Revolution Deth's Tar

Brewed By: Revolution Brewing Company (Revolution Beer LLC) in Chicago, IL

Purchased: 22oz bottle bought at Binny's in IL; 2013 (2013 Vintage)

Style/ABV: Imperial Stout, 11.4%

Reported IBUs: ?

I've heard that tonight's beer is hot and Bourbon-y. That sounds perfect, because it is cold as shit out (it's supposed to snow tomorrow! in October! fuck!), and I'm in one of those moods. Hooray, alcoholism! /Archer

About Revolution:

Revolution Brewing is a brewery and brewpub based in Chicago. Revolution's roots are tied to founder Josh Deth, a homebrewer who began working at Golden Prairie Brewing. A few years later, while working at Goose Island, Josh dreamt up the idea for Revolution Brewing. In 2003, Josh and his wife opened Handlebar, while Josh worked as an Executive Director of Logan Square Chamber of Commerce. While working for the Chamber of Commerce, Josh found an old building on Milwaukee Avenue, and the wheels began to spin to open up a brewery. After three years of raising funds, Revolution Brewing opened its doors on February 2010. In July of 2011, Revolution added a 2nd floor Brewers' Lounge. And in 2012, the company opened a new production brewery and tap room. The brewpub is located in Logan Squre on 2323 N. Milwaukee Ave; the brewery is located on Kedzie Avenue at 3340 N. Kedzie Ave. For more information on Revolution, check out their history page here! 

The Deth's Tar (not to be confused with the much cooler, Death Star) is an Imperial Stout aged in bourbon barrels. Named after "our exalted leader," Emperor Deth, this beer is aged in four different types of bourbon barrels (Old Fitzgerald, Old Forester, Elijah Craig, and Evan Williams), and then blended to perfection. This one comes in a fancy box, which has some fancy words on it that read: 

"Deth's Tar Imperial Stout is aged six months in four different varieties of bourbon barrels and then blended for bottling. Both flaked oats and oat malt in the mash impart a rich, silky mouthfeel that sets this beer apart. Witness the firepower of this fully operational Imperial Stout." 

This beer is part of RevBrew's Deep Wood Series. There's probably a joke in there somewhere. On that, the box states: "Every once in a while you need to get lost in the woods. We brew our Deep Wood Series beers to show off the interplay between wooden barrels and the liquid they hold. Seasonal temperature changes in our brewery send the beer in and out of the wood, exchanging flavors and developing rich character allowing you to taste the history of the barrel. These beers can be enjoyed immediately or cellared for months or years to savor when the time is right."

Revolution Deth's Tar

After taking the bottle out of the sexy, Firestone Walker-esque box, I was happy to hear a loud "hisssss" when I popped the cap. This beer pours out with oil-like consistency into a dark black body, kicking up three fingers of dark brown/coffee-colored head. The beer is opaque and impenetrable. I'm surprised by the dark brown head that is retaining, and the head coats the glass with tons of dark brown lacing and glossy alcohol legs. It's just a Stout, but it looks good. 

The aroma on this beer is awesome. I popped a bottle of the 2012 Bourbon County Stout last night, and I'm happy to report that this beer has shades of that. I'm getting rich bourbon, vanilla, brown sugar, chocolate/coffee, and brownie explosion on the nose. There's that big, baked brownie, with sweet coconut, shredded coconut, and some toasted coconut. Mmm, coconut. You also pull out some hints of wood/barrel on the aroma, as you'd expect. I'm not getting a ton of booze on the aroma...mostly bourbon.

I'm drinking this fairly warm, but this still has a way to go. There's a lot of bourbon in this, but the booze (11.4%) is surprisingly tempered. That's not to say this doesn't have a little boozy punch...but the illusion is the bourbon. Speaking of bourbon, I'm getting a lot of wood, barrel, and bourbon punch. You pick up on some nice oak and vanilla, and the finish is surprisingly creamy and velvety. You get lots of brown sugar, molasses, hints of raisins, brownie/chocolate, hints of coffee, and some vanilla/oak/coconut. Honestly, there's a lot of complexity lurking beneath the bourbon, despite the fact that this is so aggressively bourbon-y.

This is my type of brew. An amicable sipper for those cold, shitty, Autumn nights. I really don't know how I feel about this beer. This isn't boozy, especially for 11.4%. YES, you get lots of the bourbon, but bourbon =/= booze. The flavor is strong, so if you don't like bourbon stay clear. Try as you might, this one has low drinkability. It's supposed to. Complexity is high, though not BCBS high, and palate depth is good. I heard some reports that this beer is too thin. Bullshit. I heard reports that it's too bourbon-y. Bullshit. I'm calling bullshit on a whole lotta complaints. I guess I'll run through the palate: You get bourbon/wood/vanilla/oak up front, with some chocolate/brownie/brown sugar; that rolls into big vanilla, with hints of raisins, some bourbon-whiskey alcohol, and fusel kick/burn; the back end is lingering roast 'n' toast, some coffee, coconut...shit, each sip at each new temperature is a different experience. This has a lot going on.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm going to go with a Decent Above-Average for this beer. I'm pining for a bit of the nuance (and sweetness) you get in a BCBS. This beer is aggressively bourbon-forward, and the booze catches up with you. Then again, I don't really want to drink 22oz of BCBS. I think that's the killer here. The 22oz format is a bit much, so share this with a friend. As far as food pairings...dry chocolate desserts come to mind, vanilla ice cream, a cigar, or no food. I guess you could pair this with grilled meats. I don't remember the damages, but this is not a cheap beer. This one should age gracefully, but I didn't pick up two bottles. Hmm.

Random Thought: We are two weeks out from Halloween and we are already supposed to get snow. I don't understand.