2016 Goose Island Proprietor's Bourbon County Brand Stout

Brewed By: Goose Island Beer Company (owned by AB InBev) in Chicago, IL 

Purchased: 16.9oz bottle bought at Binny's in Chicago, IL; 2017 (bottled 15SEP16 aka September 15, 2016)

Style/ABV: Russian Imperial Stout, 13.1%

Reported IBUs: 60

Being into weird fetish shit has its payoffs. Like when Goose Island InBev (Dilly Dilly) drops a beer brewed with chipotle peppers, cocoa nibs, and maple syrup bourbon barrels.

Prop is -- of course -- the "Chicago exclusive" deviant of Bourbon County. Every year Goose Island brews something different (exclusively for Chicago; because Goose Island are the abusive husband and Chicago beer drinkers are the helpless spouse), and it looks something like this:

Dilly Dilly

This was not out of my cellar -- by the way. I acquired this bottle after painstakingly camping in line for some odd 20 hours at Binny's on Black Friday 2017. The appearance is like every other Bourbon County. Dark, black, Stout-y. Head retention is like "nah."

2016 Proprietor's Bourbon County Brand Stout

Straight away on the aroma...magic. The chipotle peppers they used in this beer are beautiful and impart a rich and earthy aroma that touches coffee, ash, roasted chipotle, chipotle pepper seeds, and lively chiles. There's a touch of chocolate and fudge hanging around in the back to bring home the Mexican chocolate. The bourbon/barrel on the nose is pretty mute. That could be due to the fact that this beer is over a year old at this point.

On the taste: weird fetish things I love. Prop 16 is divisive...throwing a bunch of hot peppers at Bourbon County is always going to upset a few people. I love this more than any other Prop vintage, I think. This is a rich, dense, Mexican-chocolate stout. You get ample chipotle, tons of chocolate and truffle chocolate, tons of earthy spice that brings in coffee and ash and earthy peppers. There's a kiss of the maple sweetness and bourbon, and the finish is heat with some booze. 

This is full-bodied, complex, has great depth, and great duration. I dunno what else to say. Up front: big Mexican chocolate, chocolate, fudge, COMPLEX peppery heat; the mids roll into more spice and pick up bourbon. The spice adds earthy notes, coffee, ash. The back end kisses you with maple sweetness and fades to light spice and heat. 

Rating: Strong Divine Brew (5.0/5.0 Untappd)

This is a criminally underrated beer if you are into this kind of thing. If you're not, cool.

Random Thought: I wish more BA releases would consider these peppery beers. Peppers go so well in these big barrel-aged stouts. I'm just amazed at how well Bourbon County plays with basically all the adjuncts.

Revolution Deth By Cherries 2017

Brewed By: Revolution Brewing Company in Chicago, IL
Purcased: 12oz CAN from a 4-pack bought at Revolution Brewing Tap Room in Chicago, IL; 2017
Style/ABV: American Barrel-Aged Oatmeal Stout, 13.1%
Reported IBUs: 27

In keeping with my plan to review Revolution's 2017/2018 lineup of barrel-aged beers, I'm looking at the 2017 vintage of Deth By Cherries. Deth's Tar is Revolution's barrel-aged Imperial Oatmeal Stout, and the base for their Deth by Cherries, Cafe Deth, VSOD, Double Barrel VSOD, and a handful of variants that were tap-only.

The can reads: "Unfermented tart cherries add a mild acidity and subtly rounding sweetness to our Deth's Tar Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout. Flavors and aromas of bourbon and oak meld harmoniously with the fruit, each balancing the other. Enjoy now or store cold." 

The appearance is basically mantit for hipster tat to Deth's Tar. It looks stocky, probably under-dressed in clothes slightly oversized. It waits patiently in line. It's black. Wait...

