Revolution Brewing (2022)

Graham. Less viscous. 4.25/5. Fin.

 

Deths Gnar was honestly the best beer of the night.

I usually love everything Rev does with coffee and I'm a big coffee fan but even I thought there was a bit too much coffee in the VSOD Supermassive. It was still a very good beer, but not as balanced as some of their other offerings.

Currants was fine, not my favorite of their offerings.

I honestly thought Empire was not very good, I got a lot of almost fruity notes from it that were a bit off putting, and a lot of oak.

I did really like 3552 though, but my palate was a bit shot at that point.

Did not try DT or CD, I know those are both classics and will be great.

Glad I got to try Gnar, it's honestly an outstanding beer for what it is. A bit of a letdown with some of the other variants, but that's only given the heights Rev usually hits. I think we'll look back on the release of Lumber, Thundertaker and Coconut Deth as the highlight of the year. Those three are the gold standard of what Rev has to offer.

 

Pleasantly surprise by Gnar. It has an herby, almost spicy thing going on.

Was most looking forward to Supermassive but it was just a coffee bomb. I was unable to get anything other than coffee from it.
Barrel > Empire > Gnar > Supermassive

 

That is exactly my rating. Supermassive was essentially undrinkable to me.

 

You guys are crazy. Supermassive was my favorite of the night. I love coffee, though.

And man, regular Cafe Deth is truly banging this year! Top notch!

 

Here after 5pm and no supermassive, so I can’t rank that. However, of the variants available I’m going to say Gnar>Destroyed>3552.

Seriously, if you passed on Gnar you shouldn’t have. It’s nothing like you’re thinking.

 

Finally cracking a regular Deth. My word, this may be the best batch yet. I’m getting tons of fudgy coffee notes that I don’t typically get from it. It’s glorious.

 

My draft rankings (I chose not to get the Deths Gnar). Also 3552 and Destroyed by the Empire could be switched because they didn't have labels. Also not to be nitpicky but the pours continue to be low.
3552 - Super rich and fudgey. One of the best one off Deths Tar variants.
Supermassive VSOD - Really enjoyed the balance between the extra age and coffee
Destroyed - Thought this was a little flat compared to 3552 but still really good.
Deths Tar - I thought something was off with the draft. Got a lot of dark fruit notes so I was worried that the cans were going to be the same. Completely wrong. The can tastes like 3552. Great batch. Can't wait to blind last year vs this year.

 

Imperial Anti-Hero is super. A big-ass IPA, but done well. I'm not a regular Anti-Hero drinker, but the Imperial version was perfect by the fire tonight.
And while I couldn't get drafts this time around, all 3 canned Deep Wood beers are great: The best format, terrific value, and amazing consistency (even improvement) year after year.

Already dreaming of next release on 11/18 (and trying to budget for extras ) with RW, SJ, and VSODM!
https://revbrew.com/a-deeper-darker-wood

 

Best to last:

Supermassive>>3552>Destroyed by the Empire>>>>>>>>>>>>Deth's Gnar. But I REALLY hate Malort's flavor profile and literally call it "Ashtray liquer". The Gnar was actually pretty good considering and I'll agree with the Dark Lord sentiments up front, but then? That earthy, pithy, nasty, ashtray of Malort takes the ride over on the back. It actually wasn't bad considering (except the finish), but it was like a love/hate relationship I kept having with my pour of it.

Supermassive was absolutely stellar as a coffee fiend. 3552 became a pleasure after it warmed with some real nice balance and extra graham qualities not present in the other beers. Destroyed by the Empire was BARREL and heavy oak/bourbon and way skewed that way (not that I didn't like it, but enjoyed last year's better). Had a pour of Currants and it was real tasty, too. Kind of a cherry/tart and really well balanced. I'm OK with a pack, but that's because I'd much rather have an extra pack of Cafe and regular DT. Which are both...TRUE STARS. Especially given their pricepoint. Drank a Cafe at dinner last night and savoring a regular DT right now at home. 3x packs of each and don't even think that's enough.

Imperial Anti-Hero is also the truth. That's a KILLER IPA. I like regular Anti-Hero and this just amps it up to 10* and takes what is a pretty good anytime beer and makes it an experience you hope never ends (but drink enough of them and your experience will surely end)!

 

Ashtray? Really? Makes me wonder if I was drinking the same beer. What I perceived was actually very sweet and rich.

Malort biases aside, I also feel the need to chime in on imperial anti-hero. Not a big anti-hero fan in general, but the imperial version wasn’t doing it for me at all. And I had it Friday afternoon at the brewpub, free of any barrel aged palate wreckers. For something purporting to be imperial, it wasn’t especially malty or even hoppy. Much too clean in my opinion, and while that arguably is consistent with the anti-hero profile when I see
Imperial/triple IPA I still want something a bit more in my face. Went in expecting to take home a 4-pack but went with a crowler of the dunkel instead.

 

My lazy hinterland a$$ did not yet venture into the big city for my DW cans (Thanks Rev for the more than reasonable hold period), but I did find the Imperial Anti-Hero locally. It's a bruiser...and I enjoyed every ounce of it. Not a style I try to partake in often these days but Rev does the 10% IPA (see Unsessionable additionally) as well as anyone imo.

 

First we had the Subway foot longs not being a foot long. Now we have Rev five ounce pours being less than five ounces.

 

drank a cafe deth last night and I will agree that it's fantastic. The coffee they choose this year is incredible. Super impressed with it.

Imperial Anti Hero was also quite good in my opinion. It hop bill tastes exactly like Anti hero. Nicely done DIPA. This coming from a guy who very infrequently drinks hoppy beer.

 

To be fair, they never specified whose foot.

 

Honestly was surprised. It gave me some...I dunno, jammy notes that reminded me a little of Code Switch? The finish had that bitter Malort quality to it, so those who hate Malort will take issue there, I assume (I don't hate Malort, but drink way worse shit, so...).

3552 was my favorite of the day (Supermassive was gone), Destroyed By was a close second, and Gnar third (but still a winner, to my surprise). Only disappointment was not walking into John Carpenter's Lost Themes playing during this Halloween season!

 

Agree - the regular DT can I had Friday night was better to me than either 3552 or SuperMassive VSOD (I didn't try the other 2). Not really anything against those 2, just that this year's DT batch is fantastic.