V.S.O. Dark Mode
Revolution Brewing

Appearance - Poured from the can, the beer was slick black with tan bubbles clinging to the sides of the glass.

Smell - The barrel notes really stood out with overall sweetness.

Taste - The bourbon profile was soft around the edges, but quite boozy. Notes of bubbly chocolate, raisins, and toffee were present. The barrel notes became even more apparent on the finish. Even with as boozy as it was, it was never hot.

Mouthfeel - The body was smooth and not overly thick.

Overall - This beer was very different from regular Dark Mode.

A - Pours pitch black with a thin tan head. Light clingy lacing.

S - Aroma is milk chocolate, caramel, charred oak and heavy bourbon.

T - The taste is milk chocolate, vanilla, caramel, raisins, charred oak and a nice bourbon warmth.

M - Full body with medium carbonation. Creamy mouthfeel with a slick prickly mouthfeel.

O - Really nice. Sweet without being cloying. Tons of barrel.

 

 

 

Glossy yet muddled black with a short tan head that fizzles out audibly after more time than expected.

Even if only by increments in the form of my score, this is a welcome, richly complex improvement over regular Dark Mode. Its overall translation is actually very close to my last experience with BCBS, which was a 2022 bottle not even a week ago.

Spiced dark fruit and charred booze meet heavy, hard caramels that are lightly salted, accented by a touch of creme brulee.

Despite looking and sounding like it will be chocolatey, it's not, yet it's very darkly decadent regardless, and also impressively mature.

12 ounce can into a snifter. Canned 11/4/22, had 7/10/23.

Pours a mostly opaque dark brown, with a half inch foamy head and light foamy lacing. Aromas of bourbon, vanilla, oak, raisins, chocolate, some cocoa, light caramel. Pretty much the same flavors- bourbon, vanilla, chocolate, malt, oak, raisins, light caramel. Smooth, a solid fuller body, well carbonated.

Delicious. Has a strong barrel presence, with vibrant aromas and flavors. Lots of chocolate and vanilla notes. The slightly lighter body and higher level of carbonation is a nice change of pace for a Deep Wood stout.

Dark mode - seems kind of cryptic. Like a stealth bomber pilot not wearing a rubber. But nah, it’s not like that. I’m going to call this one a “cafe beer.” Which might be kind of lame because they already have a beer called Cafe Deth. But that’s it; some 45 year old who still lives with his mama, sipping a sweet coffee at the cafe (while probably watching Dragonball Z on his tablet). This beer hits just like that. Refined, but also a bit sweet. Probably what Dark Lord wishes it could be. Now, away, people! Nerd boy doesn’t like to be crowded!

Canned on 11/4/2022; consumed on 5/15/2023

Pours a grease-black body accompanied by a prickly effervescence and capped with a finger and a half of tautly soapy, off-beige foam; decent head retention yields a spotty, paper-thin cap, expansive, fluffy collar, and minimal-no lacing holding to the walls of the glass.

Aroma brings charry chocolate malts, toffee, and fig upfront, with a rounded overtone of bourbon-soaked oak cut with a dark fruit linger leaving barrel tannins against deepening vanilla accents as a rich milk cocoa peak builds on the back end of the bouquet.

Taste opens to malted milk balls and a tinge of smoked toffee, with brown sugar accents carrying through rich bakers cocoa on the back end and a touch of fudgy, floral vanilla lingering past the finish.

Mouthfeel brings a body on the lighter end of medium and a lighter carbonation; silky textures ease through slight barrel tannins as warmth phases over the mid-palate and a distantly sticky note underscores a wispy, charry dryness through the finish.

A dry, barrel-forward sweetness imparts ample cocoa alongside a poignant dark fruit characterization, a clean balance laden with ample roast and a satisfying all-round profile; difficult to expect anything less from the Revolution barrel program.

 

 

Thanks to my good friend Doug for acquiring this for me! Pitch black pour with a tan head that settles into a collar.
Starting with the taste, big molasses forward bourbon barrel, big dark fruit especially fig, dark chocolate, leather, and thin caramel and light vanillins as it warms, sneaky complex. Smell is remarkably the same, licorice booze added, less fig than taste. Feel is very warm, barrel forward, medium almost lighter on finish bodied and smooth. Much better than the original DM, adds even more complexity and refinement