Revolution Deth By Cherries 2017

This smells amazing, by the way. Take everything that could be better about Deth's Tar, dial up the chocolate, and throw in the cherries. My untappy notes said, "surprisingly balanced and barrel forward. Cherry w/ dark truffle, wood tannin, light kiss of bourbon and vanilla. Nice alcohol, whiskey." I DO get a lot of wood and barrel on the nose. The woody notes are really surprising. I also get a lot of chocolate a la those chocolate truffles. The cherry note on here is natural and integrates with the raisin notes from the whiskey. It definitely inspires some cherry-chocolate liquor comparisons.

So how does it taste? Well, amazing. This is really a pleasure to sip. The depth and duration are huge, and the layers are complex. The finish smacks you with vanilla and bourbon, and then lingers with warming alcohol heat and spice. The front end is loaded with fudge, chocolate truffles, bourbon, and then cherries. The cherry sweetness really shows up in the middle, with slightly tart natural cherries. I'm getting a lot of cherry skins, raisin-cherries, and light acidity. It never drifts into sour territory, and the cherry note is very much restrained. Unlike numerous other cherry beers (many featured previously on my blog), this never dabbles in cherry pie filling.

Fruited stouts are the type of thing that can divide a beer community. I would say this is one of the better ones. Aggressive sips are revealing for me some of that splintered wood and raw barrel power you get in the base. There's some anise hugging the edges of this too. I bet this ages pretty good for a few years. As it sits out, I get more fruit. Full-bodied, complex, long duration, good depth, good sipping beer...front loaded fudge/chocolate...fruity mids...fade out to vanilla, bourbon, and spice/heat.

Rating: STRONG Above-Average (4.5/5.0 Untappd) 

Cherry pie, be gone! The fact that "cherry pie" or "cherry pie filling" are completely absent from my review should be a positive thing for 99% of beer drinkers. This is a legit fusion/addition of cherry to an amazing base beer, and the big ass wood, barrel, anise, bourbon, and Stout presence holds up and integrates well with the lightly tart cherry notes. Revolution, I tip my hat to you.

Random Thought: So where does this stack up as a variant? Or just in general? For me....I would go DBVSOD > VSOD > Deth By Cherries > Cafe > Reg. I understand RevBrew is doing a currants variant next year, I'm sure that will be awesome.

Destihl Dosvidanya Vanilla Rye 2017

Brewed By: Destihl Restaurant and Brew Works in Normal/Bloomington, Illinois 
Purchased: 500ml (1 pint, .09oz bottle) bought at Destsihl in Bloomington, IL; 2017 (batch date: 2017)

Style/ABV: American Barrel-Aged Russian Imperial Stout, 12.5%
Reported IBUs: 83

Rumors of infected bottles of Destihl's DVR make a man do crazy things, like actually drink the beer you bought. About Destihl: 

Destihl is a brewery (Bloomington) and brewpub (Normal, IL & Champaign, IL) based out of the Midwest. Specifically, the middle of Illinois in the middle of the United States. Daaaa midwest. The brewery was founded by CEO & Brewmaster, Matt Potts, in 2007. Like many brewery founders, Potts started out as a homebrewer, and would eventually trade his law school education and law practice for those sweet barley suds. Destihl currently brews a myriad of regular and barrel-aged beers, including an increasing portfolio of tasty sour brews. For more info, check out their website. 

So Dosvidanya is Distihl's big barrel-aged Russian Imperial Stout. It is clearly inspired by beers like Bourbon County Brand Stout, but has its own unique flavor profile. The Vanilla Rye was a special 2017 release along with the brewery's 10th Anniversary Special Release of Dosvidanya. This is a "Russian Style Imperial Stout brewed with vanilla aged in rye whiskey barrels." The bottle says, "10th Anniversary special release 2007-2017." The back says:
 
"In 2007, we opened our first brewpub in Normal, Illinois with a mission to brew beer styles that are bold and flavorful. Staying true to that mission, this special batch of Dosvidanya was brewed at our old production brewery as a farewell to that facility and aged at our new brewery as a celebration of that expansion and our 10th anniversary. We've come a long was and learned a lot in our first decade. With this release, we raise our glass and look forward to another 10 years. Cheers!"  

