I Love Butternuts
Barbarian Brewing

16 oz crowler from brewery. Copper colored pour, a few fine bubbles. Sweet, candy aroma. Subtle squash flavors, marshmallow, pumpkin spice, light maple.

really cool fall seasonal here, a strong amber base, done with roaster squash, maple syrup, marshmallow, chai spices, and brown sugar, sweet sure, but really compelling, seasonally right on, and super unique, i was fully stoked on this, even if i couldnt drink a ton of it due to the high residual sugar. i like how forward the maple is, how i can actually taste marshmallow with a hint of vanilla in here, and how the squash still drives it despite it being spiced, they got the proportions spot on here, hard to do, and they nailed it! the malt has some caramelized character but is somewhat dry, seems the sugar is coming from the added ingredients not the grain, which i love, slight smoke and spice in here too, maybe a pinch of rye malt in the mix, fuller bodied too, almost fluffy like a marshmallow. the squash makes it earthy too, sort of a grilled note to it, a hint of honey, fallen leaves, baked yams on thanksgiving, just insanely interesting and delicious, makes me want to sit on a hay bale and carve a pumpkin. the chai tea character is here too, all on the finish, perhaps a trace of cardamom, clove and cinnamon for sure, brings out the maple and pours on the fall vibes. a shade sweeter than it needs to be, but a little bit of alcohol cuts it nicely, and i think they absolutely crushed this, one of their most interesting and most delicious beers ive ever had, and that is really saying something about barbarian. not to be missed! the highlight of the local fall beer scene so far this year...