Rainbow Parfait

Fieldwork Brewing Company — Berkeley, CA

28 Jun 2019 · Stephen

Sour Fieldwork Brewing Company

6.4% ABV

Deep raspberry Color

Contributing Factors

Presentation ✓

Character ✓

Experience ✓

Return ✓

4 / 4 I'd order another

Tasting Notes

Appearance Deep, opaque, and vibrantly coloured — the raspberry, lime, and orange combination creates a pink-orange hue that looks exactly like a melted sherbet in the glass. Fieldwork's melted crayon descriptor is apt: this doesn't look like a beer. That's entirely the point.

Aroma Raspberry leads immediately and generously — ripe, fresh, and bright rather than jammy or artificial. Orange citrus comes in underneath with the lime adding a zesty, tart quality that keeps the whole nose from going purely sweet. The vanilla is present but restrained, a soft creamy note in the background that suggests whipped cream without announcing itself.

Palate The milk sugar, flaked oats, and lactose base creates a genuinely creamy, smooth mouthfeel that sets this apart from sharper, more aggressive fruited sours. Medium body — not thick or cloying, but substantial enough to carry all that fruit character. The raspberry, orange, and lime land in layers across the palate: raspberry upfront, orange sweetness through the middle, lime tartness on the back half providing the sour element. The vanilla and milk sugar round everything out with a soft sweetness that one drinker compares to a Starburst candy and another to strawberry-flavoured confectionery. The tartness is present but gentle — this leans more toward sherbet than sharp sour.

Finish Clean, fruit-forward, and lightly tart with the vanilla and milk sugar fading to a soft, creamy close. The lime tartness lingers longest, providing a refreshing citrus brightness that keeps the finish from going sticky or sweet. Medium-short length, resolving completely and cleanly for a beer this fruit-loaded.

The Verdict

Melted rainbow sherbet in a glass — Fieldwork's own words, and they're not wrong. Rainbow Parfait is a dessert beer that earns the description without apology, built with enough craft and restraint that even people who usually find the Parfait series too sweet find this one works. Complex and potent but fresh and light at the same time — as one first-time drinker put it perfectly.

— Stephen · Contributing Factor Brewing · 28 Jun 2019