Destihl Dosvidanya Vanilla Rye 2017

Breaking news: this looks Stout-like. I'll give a shout out to the bottle, which is awesome. The blue wax is fucking cool, man. This also has good head retention and isn't totally lifeless. The aroma here is awesome. You get Lindor chocolate balls, and the vanilla leans towards the sweet and fruity with raspberry and berries. The berry/vanilla-chocolate sweetness invites raspberry truffles and chocolate truffles. 

The taste is pleasantly rich (and not infected, praise be). The rye profile and bourbon come out first, followed by dense chocolate, fudge, vanilla, and then some nice drying dark chocolate cake, more earthy roast, coffee, and rich earthy chocolate truffles. The finish on this is fantastic. It's deep and rich like when you bite into a nice piece of chocolate cake. That lingering dry chocolate profile hangs around in your mouth adding to the duration and palate experience. It is tempting to go in for another sip, but you want to enjoy that lingering finish just a bit longer. As I sip this more, I pick up more of the alcohol and spirit.

You know, I like this a lot. I don't think this is a game changer or anything crazy, but it is dialed in and perfectly executed. It is not quite Vanilla Rye good, but hey, not many beers are. And I don't need this to be Vanilla Rye. Like I said, the duration of this beer is amazing. Palate depth is pretty solid too, with bourbon and chocolate up front; rye and vanilla mids; and that bumpin' chocolate cake finish. It brings a full body, and rides the 12.5% ABV just right. 

Rating: I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average (4.25/5.0 Untappd)

Random Thought: There is a paradoxical irony about this beer, because while I don't think it is a game changer, it is still vastly underrated. Which is good, for me, the local Destihl customer. Stay away beer nerds. 

2017 Goose Island Proprietor's Bourbon County Brand Stout

Brewed By: Goose Island Beer Company (owned by AB InBev) in Chicago, IL 

Purchased: 16.9oz bottle bought at Binny's in Chicago, IL; 2017 (bottled 01SEP17)

Style/ABV: Russian Imperial Stout, 14.0%

Reported IBUs: 60

I guess the preferred nomenclature is "cassia." Oh hey, kind reader, is that a banana in your pocket or your beer. I'm not even mad that InBev did a Budweiser ad making fun of adjunct beers. Obviously. Otherwise I wouldn't have stood in line for 20 hours for this one. Tonight's beer is a pastry boi in all the ways imaginable. Prop is -- of course -- the "Chicago exclusive" deviant of Bourbon County. Every year Goose Island brews something different (exclusively for Chicago; because Goose Island are the abusive husband and Chicago beer drinkers are the helpless spouse), and it looks something like this:

"May Contain Wheat"

The 2017 features banana puree, cassia bark, and almonds. This beer of course maintains the typical BCBS appearance...dark body, little light penetration, thick, brown head. There's some sediment and maybe a touch of residual oil stuff on the top of the beer.

2017 Goose Island Proprietor's Bourbon County Brand Stout

Most impressive is the beer's aroma, which absolutely nails you with banana puree, bananas, and banana bread. In fact there's QUITE A BIT of banana on the nose. It really distracts you from the base beer, which is distant in the aroma. A secondary aroma is the cassia which provides a woody/earthy birch-wood-like cinnamon flavor. The banana cinnamon notes inspire all sorts of desserts, from banana fosters to spiced banana bread to banana pudding. It's a lovely aroma and something totally unexpected and unique.

