Barrel Culture Brewing and Blending hosted their annual Invitational this weekend on Saturday, October 16, at their Durham, NC taproom. The fest included 35 breweries and more than 80 beers including special bottle and magnum pours.

Barrel Culture Invitational 2021

The Invitational brought together breweries from across the country for a day full of fantastic beers and fun times for all. They also had food trucks on site including a vegan option, a taco option, a pizza option and a BBQ option.

Overall, the event ran smoothly with various areas inside and out for sipping brews and hanging out. Barrel Culture did a great job of selling the right amount of tickets to avoid any excessively long lines or any space being too crowded. Even a little afternoon rain couldn’t dampen the spirits of everyone excited to be in attendance after a pandemic-induced hiatus last year.

Top Beers

Here are some highlights of the Barrel Culture Invitational, listed in alphabetical order:

• Burley Oak Double Raspberry, Orange, Marshmallow Pie Jream: Imperial Sour Ale with lactose conditioned on orange, raspberry, cinnamon, vanilla, dark brown sugar and nutmeg.
• Maplewood 2020 Barrel Aged Cuppa Peanut Butter Coconut: Imperial Stout. This variant is blended from Cuppa aged in Buffalo Trace, Heaven Hill and Weller barrels for 12-18 months. Conditioned on cacao nibs, vanilla, coffee, toasted coconut and peanut butter.
• North Park Maple Barrel Aged Wild Thai Banana Pecan Brunch Supreme Before Dying: Imperial Stout.
• Parish Double Dry-Hopped Ghost in the Machine: Imperial IPA with Citra hops. Parish also brought along bottles of Decade One, a Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout that was spectacular.
• Phase Three Eunoia Batch 6: Barrel-aged Imperial Stout with Tugboat Coffee, Maple Syrup and Ghana Cocoa Nibs.
• RaR Out of Order Runnin’ Splash Punch: Fruited Sour with Double Rainbow Sherbet, Orange, Raspberry, and Lime

We look forward to Barrel Culture’s 2022 Invitational and seeing which breweries from around the country will be in attendance!

---

Can't visit the site everyday like us? Bummer! No worries, we've got you covered. Submit your email below to receive our monthlyish newsletter on reviews, tours, events and more!

Email address:

Leave this field empty if you're human: