Revolution Bean Gene

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

Purchased: 22oz bomber bought at Capone's Liquor & Food in Chicago, IL; 2014

Style/ABV: Robust Porter, 8.5%

Reported IBUs: 28

Bean Gene is the best Gene. 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 Bean Gene is like going into Inception and then plugging into the Matrix or some shit. The beer takes Revolution's Eugene Porter that has been aged in Woodford Reserve Bourbon barrels for 36 weeks (aka their Mean Gene), and then tosses in some coffee from Dark Matter Coffee. The Bean Gene is steeped with Dark Matter coffee beans prior to bottling. The bottle states:

"Bean Gene is our first variation on our barrel aged porter, Mean Gene. After months socked away in bourbon barrels, we steep it with Dark Matter coffee beans prior to bottling. Smooth and well balanced, with hints of vanilla and in your face coffee flavor, enjoy for breakfast, lunch or dinner." 

Revolution Bean Gene

Punching in at 8.5% ABV and 28 IBUs, this is a relatively mild take on something aged in bourbon barrels. This one pours into a mostly opaque and black body...it's inky and dark, but not the darkest I've seen. The beer kicks up three fingers of sandy/tan head, and head retention is pretty good, leaving some nice lacing as it drops off. When held to a bright white light, you catch some brown tones around the edges.

The aroma is a really nice blend of bourbon and coffee. I'm getting a lot of earthy coffee, roast, espresso, dirt, some mocha and chocolate, and a little dark fruit sweetness. The barrel character melds into the backdrop, with wood, light bourbon, and some vanilla and oak.

Wow...this is amazing. Like, restrained and balanced but huge and expansive...I'm getting a lot of coffee, roast, espresso, earthy dirt, light nuttiness and mocha, and then tons of subdued vanilla, oak, light barrel, and some kisses of bourbon and booze. There's mocha in here, hints of dark fruit, some roast, and even some hints of bread/toast. Just wonderfully balanced and drinkable.

This is just...amazing. It's so restrained and drinkable. It sort of drinks like an 8.5% beer, which it is. But you know, sometimes those huge barrel-aged beers get exhausting, and this doesn't. The coffee adds some nice character to the body, with that roasty, coffee-bean texture in the body and carbonation. This is a medium-full to full-bodied beer, with tons of carbonation and coffee tingling on your tongue, and great duration, depth, and complexity. Up front: tons of sweet coffee, earthy coffee, nutty, hints of hazelnut, earthy, dirt, dark fruits; that rolls into big mocha and chocolate, roast, vanilla, bourbon, oak, barrel character, wood, more coffee, some roast; the back end is all about the bourbon/vanilla, oak, some lingering oaky-vanilla sweetness, and a dry vanilla finish. Light, balanced, drinkable, super refined. 

Rating: Divine Brew (5.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm going to go with a Strong Divine Brew on this. This is just blissful, fantastic, brilliance. I'm amazed at how easy to drink this beer is...the 8.5% is completely subdued. This beer also has tons of flavor in terms of barrel, coffee, chocolate, and the base beer, but nothing is overwhelming. This beer is like everything that the Deth's Tar isn't. Avoid the Deth's Tar and just by this, yo. Yeah, it's a little pricey at $20 dollars a bottle, but this is quality shit. Good job, Revolution, I will be buying this again. Food pairings: ribs, grilled meets, vanilla ice cream, your snifter and a cigar. Just fantastic...

Random Thought: If you were wondering, yes I am an alcoholic, and yes I took Monday off. Why did I take Monday off? Because it's the Monday after the Super Bowl, and I believe that day should be a national holiday. Who wants to go to work after eating too much food, drinking too much alcohol, and watching a late night football game? The answer is nobody, that's who.