Life Jacket
Revolution Brewing

Poured from a twelve ounce can, the body is a brown with a small initial head and no lacing.

Aroma is a boozy mix of bourbon, vanilla, oak and fruit. Nothing subtle here but enjoyable.

Taste follows nose as the barrel is dominant though not overly hot. The fruits stand out much more in the taste as it warmed; the mango and passion fruit arise and work with the oak. There's an overall sweetness that makes this barleywine more like boozy candy once it warmed up. I did not pick up coconut.

Mouthfeel is poor as there is no carbonation after the initial pour. I'd expect a heavier mouthfeel, but it's closer to thin with a somewhat boozy finish.

An ambitious barleywine that falls short for me. Perhaps a more adventurous palette is needed. Drink it cold.

 

Mahogany color. Thin, off-white head. Caramel malt, toffees, oak, and tropical fruits in the aroma. Sweet, malty taste with moderate bitterness and a warming finish.

 

Dark cola in color, with very little forced head that faded super fast. Nose is cherry and tobacco. Taste was similar to nose, cherry, tobacco. Lots of warmth from the ABV.

Appearance: Pours a clear tea color with a thin head that quickly fades away; leggy but no lacing

Smell: Fruit forward with pineapple, mango, guava and a hint of coconut; the sweeter tones of toffee and Bourbon are also apparent

Taste: The toffee malt lays down a base but is quickly subsumed by the tropical fruit panoply - pineapple, mango, guava and passion fruit; after the swallow, the Bourbon arrives and the toffee returns; the finish is rather a battle between the fruit and the more traditional Barleywine elements

Mouthfeel: Medium to full body with low carbonation; warmth in the gullet

Overall: Glad to have tried this curiosity but I wouldn't seek it out again

2024-11-15
12oz can served in a stemmed wineglass. Canned 07-13-2023. Got it from @ovaltine in NBS BIF #18.

Pours murky grayish-brown with very little head that settles into a tiny, tiny ring. Almost still, just a few lonely little bubbles working their way to the surface. Smell is huge. Boozy, tons of bourbon / vanilla / oak, something gives it a "brightness" which I guess I would attribute to the tropical fruits added to it. Dates and raisins and toffee are prevalent.

Taste is interesting. There's a definite tropical juiciness to it, comes out more on the exhale through the nose. Dates and toffee and nutty sweetness, oak dryness, less of the vanilla. Booze is super noticeable late in the aftertaste.

Mouthfeel is almost thin, somewhat dry. Overall, quite tasty, wish it was a bit thicker with a hint of carbonation.

Tastes like burnt sugar, no mango or passionfruit at all. Can’t really say this is a successful variant.

 

Canned 7/13/23. Poured at 55°. Fast fizzy light tan head vanished immediately leaving no cap retention, ring nor lace; deep amber/ruby body with excellent clarity; medium legs on swirl. Sweet tropical fruit juice nose; No bourbon, no coconut. Taste follows nose; overripe mango; sweet tropical fruit. Silky smooth feel; medium body; mouth warmth from 15%abv. Overall, other than color, nothing like a BBA BW; tropical fruit punch spiked with alcohol; at 13 months out no coconut; no bourbon or barrel notes; nevertheless, very tasty for what it still is…

Very pretty mahogany/reddish body with a modest, coarse tan head. Lots of barrel aromas: vanilla. Brown sugar,bourbon & ripe fruit. Very nice sweetness: ripe mangos & passion fruit, caramel, bourbon, plenty of barrel flavors, I’m not sure about the coconut. Perfect , perfectly balanced. silky smooth with adequate carbonation & more than enough alcohol. Overall, I love it! I could drink this all day, right up to the point where I pass out.

Life Jacket – from Revolution. 12 fl oz can purchased from Half Time, Mamaroneck, NY, 17/05/24, $ 14.12 (Including shipping and tax), $ 1.18/fl oz. Reviewed 31/05/24 (Review 3282). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Bottom of can stamped “07-13-2023”. Stored at 34 degrees at home. Served at 53.7 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 55.8 degrees F.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Medium Amber (SRM 12), clear.
Body – Brown (SRM 20), opaque. Under direct light, same. When rear-lite, red-amber, and clear.
Head – Average (Maximum 3.7 cm, aggressive center pour), fawn, high density, and fizzy, short retention, leaving a 0.05 cm ring and no cap.
Lacing – None, as expected at 15.04% ABV.
Aroma – 3.5 – A bit sweet with bourbon. No yeast, no hops, no roasted malt, no alcohol (15.04 % ABV as marked on the bottom of the can). None of the tropical fruits listed on the label appear in the nose.
Flavor – 4.5 – Markedly sweet with guava, mango, and passionfruit! No yeast, no hops, no malt, no alcohol, no coconut, no bourbon or barrels. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Faint gastric warming.
Palate – 4 – Medium; syrupy; soft carbonation.
Final Impression and summation: 4 Impressive feat of hiding the alcohol – probably because of the tropical fruit sweetness. Excellent taste but unfortunately the bourbon barrels didn’t survive the nearly cloying tropical sweetness. Bit of a disconnect between the aroma and taste. This is good but the price point seems a bit high.

 

 

 

 

Mostly opaque dark brown body, tan sudsy head that dies down over time. Smells of big barley, tropical fruits especially guava, passionfruit, and pineapple, mild molasses backed bourbon. Big tropical fruit punch in a bourbon barrel finished by barley, here mango, coconut and guava stand out more. Feel is thinner and boozy, sweetness adds up a bit, oak finally appears to temper a bit. This is certainly odd, some sips I enjoy the whimsical nature, others it reminds me of college rotgut drinks, but overall I enjoyed it

 

Pours a deep brownish amber with a big foamy head that quickly settles down and then disappears. The aroma is predominantly caramelized sugar and sweet. The flavor is caramelized sugar up front with some of fruit characteristics underneath. The fruit notes seem to temper the alcohol bite. The toasted coconut is only slightly noticeable as it blends in with the caramel. The alcohol is present in the finish with a bit of burn but doesn't detract from the flavor at all. Full-bodied and well carbed. This is an excellent sipper. I was hesitant about all of the fruit additions but all of the flavors play well. The beer retains all of the best characteristics of a barleywine.