The big surprise about Prop 2017 is just (A) how complex and rich the beer is and (B) how different it is from the regular. Where regular BCBS 2017 is an exercise in chocolate and sweetness, Prop 2017 is more about complex layers of interesting flavors. There's the banana element, the cinnamon element, the banana-cinnamon-bread thing, the chocolate-banana, the chocolate-cinnamon kiss of Mexican chocolate, bourbon, macaroons, coconut, and some nice booze (with warming alcohol to boot). This is flavorful stuff and it is not one-note. It's not just banana puree. It's not overly sweet.

And that is what differentiates Prop 2017 from other beers. Even other BCBS variants. BCBS is always intriguing but some of the variants are more or less dialed in. This IS dialed in with tons of complexity, depth, duration, and novelty. It's a novelty beer so we should clarify that up front. It is also in pretty limited supply...so there's that too. Up front you get a lot of banana, cinnamon, cassia, banana bread, banana fosters, and banana wafer; the mids roll into macaroon, vanilla, bourbon, Mexican chocolate, chocolate; the back end even features some pulpy banana and green banana, along with the spirit. It's sweet but sweet like a dessert, which there are layers of in the beer. 

Rating: Strong Divine Brew (5.0/5.0 Untappd)

obligatory potato box pic

So is this worth trading for? I think this is a worthy novelty, and I'm pretty happy I got to try it. If you don't like bananas then you're in luck. If you do like bananas, you probably should make an effort to grab one bottle of this. I wonder how this is going to age, especially since I still see people flipping bottles of the 2013 and 2014 props. 2015 was obviously infected, and 2016 is weird niche fetish shit. Which I kind of like. 

Random Thought: And yeah, it turns out people do actually drink this beer. If you're wondering what the inspiration is...a very strange few weeks, I think. I recently parted with my car of 14 years which was surprisingly personal and hard to do. Cars are in many ways an extension of ourselves, and I put a lot of miles and memories in mine. So as an ode to my '04 Taurus, I'll see you on the other side...

Revolution Café Deth 2017

Brewed By: Revolution Brewing Company in Chicago, IL
Purcased: 12oz CAN from a 4-pack bought at Revolution Brewing Tap Room in Chicago, IL; 2017
Style/ABV: American Barrel-Aged Oatmeal Stout, 14.8%
Reported IBUs: 27

In keeping with my plan to review Revolution's 2017/2018 lineup of barrel-aged beers, I'm looking at the 2017 vintage of Revolution's Café Deth. Café Deth is "Deth’s Tar Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout with assertive coffee aromatics." The can reads: "A weaponized quantity of freshly roasted whole bean coffee from independent Chicago roasters imbues our Deth's Tar Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout with assertive coffee aromatics without overshadowing the base beer on the palate. Pair with rich food or enjoy on its own. Keep cold. Enjoy now. We mean it."

inb4 this pours like every other stout. There is some residual oils on the surface of the beer, perhaps from the coffee. The aroma here is magical. It's like mounds bars on Twix on a frappuccino. The coffee profile is so smooth, and rich. There's no weird fruitiness, green pepper, or acrid coffee. The bourbon and barrel pops on the edges, but this is about the coffee and chocolate front and center.

Revolution Café Deth 2017

At near 15-percent this is almost liqueur-esque. The mouthfeel and thickness are in the realm of KBS or CBS. That is to say, not quite as thick as some of the extreme stouts available in 2018, but still pretty darn thick. The taste drops tons of mounds bar, malt balls, frappuccino and mocha, hazelnut, toffee, and caramel. The bourbon takes a back seat to the coffee, chocolate, and base. There's a growing bitterness as you sip this, which is reminiscent of the base.

I oscillate how I feel about this beer, but here's the deal. This is full-bodied (not the fullest body), with good depth and average complexity. I don't think this aims to be some sort of renaissance beer, it is just trying to do the mocha-frappuccino thing well. And it does. Up front is chocolate, frappuccino, mocha; the mids roll into those nutty notes with hazelnut, some macaroon, malt balls, and the mounds bar; the back end is where some complexity emerges with bitterness, barrel, dryness, the spirit showing up, and the base beer. 

