Repo Man
Revolution Brewing

 

Poured from a can into a pint glass
Appearance – The beer pours a deep brown, boarding on black color with a huge head of light brown foam. The head has a great level of retention, fading slowly over time to leave tons of foamy lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell – The aroma is very heavy of a roasted and toasted malt mixed with a big showing of caramel and molasses, as well as a big rye bread smell. Other aromas of a smoke and some char and notes of wood, blend with a moderately earthy aroma, and with the other smells, produces a rather inviting smell.
Taste – The taste begins with a mix of sweeter brown sugar, molasses, and caramel mixed with a strong presence of a roasted and toasted flavor. There is also a pretty sizable amount of coffee and some nut that are strongest upfront and that fade as the taste moves on. All the while a rye bread flavor becomes more noticeable with it starting rather light and get stronger to the end. At the finish of the taste transition, there is bit of cola and cherry, as well as notes of earthiness, which end up leaving one with an interesting and rather complex flavor profile to linger on the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body is slightly thicker and more chewy with a moderate carbonation level.
Overall – A quite interesting and fun brew. While I wouldn’t make it a staple, it certainly was fun to try.

Canned 2025/02/03
Pours a foamy fizzy brown head that fades fairly quickly collapsing in on itself, no real lacing, dark brown chestnut to almost black color

Nose reminds me of some early homebrewing days where I would make a style like this for fun, a bit of roasted malts and chocolate, a bit of spicy rye and dark pumpernickel bread, some gristy malt, toasted cereal, a touch of cocoa

Taste starts again with the mild roasted malts, coffee and toasted bread or toasted cereal, then into lush creamy semi sweet chocolate, cocoa, a bit doughy bready, mild spicy rye with some fruity notes as well, hint of spicy hop, semi dry finish a bit sweet as well, more chocolate and spicy hop notes lingering

Mouth is fuller bod, a bit creamy as well, med to a bit lower carb

Overall a fun beer, unique but something I used to do in homebrewing, so definitely fun to try something like this

 

2025-01-26
12oz can served in a snulip. Can is dated 12/14/23. Got it from @ovaltine in NBS BIF #18.

Pours dark black, medium sized head, moderate carbonation. Smell is roast, chocolate, tons of nuts. Almost a peanut butter vibe.

Taste is anise, nuts, black licorice, some sweetened coffee. Maybe a bit of rye graininess. Lots of roast.

Mouthfeel is medium to thick. Overall, solid stout, wouldn't have called out rye if it wasn't in the name.

 

Canned 2/8/24

I'm leaving for Chicago tomorrow morning for Riot Fest yet again, and Revolution will definitely be one of my first stops. So I figured I'd prepare for the weekend by drinking even more Revolution that I already have in the fridge. This sounds like a fun one, a rather straightforward Rye Stout. Let's get into it

Pours a very dark brown with 2 fingers of creamy dark tan head that slowly fades to a thin cap and leaves decent lacing

The nose is quite gentle here, it's subtly spicy and surprisingly fruity. I'm picking up on aromas of red grape, bread crust, raisin, toffee, black pepper, milk chocolate, rye toast, and book leather

It's a bit less nuanced in taste but it's still solid. On the front end of the sip I'm tasting raisin, black cherry, brown sugar, black pepper, biscuity malt, rye toast, and caramel. The swallow brings notes of red grape, black pepper, brown sugar, rye bread, caramel, earthy hops milk chocolate, and light toffee

A medium body pairs with gentle carbonation, resulting in a smooth beer. Finishes mostly dry and balanced

This one is very good all around. Maybe I'll get it again if they have it on tap when I visit

Very dark, very little head. Sweet aroma, chocolate, roasted malts & bread. Taste is pretty neutral, with rye, a slight caramel sweetness, bread, pepper & root beer. Average viscosity, low carbonation & adequate alcohol. Overall: someone put pepper in my root beer & it’s good.

 

 

 

 

 

The Rye Beer style has yet to settle down or find its true center. Repo Man is something of an outlier from that Bell Curve center that seems to be forming around modestly hopped IPAs. Because it seems to have lots of rye for a dark ale, Repo Man is very modestly hopped. That's all that is needed to balance the sweeter, roastier malts in the bill. As for my low rating for Looks, not much foam and needs more fizz.

I like Revolution because they tell it as they see it. But I do question naming an ale after a traumatic event such as having your car repossessed. On the other hand, learning to live with car-dependency is a good thing... and maybe that's what The Rev is saying.

I'm partial to rye beers. Canned on 12/14/23, Repo Man is no exception. Roasty, with a nice amount of peppery rye, bitter dark chocolate, very favorable. Will definitely purchase this Revolution seasonal again.

 

Might be the first non BA stout from Revolution Brewing that I have had.
I expected more bitterness from the rye, but that is based on a misconception of the term “rye”
More rye bread than rye whiskey sort of thing. So it is good, quite good actually, just not what I expected. The rye adds a little more complexity to the flavor, and Revolution knows its way around stouts.
Not sure if it will dethrone The Poet as my go to stout for whenever, but it might be an excellent option.

Black with a thick tan head. Chocolate, dark fruit, and grain in the nose. Taste is similar but the rye really asserts itself. Finish is very dry. A somewhat unusual but really tasty stout.

 

Just an intelligently crafted “normal” stout without a lot of adjuncts that is easy to drink and quite enjoyable. The rye gives an added flavor that is interesting. Overall this is well done.