Revolution Brewing (2022)

Kind of Revolution related, for all of you Coffee drinkers out there.


STRAWBERRY JACKET BARLEYWINE ESPIRITU
A new barrel-aged banger headed straight to ya! We picked up barrels from our friends at Revolution Brewing that previously aged their Strawberry Jacket Barleywine. We filled these barrels with a honey-processed Caturra from Finca San Jeronimo in Guatemala, where they soaked up any liquid left behind, including moisture in the wood. After months of aging, barrel rotation, and sample roasting we are excited to bring this delicious coffee to the masses. This coffee has all of the juicy, fruit-forward profile that you expect from barrel-aged coffee with an extra rich fudge note on the finish.

 

Just an FYI, price is $28 for a 12oz bag and you can get it Whole Bean, Drip, Espresso, Pour Over and Press Pot.

 

So after opening 2 of my Thundertaker cans this week, I can finally give my ranking. Had all 3 on draft previously, Coconut completely surprised me. It’s equally fantastic out of the can. Thundertaker was one of my favorite DW releases to date, but the draft seemed different from last year (though could have been palate). The rye spice seemed much stronger and overtook the chocolate backbone I remembered. The cans are however are exactly how I remember. Just perfect. Lumberstruck is as everyone says, surprisingly amazing. I do get a bit of the tannic aftertaste I also got from the last batch of Strawberry Jacket though, which took it down a notch for me. All in all, it’s going to be hard to top this release this year, but I have no doubt they will at least come close. This ranking is marginal, completely subjective*, and there are absolutely no losers, but here it goes:

1. Thundertaker
2. Coconut
3. Lumberstruck

*Ranking subject to change on any given night

 

I bought the Strawberry Jacket coffee from Dark Matter. I’m making a semi-educated guess that it’ll make good cold brew, so I’ve got that going and will filter it in the morning.

 

As a fan of Modern Times' experiments with barrel-aged beans, I'm interested to hear what you think of this one once you've tried it.

 

The caveat here is I don’t really care for their beans. They usually lean towards medium-dark roast…but Strawberry Jacket is an all time favorite of mine. I’ll try it as a pourover too!

 

Is the beer barrel aged or just the beans?

 

*Crack The Skye*

 

I hear you; I like some of their canned cold-brews, but Dark Matter's roasts are generally darker than I prefer. I've enjoyed beers from 3 Floyds and others that were aged on their beans, though, so I'm curious if their beans aged on good beers might tickle my fancy.

 

I'll always recommend any of their BA beans that come out with a berry flavor profile, if that's something you like. Some of the other stuff can be hit or miss, for me, but I've found that to be reliable and enjoyable.

 

So the cold brew has turned out pretty well. I went about 16 hours refrigerated. Very coarse grind (which produced a lot of fines), so I used a sifter to get the fines out.

Then I made a V60 of it…beans are a heavy roast, borderline dark. I have a Lido hand grinder, and this was probably the easiest beans I’ve ever hand ground. I kept the grind size about the same as any other pourover I do, but I adjusted the water temp from my normal 205 to 195. Turned out pretty well. It’s not my wheelhouse roast wise, but I’m pleased with it.

Also, I want to reiterate the ridiculous amounts of fines. I wonder if it has to do with how freshly roasted the coffee is? So I’ll revisit in a few days after they have degassed some more.

 

Fun rev cuvée for those with the necessary supplies: open a can of your recently acquired coconut deth, drink some of it, summons yourself a can of cafe deth, Layer some of that in to your coconut deth to your liking. Taste the magic.

i did supermassive cafe (last can….tears) because I had no regular cafe but you get the idea.

 

Current conditions outside are summoning a Thundertaker.

 

You know, I wasn't planning to buy anymore Coconut Deth when it finally hit down here. Then it showed up the day before the 10% off coupon at Binny's this past Saturday. So yeah, now I own more Coconut Deth.

Drinking one now. The coconut is nuanced in this beer, which I expected from Rev based on their pedigree. Sorta the coconut equivalent of Vanilla Deth. Accentuates some of those natural coconut notes I get from from original Deth. Definitely not Gallagher hitting you over the head with the coconut Sledge-O-Matic, but it's definitely tasty.

 

Same and Same... I Thought I would only want a 4 pk of coconut Deth. I was sadly mistaken. Already through a 4 pack of coconut Deth. Only bought 1 4pk and that was my biggest mistake of this recent deep woods release.... So restocking was a must.

 

I thought coconut deth was a significant improvement over vanilla deth. Maybe I’m just more of a coconut guy than a nilla guy, but I think coconut deth did a great job marrying coconut and barrel character. It’s pretty much the exact character and intensity I want in an adjunct stout

 

You get any strawberries on barleywine notes in there? You seem like an expert so I'd love to hear your thoughts.

I'm a bit of a curmudgeon and never got the barrel-aged beans idea, just seems like a gimmick. I don't think solids like beans can really absorb the flavor of the barrel. Beers and bourbons seep in and out of the staves to get the flavors out as the barrel contracts/expands with temperature changes. Beans just kind of sit there and maybe some of them make the contact with the barrel, but most of them won't.

Plus, if they were roasted before, doesn't that mean that the beans are just stale by the time they've been aged?

 

In my experience with drinking barrel aged coffee you get noticeable notes from whatever spirits were in the barrel, can’t vouch for barrels that contained beer.