Conan the Destroyer
Barbarian Brewing

on tap right now at the brewery, a monster beer and a good one, high abv obviously, but pretty well refined too, surprising in some ways, like its more brown than black and actually isnt that roasty, usually these are abyssal at this level, like so roasty and inky and bitter, but this has a lot more malt depth than most, more nuance to it, a fruity personality in places, and the barrel treatment is nice too, whiskey and wood together, robust and obvious but without taking over, even the alcohol isnt that invasive for how strong it is, well done stuff, glad to have encountered it. sort of molasses to leathery brown color, high shine, very slick looking, some apparent viscosity, and almost no head at all, very little carbonation, darn close to still as it drinks, so slow and long and palate coating, but it demands some patience and gets it that way, which i think flatters it. aroma is cool, milk chocolate, maple, vanilla bean, light roast drip coffee brewed well, hazelnut, black tea, licorice root, chestnut, bourbon, a very autumnal character to this but missing is the heavy roast, espresso, bitter intensity big stouts usually come with, it stops short of that, leaving a ton of room for the other malts, seems long boiled and quite cooked to me, distinctive in what can be a samey segment of the style. the flavor is similar, woody beyond just oak and vanillin character, like old drift wood, a nice mahogany table being final sanded, pretty dynamic really, toasted bread, raisin and fig and like prune to me too, warming alcohol, light mulling spice back end, some light astringency, dark chocolate, dark soil, the bourbon of course, again without the heavy roast i expected, but i like where this is at, barleywine-like in some respects, especially that concentrated maltiness. mellow for what it is, the lack of bubbles really slows it down, and they have something quite unique and good here i reckon. side note, this place seems to be really booming, massive patio space now almost totally packed every time we show up, the word is out!

Draft at Barbarian Downtown. Near black pour, ring of beige foam, rings of lacing. Aroma is dark chocolate and roasty malts. Taste is strong, but not overly boozy, chocolate, roast. Bourbon barrels well blended in so as not to stand out. Pretty smooth for the strength.

On-tap at the Garden City brewery. Surprisingly isn’t pitch black, though it is still very very dark, the edges of the glass show brown, clear-ish light…no head or lacing really. Roast and sweetness abound, that bourbon-y caramel and toffee type of sweetness, sticky figs and raisins, minor tart cherry even…massive bourbon sweetness, but minimal burn, which is awesome. Sticky dry finish. Big bodied for sure but not chewy. The sweetness comes off as chocolate-y for sure. There are notes of vanilla too, not as prominent. Maybe some earthy, slightly dank hops.

Overall…well, who can complain about a 15% that shines with this kind of barrel character and minimal ethanol burn.

Still, a small serving size is the way to go on this one!