Butterfly Bakery of Vermont – Barge Canal-iente Craft Beer Hot Sauce

I’ve been trying to mix up the brands in my reviews to cover as wide a base as possible, but I can’t help myself from going back to Butterfly Bakery of Vermont sauces more often than not. Between their consistent use of high quality ingredients, their insistence on making all-natural sauces, and their propensity towards beer collaboration sauces, a favorite style of mine, I tend to always have a bottle of one of their sauces open, and usually finish them off rather quickly.

Barge Canal-iente is a partnership with a different brewery, Queen City Brewery, and a different style of beer, an oatmeal stout, than any of the other Butterfly Bakery of Vermont beer collaboration sauces I’ve tried. While their labels are usually fairly basic, I do find the burnt orange and black color combination on this one very appealing and comforting, it reminds me a lot of ’80s design. The oatmeal stout comes through well in the aroma of this sauce, mixed with the scene of the habaneros and a hint of smoke from the smoked onions. The texture is similar to other Butterfly Bakery of Vermont sauces – on the thinner side of medium but with some nice chunks of peppers in the blend.

Barge Canal-iente has a robust flavor profile. There’s vinegar tang and fruity ripe habanero heat right off the bat but some great bass-notes from the malty Barge Canal oatmeal stout and the smoked onions as well. Natural sweetness from the habaneros, beer malt, and smoked onions is balanced out by some of the bitter coffee and dark chocolate notes from the beer as well as from the slight char from the smoked onions. This sauce blooms in your mouth – the heat hits at the tip of your tongue and quickly moves to the back of your throat with the habanero and smoked onion flavors washing over your palate followed by the malty and slightly bitter notes of the beer and finally a nice umami fullness.

I appreciated the near perfect balance between rich/dark and fresh/bright flavors in Barge Canal-iente. The fresh fruity habaneros against the darker notes of the beer and smoked onions make this sauce particularly flexible. I found it to be excellent with meat and fish as well as with chicken wings. Beer and cheese are a classic combination of course so I was surprised this was great when added to a grilled cheese sandwich, and it also worked beautifully kicking up a chicken pot pie.

I love all of the Butterfly Bakery of Vermont beer collaboration sauces that I’ve tried and this one is no difference, so I can and will give it a strong recommendation. This sauce is, like all Butterfly Bakery of Vermont sauces all natural with no artificial colors, flavors, thickeners, or preservatives.

Ingredients: Honey Field Farm red habaneros, organic distilled white vinegar, Queen City Brewery “Barge Canal” oatmeal extra stout, maple wood smoked onions, salt

Heat Level: 3/10. This sauce has a nice habanero kick but the heat dissipates quickly.