Rating: LIGHT Above-Average (4.75/5.0 Untappd)

I love coffee beers, so I stocked up on this stuff. Having said that, I kind of prefer V.S.O.D. and D.B.V.S.O.D. to this. I know those are entirely different beasts, though. Is Deth by Cherries better than the Café Deth? That's the million dollar question, I think. Anyway, this is certainly on par or better than a beer like KBS. But now that KBS is a shelf turd does it really matter? I'm just happy that the availability of this BA coffee stouts is expanding.

Random Thought: I need to do a proper send-off for my car...

Temperance Barrel-Aged Might Meets Right & Variants 2017 Roundup

Brewed By: Temperance Brewing Company in Evanston, IL 

Purchased: 12oz CANS bought at Temperance Brewing Company in Evanston, IL; 2018 (2017 vintage)

Style/ABV: Barrel-Aged Russian Imperial Stout (see below for %ABV)

Reported IBUs: ?

Temperance Beer Company is a brewery based out of Evanston, Illinois. Evanston is a suburb of Chicago, and known famously by the locals for its history of being a dry town until 1972. Evanston still has some silly liquor laws that prevent the sale of certain singles under a certain size. Anyway, Temperance was founded by Josh Gilbert back in 2013, and is "Evanston's first and oldest brewery."

None of that is super important. But what is worth mentioning is that Temperance have thrown their hat in the barrel-aged stout game. And they've produced four beers (one regular, three variants) that are pretty noteworthy. So I'm going to talk about them. These four beers are the result of taking Temperance's Might Meets Right Imperial Stout, and aging it in Heaven Hill barrels. The end result is quite pleasant and delightful.

Heaven Hill Barrel-Aged Might Meets Right (2017) - 13% ABV

Heaven Hill Barrel-Aged Might Meets Right

The Heaven Hill version of Might Meets Right is presumably the base for all the variants. It's also the most straight forward of these beers. My Untappd notes from the pre-release tasting say: "That's nice. Mellow and sweet with fudge and candy bars. The Bourbon is present and has nice flavor. Malt balls, vanilla, coconut. Malty..". 

This definitely leans towards sweet and malty. There is an array of candy bars here, with your Snickers shell and nougat, that Skor/Heath flavor shows up, and there's a fair amount of caramel filling. I want to punctuate how sweet this is. Compared to beers like Deth's Tar or even the BA Ten Fidy, this is definitely in the realm of sugar plum fairies and your 2015/16/17 BCBS regular. The bourbon does show up with lots of vanilla and fudge. I'm also getting legit brownies.

What differentiates this specifically from BCBS is the yeast profile, and probably the extent to which Temperance was able to blend their barrels. You definitely know where the inspiration is, but it tastes unique. This is really nice and the only thing holding this back right now is the availability and the fact that BCBS is still turding on shelves. Rating: Decent Above-Average (4.5/5.0 Untappd) 

Bramble Barrel-Aged Might Meets Right (2017) - 13% ABV

The can reads: "After aging in Heaven Hill bourbon barrels, we add blackberries & raspberries to heighten the dark berry notes of the stout. This is one of our takes on a revered style. Let's make some history together."

This looks very similar to the base, pouring into a body with minimal head. The aroma is nice. I'm getting a lot of caramel sweetness, Twizzlers, a lot of vanilla and caramel ala the base beer, and a lot of berries. The berries on the nose remind me of Goose Island's Backyard Rye and Bramble insofar that you get more of that "fruit on the bottom yogurt" or "berries with cream" note versus a roast/berry profile sometimes found on other stouts.

