Revolution Brewing (2019)

My thoughts on the draft offerings yesterday:

1a) Sanctuary #6 Double Barrel X.O.D. Rye - I got notes of fudge, cherry, oak, mild bourbon and hints of sherry. I found this elegant and near-perfect.

1b) 2017 Ryeway - I bought this when it came out & didn't love it nearly as much as I did last night; not sure if the beer has changed, or if I have! Caramel, chocolate, sweet bourbon & robust oak. I was blown away.

2) 2018 Double Barrel V.S.O.D - Fudge, cherry, oak, and sweet bourbon on this...strikingly easy to drink, which belied a nice depth that emerged as this warmed up.

3) Cafe VSOD - this was a coffee bomb, in nose and flavor...if anything, it might have been a waste of VSOD since the subtleties were squashed with so much java.

4) Boss Ryeway - Brown sugar notes and some cinnamon hints dominated this for me, which isn't my ideal flavor profile, but still a solid entry in the Jacket series.

5) Very Old Deth By Currants - I was really excited to try this, but was disappointed...it was REALLY sweet in a way the Deth By... series usually avoids. It was good, but "regular" Deth By Currants is certainly preferable to me.

I didn't get any 2019 Ryeway or 2019 VSOD since I knew I could pick up a 4 pack of each today and I needed to be quasi-coherent for the rest of the night.

As always...best release party in town. Skipping the line entirely and focusing on the drafts was nice; 0 stress, 100% pleasure.

 

So here's my take on VODBCurrants: it was my first "full" pour after a few different tastes of things in line, and I found it to be exactly as they described: barrel and fruit competing for your attention with every sip. It wasn't very complex barrel but it was a back and forth that I really enjoyed. Noticeably but not overpoweringly sweet, but maybe I was prepared for that from having DBC last year (and one of my last cans about a month ago).

As far as Currants vs. Plums, I tried a draft pour of plums on Black Friday. I liked the sweet-tart flavor of Currants, while I found Plums was mostly just sweet. Still a decent plum-y flavor but I enjoyed Currants more. Hope that helps.

 

Just for fun, I would like to see Rev do one barrel each release as a full blown pastry stout with 3-4 extra flavors- like vanilla, hazelnut, cherry, and almonds or some junk like that. Just go big and fail on something. The batting average is too high right now so I suspect they aren't pushing the envelope enough.

 

I preferred Deth by Currants to Deth by Plums....just one mans opinion though

 

One man's opinion:

Cherry > Currant > Plum

I notice that each year I like the fruit variant (slightly) less...perhaps the bloom is off the rose for me a bit? I've come to expect, and always receive, an excellent fruited Deth...it's possibly just as good every year, but the ol' diminishing returns effect is in place.

 

You suspect Rev isn’t pushing the envelope?

where have you been? Have you listened to the process that Marty and his team have went though for this program over the last few years? Did you watch the videos rev staff provided us which explain their process and how they build these beers?

All that, plus you get new sanctuary series debuts at every release. I can only hope your post was a comical troll, but I never know with you. Bottom line is this. RevBrew is in the process of creating one of the best barrel programs in the nation and everyone should be eager to follow along. There aren't many companies in the world approaching barrel aged beers the way that Rev is doing. It’s basically lambic producers and MAYBE a few dozen brewers in the states.

 

They made a strawberry barleywine, a honey barleywine, 2 different rye wines and cuvee de grace looks like it’s going to be one of the most complex beers I’ve ever seen. You can’t push the envelope much further.

I’m personally so happy that they haven’t resorted to just throwing birthday cake in the beer like so many other breweries

 

I understand “just for fun” but there are enough breweries slinging pastries that I kinda like Rev just sticking to what they do best. They can push the envelope by exploring all of the potential of blending.

 

To add on, I believe they are trying to let the barrels and time do the flavor imparting rather than shoving a bunch of adjuncts and other flavorings. There are many options for pastry stouts and I much prefer the two Deths Tar (Cafe and Fruit) variants than some jumbled mess of a beer that could take the place of one of those. Granted I think Rev would probably do a heck of a job at a pastry stout, I just prefer the complexity from the barrel and time, not a load of flavorings.

 

I just think it’s that they started with the best suited fruit first and are moving down the line.

I had a Boss Jacket on the train last night and it was really damn good

 

If they were to try something new I would actually rather it be in the barrel aged saison area. The freedom series is so good without resorting to being overly sour so I’m curious if they ever get more into that style

 

Sorry that when you disagree with someone's opinion they become a troll to you. Tom Brady could have played rec league flag football for 30 years and never lost a game. Sometimes you have to get out of your comfort zone, push yourself to try something more complex and risk failure. If everything you do is perfect, you aren't challenging yourself. I'm just saying, I'd like to see them make a pastry stout with multiple ingredients (like a GI Prop) and see how it turns out. You can claim to be the best at barrel aging, but if you aren't doing full blown ba pastry stouts, it's a little like saying your the best player in rec league flag football.

 

Something anyone can do at home with two different beers isn't what I would call pushing the envelope....

I don't disagree that Rev shouldn't stick to what they do best. They should however try challenging themselves and see what they can do with a full blown pastry stout. Is one barrel of experimentation really that big of a deal? You guys have gone all Golem for the ring on that barrel.

 

Anyone? That’s ridiculous hyperbole.

 

I don't mean this sarcastically or as a troll question because I'm not super informed when it comes to brewing but is making a pastry stout really more complex? To use your analogy if anything I would think pastry stouts are more rec league football and what Rev does is the pros. I think that what Rev is doing with their barrel program is infinitely more complex than "hey let's put coconut and maple in this one"

But maybe I'm overstating the complexity of blending and understating the complexity of adding adjuncts. Maybe someone with more brewing knowledge can chime in?

 

I'd personally be very interested in a Rev pastry stout, but I also appreciate what everyone else here has covered. As more and more breweries nail the really common flavor combos (it seems like everyone is doing a BA stout with cinnamon...which I'm fine with) the unique stuff Rev is doing just stands out even more.

 

Pastry stouts are so hard to make that every bobo with a French press, a bag of crushed Oreos and a can of DT can make them at home!

 

I think the key to the adjunct discussion is scaling. Can you get your flavors present and balanced on a large run vs. a single infused keg. I like what Rev does with their barrel program since it’s different than what Goose does. Maybe start playing around with a thicker base stout compared instead of the oatmeal? Other than a tweak like that they should be who they are

 

Do you put milk or sugar in you coffee? Congratulations you are blending. Brewing is a science, blending beers is not- it's a subjective taste preference.

But do they need to scale it? I'm talking a one off barrel like they do for the Deep Woods release events, not packaged beer.

Making a good barrel aged pastry stout is very tough. I can't think of many good ones...Probably something from Transient comes to mind. Balancing the additives, balancing the barrel with it, etc. Again, not saying Rev should change anything about the AMAZING things they are doing. Just saying it would be cool to add ONE barrel a release event of an over the top ba pastry stout just to see how they do.

 

Well, I don’t. Gave that up like 10 years ago. I’m even more of a coffee snob than a beer snob. But whatever...I get your point. I hope they don’t because it seems superfluous and off brand for them. But if they do? Awesome. I’d try it.