasn’t into. Maybe the mallow)

Tier 4:
Voodoo Black Magick French Oak Bourbon Cognac. (Thin and suffered by comparison)

 

Great breakdown! Where did Eunoia 7 rank, if you tried it?

 

My buddy and I passed only because we were walking out with 4 combined bottles so we figured we’d target the one offs instead.

I’ll add that the coffee Blend had Supermassive levels of coffee but with the bigger body

 

WTF? Will there be more kegs tomorrow or once gone, gone of the variants? Be pretty low paying $100 and having limited options just because you went in for a Sunday slot.

 

no they have a keg each session. But line up a little early (15 minutes or so) if you want 9

 

Alright. Phew. My self-entitlement can take a back seat now.

 

Think 9 is really overhyped, but to each his own.
My rankings for 3:30 Sat session:

WCB 4
Cerebral Mysterious Forces (Blend ?)
WCB 5
WCB 7
WCB 9
WCB 2
WCB 6

Mrs Bob Cobb:

WCB 9 (she kind of was meh on this at first, which maybe speaks more to what she thought of the rest)
WCB 5
WCB 6
WCB 4
Cerebral
WCB 2/7

I assume all of the WCB are all pre-blending, as most just felt a bit rough to me (much like Rev release variants). Food was not bad. If you know what you want, would recommend doing all pours your first time through. A lot of people near the front grabbed 1 and am not sure they knew you could get more. It probably took 30-45 minutes for the line to die down.

We grabbed food and bottles on earlier side (within first hour) too and had no issue. Guessing most of the backlog was for those who waited until very end.

 

I still find it funny they are creating FOMO during a limited ticketed event that cost $100.

I would have preferred them make enough of each batch and have less options, but I suppose part of this tasting is a survey opportunity for the brewery to see what people really go for, hence the “What Could Be” label.

I’ll be excited to try any of them though, except the cookies and cream since I wasn’t a big fan of their Brooklyn Bagel.

 

Eh maybe. If they made less of 9 then I agree. But if they made the same amounts of each, then the fomo is on us, right?

 

I am not saying they are artificially creating the demand but by they made it clear, even in the post before it went on sale, that some of the batches won’t last the whole session, so they know each person invited won’t get a pour if there becomes an unbalanced demand. For the price I would prefer a showcase of their best not a survey of some hits mixed in with experimental misses. Now even P3 misses are really damn good, so it is a small gripe for sure.

 

Shaun’s favorite variant today was in my bottom tier along with one of his other favorites. So it really is a “to each his own”

 

Phase Three is in a groove lately. Neomorphism and Blue Hour are really great. More beer like this please.

 

Went 330p Sat session. Def get there 15 min early. Arrived right at 330 & the line to get in is essentially one big line leading to where you order your beers. Was ab 4p by time I got to table w first 2 beers, and then only had hour til last call. Might as well get there early and have the extra time inside. Feel like it’d be more ideal if sessions could have been 2.5hrs.

As mentioned, the ordering line isn’t an issue after first 30-45min, so no need to order all 4 beers at once. Blend 9 (pb coconut) was already kicked when I ordered my first beers, and seemed to be only one that kicked my session. Not sure what caused so much hype on that beer. Maybe it just so happened to kick first at the first session, and the fomo began? That adjunct combo didn’t really stand out to me when the list was announced…

Food line never seemed to be very long. Actual food was pretty weak: 2 sliders (1 hamburger, 1 chicken), bag of chips, carrots/celery, & “store-bought” cookies. Whatever.

The blends def seemed like unfinished products. Best 2 beers were Minutiae & Eunoia 7, by far. My lady & I split our pours, so got to try 8 beers. Time-wise, there was no need to get guest pours (as additional pours/purchases), but obviously depends on how fast you’re drinking. The blends are very sweet & if there had been more time, would have been nice to break up the stouts with an ipa palate cleanser. It was a fun time for sure, but for the money & all the other great options available this wknd, would prob have opted for pours at Rev, GI Fulton, Cruz Blanca, etc.

