Revolution Brewing (2020)

Goose adds cold brew which explains the lower abv of the BCBS coffee so this is interesting, could Rev be adding coffee extract so it's an intense flavor addition with minimal liquid added? Or are they doing a sort of dry hopping/cold brewing the beer with coffee beans once it comes out of the barrels?

 

...or are they using "cold brew coffee" philosophy, and brewing a 17% base beer that comes down to only (checks notes) 14.8% a.b.v. once the coffee is added?

Regardless, heads want to know @BeerCruncher

 

More info on Cafe Deth from 2018 from a podcast: https://www.binnys.com/blog/post/episode-31 -- they start talking about Cafe Deth at 10:55 mark.
It sounds like they put coffee beans into Deth's Tar for 36-48 hours then remove the beans.

2020 description: "A weaponized quantity of freshly roasted whole bean coffee from Dark Matter Coffee Roasters imbues our Deth’s Tar Barrel-Aged Imperial Oatmeal Stout with assertive coffee aromatics without overshadowing the base beer on the palate. Pair with rich food or enjoy on its own. Keep cold. Enjoy now. We mean it."

 

The second one, steeping the coffee beans in beer. Dry beaning, if you will.

 

It's like tea-bagging, but in the beer world.

I'll show myself out.

 

Curious as well on the Maple Deth. It was aged in maple syrup bourbon barrels but then it was sweetened with the bourbon barrel-aged maple syrup itself. Seems adding the maple syrup would overwhelm any nuance picked up from the maple syrup bourbon barrel aging but maybe not enough maple syrup came through in the aging so they added the syrup additionally? Doesn't really matter in the end as I'm confident it will be good just the same. Just curious.

 

Pretty sure the maple syrup dilutes the ABV when they add it to the beer. Simplest explanation is usually the right one.

 

Speaking of coffee and Revolution, had my last can of Supermassive this past weekend at a little outdoor tasting. It blew everyone away still, what a wonderful beer it was.

 

Central Waters found with their Maple beer that not enough maple came through just by barrel aging in maple syrup barrels (I had the original version on draft and yes, it was beyond subtle) and they had to add syrup. Not sure how CBS works.

 

per @GuyFawkes - in the scientific community, this is referred to as Occam’s Teabag, but I just think of it as a sticky situation.

 

It could be actually adding maple into the beer vs. steeping the beer with big bags of coffee beans. I won't pretend like I'm privy to Rev's process on creating variants of Deth's Tar, but that would be my guess.

 

This is the short of it.

 

depending on the adjunct, i prefer when the barrels can shine a bit more. but I didn't care for vanilla deth as it didn't impart much adjunct flavor at all.

i applaud Rev's desire for balance, and they are usually on the mark, but i'm hoping maple deth does impart a a stronger maple flavor and finish relative to vanilla.

 

Most of the early tasting reviews are saying subtle maple, which isn't the shining star, as it quickly gives way to the barrel notes.

As somebody who didn't attend the tasting event(s), I'll have to see for myself when I pick up my cans tomorrow. Personally, I'm hoping for the big barrel Deth's Tar notes, complimented by a subtle maple layer.

 

I was hoping you guys hollowed out maple trees, poured the beer in, let the life cycle of the tree pump the maple sap into the beer and circulate it, while the wood tannins from the tree soaked into the beer. Of course the maple trees would have been solely hydrated by pouring bourbon on them so the beer would pick up that flavor. Seems like you are cutting corners on this process.

 

I agree. While it my favorite variant, I personally thought Vanilla Deth was excellent. I feel the same way about vanilla as others feel about maple. A little goes a long way.

 

Damn it, was supposed to say “while it’s NOT my favorite variant...”