Cuvée De Grâce (2021)
Revolution Brewing

I am sampling a 12 oz can poured into my snifter. Date stamp is 4-02-2021. Beer was sent to me in a package for a trade.
The beer pours a rich chestnut color and sits deeper mahogany to light coffee color. No light passes through my glass.
A creamy beige head of about 0.5 cm. This fades to a sturdy edging and a large island in the center of my glass. I get some scattered lattice when I swirl my glass.
Aroma is rich malty and boozy, which is what I expected from this beer after reading about it.
There is a good bit of fusol note on the aroma with peppery bite too. This mixes with some dark fruit, raisins, plums and some fig. Sort of a sweet fruity note mixing with the stronger booziness. Never any hop character on here.
First sip reveals a medium body with smooth texture and very fine sort of prickly carbonation. But the beer does drink pretty easy.
Flavor follows the nose, but is a little less boozy. I get some toffee and then again, dark fruit, raisins and fig with a healthy dose of wooden barrel that is a little tannic and dry. Finish is where the booze kicks back in with some peppery bite and warming down the gullet on each swallow. Again, hops dont appear to have been used in this beer. I am feeling the ABV about 2/3 through my glass. This has been a tasty adventure, but Im thinking its the only beer for tonight.

 

12 ounce can into a snifter. Canned 4/2/21, had 5/28/21.

Pours a darker brown amber, mostly opaque, with a short, quickly dissipating head and spotty foamy cling. Aromas of bourbon, caramel, toffee, rye, some figs and chocolate, light rum, light tobacco- more as it warms, light oak and char, a hint of cherries. Has a fairly spicy aroma. Flavors of bourbon, rye, caramel, toffee, dates, some figs and chocolate, light tobacco and cherries, light oak and char, a little rum. Has a spicy flavor. Smooth, a solid medium to full body, well carbonated.

An excellent blend, just like the 2019 blend. Solid bourbon barrels, lots of rye and spice, the chocolate presence is a great compliment. Expressive aromas and flavors overall. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Here's my Blind Tasting notes

Here's my notes

Pours Chestnut with a finger of tan head. Some head retention & lacing

S: Dark fruit, cofffee, maple syrup

T: Toffee, Booze barrel, dryness & maple syrup.

MF: chewy, restrained carbonation

A sipper for sure, guessing a BA Barleywine or Old Ale

Additional notes:

S: Figs, Maple syrup, superb nose.

T: Barrel& Maple Syrup sweetness & dryness, a touch of leafy hops up front. All flavors pich up as this beer warms up. Finishes dry, sweet, with plenty of Maple candy & the booze fading a bit to the background

I am feeling this ABV, very warming; great blend of flavors. Much to love here; feel so lucky to get to try to try this

Pours black with a finger of khaki foam. Aroma is caramely, toasty malts, dark fruits, fig, molasses, and faint kiss of chocolate at the close. Barrel brings some warmth, but not heat. Flavor profile is molasses, dark fruits, fig, toffee, and mild bread and toast malts. Alcohol is present, but low, pairing up well with barrel and oak. It's faintly dry, mostly from the sly oak and char at the finish. This whole thing is complex, and yet delightfully approachable. Mouth feel is medium-thick with a fuzzy, velvety blanket for texture. Overall, splendidly smooth and enjoyable. It's big and bold, and yet easy to drink.

Served in a 15.5oz Speigelau tulip from a 12oz can. Canned 04/02/2021, consumed/noted 07/23/2022. ABV of 14.6%. Reviewed from notes.

At first pour it appears to be close to black, looking closer under light it is a dark muddy brown. Nice light brown head that does its best to remain despite all the alcohol. What remains are some nice thin swirly islands and a nice little ring around the glass; no lacing.

Nose is rich in the raisin department, some nice woody tannins, hint of booze, minor chocolate in the background. It all melds so so well; each aroma really playing a perfect part to the other.

Wowzers on the taste!!!! That minor chocolate is definitely much more present in the taste and hit me way out of left field. I'd even say this is fudge now more than just chocolate. It is so so rich and not what I was expecting from the nose, absolutely awesome. There are some raisin like qualities to it as well...the nose picked up no baking spice notes but there are some definite subtle spices in the taste, a subtle sweetness really makes this one rich and tasty. Just as the nose; everything just so perfectly balanced.

Viscous beer, smooth creamy and low carbonation, some roasty bitterness and a minor heat that ever so slightly builds.

