Revolution Brewing (2021)

I did the exact same thing this morning.

 

Question : since it's not called Blackberry Jacket, does that mean that Finn is somehow fundamentally different from the Jacket variants. (Finn and Maple are both listed as "dry English barleywine) Just curious.

 

This has probably been asked in the past, but is it common not to receive confirmation e-mail when doing these pre-sale purchases?

 

It took about 1.5 hours for my pre-order email confirmation to show up yesterday.

 

How do you see how many points you are at?

 

It says I have 6 rewards points but I have purchased a lot of every release this year and visited the brewpub or taproom multiple times. I have used points once or twice though while at the brewpub. Does that affect my points that are taken into account for pre-sale?

 

Using/redeeming your points doesn't affect your cumulative pts earned for potential VIP pre-public sales. I literally asked Rev that question this past week.

Exact answer from Rev: You do not lose points by using them, so feel free to apply your credits whenever you want and we'll still keep track of your total points earned for the year and keep you in the running for the VIP list.

 

Thank you both!

 

Been buying so much beer this month, had planned on just a 4pk of Vanilla... But of course felt the need to catch up on Rev’s facebook posts last night, and immediately started to cave on the other options.

Still have Straight Jacket cans from last year, so thought passing on this year’s made sense... until reading Saturday’s post referencing VSOJ’s Fobab victory (overall runner-up/ barleywine gold):

Is this a good time to mention that 2021 Straight Jacket has a pretty noticeable amount of V.S.O.J. component barrels in it?

Great. So, now I’m thinking maybe $25 extra isn’t that much more...

Then I get to last night’s beast of a post & halfway through I’m like SOLD!!! (@SinBoldly this should answer your question):

Tomorrow morning, the next three offerings from the Deep Wood Series go on presale to pick up this Friday at the Taproom. And while "hey, that's purple!" is indeed the story of Blackberry Finn, that's like the least interesting thing about it a couple of sips in.

This is a fully double barreled Barleywine, picking up two rounds of spirit, oak, and indefinable lumber magic before the tart, luscious character of unfermented blackberries comes along to finish the experience. Succulent, lightly earthy, with that lumber warmth and nesting complexity of different layers to enjoy.

This stuff isn't purple because of some long-nursed grudge about the predetermined injustice of long-ago Sunny D commercials. It's purple because that's the best possible version of itself that it can be.

We'll get the checks-ins citing the sweetness. And we'll chuckle to ourselves, because we've seen the blend sheets declaring this one of the driest beers we've ever released in the program. But you can't blame folks when you dress your dry Barleywine in a regal coat of purple.

This one's only at the brewery, folks. We don't give the exact on-sale time, but it'll go live in the a.m. And we think you'll really enjoy it.

This morning, as 8am is creeping closer... Guess I’m buying all 3 of them!

Couple seconds after 8a, I have each one in my cart, and thought crosses my mind that Vanilla stouts are my favorite... Quickly update quantity to 2, and, proceed to complete purchase by 801a, like a pro, in fear of something selling out lol. (which nothing has so far [as of 1215p], just like the most recent release).*

Despite my failed effort to be more reasonable with beer purchases, I’m super stoked about all 3 beers, and the fb post on Blackberry Finn has me especially excited about this beer! #marketing

*I wonder if they’re sending less to local distribution in order to have more on hand at the brewery this year as last year’s releases seemed to sell out more quickly than usual at the brewery, meanwhile sitting on Binny’s' shelves considerably longer. Of course, there’s a good chance more quantity was made overall this year as well.

 

I KNEW I’d max out on Finn. The berry beers they’ve done (I loved code switch, mix berry ryeway, strawberry jacket, ten year) have all been excellent in my opinion. If the limit had been three, I would’ve bought three.

 

Very encouraged by the reviews of this year's SJ, and even more excited about what the apparent dialing in of Rev's staple BA lineup means for my favorite of the bunch, Ryeway, not to mention VSOR.

 

I'm very curious about the VSOJ in SJ comment. @BeerCruncher , can you comment on how this compares to the 2017 (or 18) version, when VSOJ was last blended into SJ?

Regarding less in distro: If Rev can sell it there, they get the best return by doing it rather than distributing it, and I support that (even if it makes it harder for everyone, especially non-locals to acquire). That said, I suspect Finn is pretty limited in production.

Anyone know what the deal is with Finn being "Double Barreled"? Not sure if I am just blind, but having a tough time finding details on this and what that means in this case.

 

I know it wasn't universally loved but I would really like to see Code Switch re-appear at some point

 

I was waffling a bit myself. I usually plan to get at least 1 pack of each, but ended up leaving vanilla out of my order yesterday. Mostly because I didn't enjoy the 2018 version as much as other variants. With 2021 vanilla being elevated to premium status in the lineup at $40, my gut was telling me for the same money I should just grab a pour of vanilla on draft and another pack of original Deth.

But this morning, that same gut feeling was telling me that with the year over year improvements to original Deth, this year's vanilla is probably going to be a whole different animal. I ended up adding a pack to my order so I hope I'm right!

 

The version at 2019 GABF, anyway, was "aged in fresh bourbon barrels for 18 months and finished in Jameson barrels for an additional 4 months". The ABVs are slightly different so this year's release might be different than the 2019 version.

 

Just to clarify, I was speculating on local Chicagoland distribution.

Re: Blackberry Finn, those posts I copied & pasted are from Rev's facebook event page for this release which can be found on their main facebook page. Additionally, Blackberry Finn being double barrel-aged is referenced in the lineup introduction/overview description, which is identical to the description given in the web store:

This bemusing, bepurpled curiosity is the result of blending double bourbon barrel-aged dry English Barleywine and an intrepid volume of unfermented blackberries. Restrained malt sweetness, hefty tannins, vanilla-laden American oak, and sweet, tart blackberry combine to make an “extreme” beer which retains a decidedly playful accessibility. Enjoy now or store cold. 13.6% ABV (4-pack 12oz cans)

https://revbrew.com/a-warming-winter-in-the-deep-wood
https://revbrew.com/shop/blackberry-finn

 

Thanks. I did see that while looking last night. Appreciate the assist as well. Hoping more details fall out at some point.

I'm curious what the motivation is to specifically DB there. I am assuming that the blackberries so overpower the base that they need that extra bourbon bump to make it taste like it has barrel. But maybe I'm wrong? I dunno. I just know that, for example, BCBS Bramble Rye was certainly lacking on barrel, and they didn't do anything special to counter that.

 

@Beer_Economicus I misunderstood you as to wanting to verify Blackberry Finn is, in fact, double barrel-aged, but sounds like you're wanting additional details on the process. At least that first link might be useful to people interested in the full list of descriptions for this year. It seems difficult to find that Deep Woods "introduction/overview" link on their main website...