My rankings:

• minutiae (2021) - barrel-aged imperial stout composed of casks as young as 12 months and as old as 30 months filled, with six different base stouts. nutty, dark chocolate, with layers of smoke, char, and leather.

• eunoia 7 (stroopwafle)

• what could be: blend 2 - barrel-aged imperial stout with papua new guinea vanilla beans

• what could be: blend 8 - barrel-aged imperial stout with graham crackers, chocolate, and vanilla

• what could be: blend 4 - barrel-aged imperial stout with madagascar vanilla beans and marshmallow
  
  
• what could be: blend 7 - barrel-aged imperial stout with coconut, maple syrup, and cinnamon

• what could be: blend 5 - barrel-aged imperial stout aged on mostra coffee’s, don roberto coffee beans

• what could be: blend 3 - barrel-aged imperial stout with chocolate and vanilla cream sandwich cookies

Did not try:

• what could be: blend 9 - barrel-aged imperial stout with toasted coconut and raw coconut and peanut butter

• what could be: blend 6 - barrel-aged imperial stout aged on ghana cocoa nibs and saigon cinnamon

Guest taps:

• Cerebral Mysterious Forces (Blend 002) - blend of stout bases in 2 rye finished cognac barrels, an Eagle Rare Bourbon barrel & 15 yr Pappy Van Winkle barrel for 23-24 months. Then conditioned on almonds, coconut & Vanuatu Vanilla Beans

• GI BCS Midnight Orange (‘18)

• Standard Mead (not sure which one)

 

agree blue hour is excellent, probably my favorite phase 3 ipa next to vivid light

 

It’s got a nose the reminds me of my favorite half acre and hill farm beers. Not quite THAT refined but damn good nonetheless

 

Just got back from the early session today.

Didn't try Minutiae since I have a bottle and will drink it. Based on the early reports, seems like it will be a solid non-adjunct BA stout.

Eunoia 7 was good. A little sweet, but in the range of what I would expect for the Eunoia series.

Would Could Be series was all over the place. B2 (vanilla only) was a really solid BA vanilla stout. B4 (vanilla + marshmallow) was not as good when compared the B2, in my opinion.

B7 (maple, coconut, cinnamon) was super sweet. Not in my wheelhouse, but could see why people may like it.

B9 (peanut butter + coconut) was really good. I could see this becoming a future Eunoia.

Also, tried the Weldworks BA pancake which was super coffee-forward. Not good, in my opinion. And I can't remember the Standard Meadery item on tap, but that was a nice change of pace.

Nice event and was very well run. Maybe because it was an early Sunday event, but didn't seem as crazy as other time slots, based on other reports.

 

Just got back from the morning session. Great vibe and fun time overall.

Agreed with the sentiments that the food was pretty garbage- was set up in front of the only outside air and was all cold and dry, really only something to give you a little in your belly and not a perk. Space was well used, not too crowded and like 70% standing, 30% seating.

As to the beer:

WCB was unbalanced and raw, but a couple of gems.

Rankings of what I tried:

WCB 7: Straight boozy French toast, perfect amount of maple.

WCB 9: Great PB and coconut but the barrel wasn’t as prevalent and tasty as Riverlands Orbital Velocity which takes the crown for best local PB BA stout.

Cerebral Mysterious Forces B2: excellent complex barrel with char and butterscotch, thick with the cognac providing a brighter and sharper booziness to balance some excellent vanilla.

Eunoia 7: similar to WCB7 but without the coconut, heavier barrel and more muted sweetness.

WCB4: Mallow and Vanilla were very well done but there is heavy unbalanced roastiness in the middle and the barrel is faint. Still very thick and a top notch vanilla stout despite finishing 5th of these options.

All in all an embarrassment of riches for the beer, a great setup but a stronger food vendor would be better for the next time. Again, a small quibble but if CCK or something similar had offered the food this would have been an A+ time.

 

That weldworks pour was actively bad. Drain pour for me.