 

 

Received from @fbarber in the NBS BIF #14. Poured into a Revolution tumbler at 54° It pours a deep mahogany with a foamy, medium-mocha colored cap that dissipated quickly leaving minimal lacing. The fragrant smell includes rye, brown sugar, toffee, chocolate, fig, raisin, oaky, earthy malt, and just a whiff of bourbon. The taste is rich and complex with dark chocolate, burnt toffee, raisin and other dark fruit notes, sweet, earthy malt, and a much stronger bourbon presence than on the nose. It's quite boozy and sweet. As it settles the chocolate and dark fruit become more pronounced. There is almost no bitterness. It's mouth feel is full and creamy with low to moderate carbonation and there's no escaping the 15% ABV. You can really feel the alcohol heat. It should be sipped slowly and not on an empty stomach. Overall, Cuvée de Grâce is a big, adventuresome blend. You have to buy in to the sweetness and alcohol burn but if you do, then you'll like it a lot.

 

Pours a dark mahogany brown, ample foam and spotty lace. Rich toffee aroma and flavor, dark chocolate, mild vanilla, very smooth creamy feel. ABV is felt but well hidden, no astringency or harshness. Really well blended. Rich and chewy, full bodied but not overly sweet or cloying. Thanks to Chris for sharing this one!

 

 

Poured nearly black with cola colored highlights and topped with half inch taupe head. Very nice looking.
The aroma was very quad like, dark fruit, some spices and all wrapped up in malty goodness.
The taste began to follow the aroma which was good, then the boozy flavor of the barrel aging kicked in and everything shifted towards stout territory. Still featuring dark fruit but char and toast and biscuits and maybe molasses. The boozy accent was potent, but matched the 15% this thing brings. Quite good!
The feel was excellent, viscous enough to carry the ABV, but not chewy. Very drinkable.
OA, delicious beer, very glad I got to try it. Thanks to @ovaltine for sending it to me!

Canned on 4/2/21; consumed on 11/17/21

Pours a jet-brown body with slight mahogany accents and topped with a finger and a half of creamy, dark beige foam; head recedes fairly quickly to ¾ of a finger of cap, a thinner, though creamy, collar, and sparse but firm webs/spots of lacing spread around the walls of the glass.

Aroma presents oak barrel and a moderate malt roast at the forefront, soon cut into by tannic, dark fruit undertones of fig and black currant, bakanced in turn by a subtle, honeyed sweetness; caramel and smoked toffee pronounce heavily over the middle while a dusting of bakers cocoa is embraced into bourbon vanillins on the close.

Taste opens to toasty Rolos, sweeter tones contrasted by smoked caramel and charry vanilla swirl in tandem over the mid-palate toward toffee, bourbon barrel, and a seemingly omnipresent milk chocolate on the back end; the finish shows lingering aspects of tootsie roll, caramel candies, and sherried raisin.

Mouthfeel brings a medium-full body, a rounded texture with minimal carbonation coming through; progressively slick/oily, with the boozy warmth in tandem over the mid-palate; a light char/grit appears through the back end, the warmth remaining steady as it fades through the encroaching dryness on the finish.

The barleywine profile shines through with a dark fruit sweetness, an undeniable influence apparent as the richer caramel and toffee tones developed through an increasingly decadent blend; the barrel backs softly, its own influence (and that of darker malts) strung along as balance to an effectively sweet strong ale.

 

 

Black color. Khaki head. Can.

Lots going on here. Barleywine and stout. Kind of strong ale like.
Caramel, honey, toffee, molasses, fig, bourbon, oak, and vanilla.

Smooth, warming, complex. Full bodied.

Pours a dark cola brown with a light tan head that is a little creamy and sticks around for a while with a bit of lacing, which surprised me given the high ABV (15%). Absolutely gorgeous strong ale.

Given there’s 36 oak barrels utilized to brew this beer, it’s no surprise there’s a significant oak and booze component, but they are surprisingly not overwhelming, allowing molasses, dark chocolate, vanilla, and stone fruit aromas to shine as well. Wow.

The taste picks up those dark chocolate and vanilla flavors first, and there’s a bit of stone fruit which works well, but it’s the molasses that makes this beer, providing a rich, textured sweet flavor that leads perfectly to the slightly boozy finish. This is SOOOOOO delicious on my palate.

The mouthfeel is rich and creamy, fitting the gravitas of the beer. What a flavorful joyride this beer is. Extraordinarily well done by one of my favorite breweries.