German Chocolate Cake
Barbarian Brewing

strong, sweet, and delicious, a wonderful beer here, and for all the flavored things these guys do that seem gimmicky and overdone, this one is fire, the coconut and the chocolate go so well together, the base stout is clean and flavorful, and the malt layers are perfect for this, it drinks cakey and authentic and i was impressed, even if its pure decadence renders it a small doses beverage. nice barrel treatment on this too, just enough of the oak and the whiskey but still coconut forward in aroma and flavor, chocolate too, both dark and milk, and with a lot of nuance, pecans and vanilla are in this but not dominant, accents in nice proportion, honest ingredients to me too, and it all comes together really well. its big but its not huge, these guys make beers more sweet, boozy, and thick than this all the time, its satisfying and sturdy without being obnoxious, and i dig that. the chocolate profile is luxurious, the coconut presents as toasted and cooked and caramelized, i get a light raisin thing, and just enough whiskey and vanilla on the exhale without in hanging on too long. potent and rich, pecan is real subtle but its more present as this warms up, and its a nice touch, more toasted oily appeal. palate coating but not a permanent decision, not far from still but its slow pace is pleasant. one of the better adjunct heavy beers these guys have done in recent memory...

edit: having a bottle of the 2024 variant with my buddy who brought it over here in the fall of 2025, about two years after the initial review above. this vintage is 12% abv and its decidedly more boozy than what i had from a few years back, the alcohol feels more exposed anyway, and the stillness really slows it. i get the coconut and the base stout together, other elements are way back, especially the nuts, and i dont know that i love the barrel treatment either, its got a slickness and a burnt note to it. still a decadent and tasty brew but not as compelling from a quality standpoint as it was to me the first time, bringing a couple of scores back down to earth to sort of reflect an average of the two, but this is not the best vintage of this so far in my experience, thats for sure. approximates the dessert impressively well again though...

Taster at Barbarian. Slick brown pour, flat. Aroma, like the name says, is German chocolate cake. Taste is chocolate and coconut, sugary, sweet. Really nice.

500ml bottle poured into a pint glass on New Years Day.

A: Impressively dark pour, appears viscous in the glass leaving a small layer of film, with a small mocha-colored head that fades quickly.

S: Boozy, tangy coconut and chocolate with a dry nuttyness apparent as well as some notes of cherry and dark fruits.

T: Barrel character meshes fairly well with that strong coconut zesty flavor and a rich vanilla sweetness. Milk chocolate, mocha, pecans, and maraschino cherry are all apparent to me, though I don't think there are any tart cherries added to this one, so I'm not sure how BB pulled that off? There is a mild smokiness as well.

MF: Fairly full and viscous.

O: The coconut and vanilla are really strong in this one and it feels a little boozy but ends up coming together fairly well.