 

Buddy and I were discussing. Neither of us think Minutiea is on par with other flagship BA stouts out there (and I said the same thing 2020) so would we come back for $100 next year? Enjoyed the event but food is an afterthought on P3 part and sore part of the goer. $8 for each BA pour (with some gems), $35 for your Min bottle, and $10 for a glass we didn't really want. You need to upscale the food and throw in a light pilsner "5th" pour with less time constraint. Then we'd return.

For the pours:

1. Skip the stouts and grab the Collab mead The Birds&The Bees.
2. WCB 9 - P3 knows PB. FOMO warranted but could carry better barrel
3. Eunoia 7 - Never had a Strupwaffel but will grab some soon at next breakfast outing
4. WCB 2 - Vanilla but give me Vanilla Deth instead
5. Whatever the cinnamon one was
6. Minutiae- Well blended but is such a safe ba it is kind of boring while other places are crushing it - Maybe it came too late after the palate explosion of everything else
7. S'mores
8. Cookies... weakest of the bunch

 

I thought this was a well done event. We went for the Sunday morning session. Got there at ~10:15, which meant we hardly waited in line at all (less than 5 minutes total). Got the PB/Coconut first since people had recommended it, and it was the best of the day for me. If I was gonna complain about anything it would have been the food, but I doubt that's what anyone bought a $112 ticket for. Agree it's expensive, but I'd do it again.

 

Yeah, a well run event. I loved that they pre-poured that kept the lines moving. I also loved that they pre-pours allowed some of the cups I got to be a it warmed up, which was nice.

My rankings:
#9 - PB & Coconut - this one was fantastic, great beer.
#4 - Vanilla & Marshmallow - what can I say I love vanilla and this one hit all the right notes for me.
#5 - Coffee - For some reason my group was really liking the coffee stout. This is what we are all missing with no Coffee BCBS.
That Mead Collab with Standard was legit, very tasty.
#7 - Coconut Maple Cinnamon - I wanted to like #6 more, but I didn't, #6 was a little pasty in the mouthfeel, but #7 was great.
Minutiae - Very well done, more "Bitter" than I am used to, or maybe all the sweet pastry pours skewed my pallet. I would like to revisit this one again.

Again, a very cool event. Food was the weakest part as others have said. Perfect amount of pours and perfect 2-hour timeframe.

I would for sure do this again, especially with no DLD.

 

Don't think they posted on social media, but the leftover guest taps were available yesterday. And all 4 look like they are still on for Friday, unless they update the taplist before they open tomorrow.

They have Cognac Black Magick, BA Fantastic Voyage, Medianoche Nick's Pancake Blend, and Scoop Hawk.

The BA Fantastic Voyage and Nick's Pancake Blend were both forgettable for me, but that Scoop Hawk was pretty tasty. Didn't try the Black Magick as I'm not a fan of cognac BA beers, but I think a few people gave their thoughts earlier in the thread.

 

I haven't had much P3 lately, outside of what I've had at FOBAB, but at Binny's yesterday I was pleased to see Pressed Maple. Had a can last night and really enjoyed it, forgot what a nice little series Pressed is/was.

 

thanks for the update on the guest taps. Were any of the What Could Be stouts on?

 

None of the What Could Be were on yesterday and I totally forgot to ask about them. The guest taps were still set up in the back/branch area with their mobile taps, so it's possible they could rotate them in as the guest taps kick.

 

Nicks Pancake Blend was not forgettable for me. I though it was really, really bad. No hyperbole, but I took one sip, grimaced, and dumped it.

 

Untappd has its flaws, but it was telling that a Medianoche has a 3.99 rating.

 

If anyone is in the area, they tapped Other Half BA Deep Orbit (coffee, macadamia nut, vanilla wafers) and BlackStack Crunch Time (BA granola stout). Nick's Pancake and Scoop Hawk are off.

Deep Orbit is ok. Hard to pick out anything but coffee. But it's 1,000 times better/balanced than Nick's Pancake. Crunch Time smells like granola and the taste follows. Not a ton of barrel but it is interesting in that I can't recall having a granola stout before.

 

Did you have Mon Cheri? Probably not the same genre, but it is the only stout I have personally had that was made with granola.