Bramble Barrel-Aged Might Meets Right

My untappd notes for this read: "The vanilla and base shines, and then I'm getting walloped with raspberry and blackberry and blueberry. Lots of fudge and vanilla over the top." I basically agree with that reflecting on this beer right now. You are either going to love this beer or hate it. The fruit is big and bold, with tons of raspberry, blueberry, and blackberry puree shining through the caramel and vanilla. The fruity notes actually heighten the alcohol and spirit, so I'm getting some sharp barrel, bourbon, and booze notes. Again, much like the aroma, the fruit in this plays into the base beer's sweetness. Sometimes fruited stouts really play with a roast-on-fruit character, but this is a beer firmly in the realm of fruit and yogurt or berries and cream or fruit with soft serve ice cream. 

What I love about this beer is how much it reminds me of Bramble and Backyard Rye. That's good company to keep. I also love how Temperance was able to keep the viscosity and T H I C C-ness. This is full-bodied with good depth, duration, and complexity. It really unfolds in a couple waves, with lots of the base up front, mids that are all about the berries, and a really complex back end that drops the spirit, some fruit-bourbon notes, lingering fudge and vanilla, and then a nice fade out. I really look forward to them brewing this next year. Rating: Decent Above-Average (4.5/5.0 Untappd) 

Coffee Maple Barrel-Aged Might Meets Right (2017) - 13% ABV

The can reads: "Some think that might makes right. But it's the troublemakers -- the ones who speak truth to power -- who change the world. Coffe Maple Might Meets Right® is the stone in your slingshot. After aging our imperial stout in Heaven Hill bourbon barrels, we add maple & Passion House cold-brew coffee to make this the perfect brunch weapon. This is one of our takes on a revered style. Let's make some history together."

Let me just say outright, this shit is We Todd Ed. This stuff is OFF THE CHAIN <insert Guy Fieri enthusiastically blowing loads meme>. It reminds me of Mikerphone's Imperial Smells Like Bean Spirit Double Maple, which I was lucky enough to grab a pour of while standing in line for BCBS. That's high praise, by the way. 

Coffee Maple Barrel-Aged Might Meets Right

This basically looks like all the other deviants; maybe a little more heady than the ¡La Sorpresa! and the Heaven Hill. The aroma is an onslaught of aggressive barrel-aged bourbon pancake syrup, maple syrup, fruity maple bourbon, honeycombs, Waffle Crisp cereal, and pancakes. If coffee is in the aroma, it is drowning in maple syrup. This is like being at IHOP with your nose in some pancakes and that coffee in the corner. 

The taste mirrors the nose in the best way possible. Let's flip this a bit and talk about the mouthfeel. This is full-bodied and approaching that ideal cake-shake density. There's good duration here with tons of lingering maple. And this actually has some complexity and nuance. This unfolds with waves of maple up front, but actually drops some nice coffee and bourbon in the mids. The back end drops tons of maple, vanilla, honey, and finishes with lingering bourbon. It's fan-fucking-tastic.

As I sip on this, I'm getting more cofffee, more vanilla, and lots of the base beer. The base beer -- which is full of fudge and brownies and caramel -- plays so well with the maple. I get pancakes from this, fruity undertones that suggest berries and compote, and lots of bourbon. Wood/barrel pops in, but the main character here is vanilla. It is sweet but somehow it works. It is decadent stout maple syrup. This is just a ridiculous, over-the-top-beer. I really hope they brew this again. Rating: Strong Divine Brew (4.75/5.0 Untappd) 

¡La Sorpresa! Barrel-Aged Might Meets Right (2017) - 13% ABV

The ¡La Sorpresa! is/was the most intriguing of the variants for me. I'm a HUUUUGGEEEE fan of spicy, Mexican-chocolate stouts, and this one takes the base beer aged in Heaven Hill barrels and throws in coffee, roasted cacao, vanilla beans, toasted cinnamon, and dried Arbol, New Mexico, & Ancho Chiles. 

Interestingly enough, when I went to the pre-release tasting and tried all these beers, the brewmasters were talking about how they brewed this beer twice (? - I believe, don't quote me) and the second time they brewed it they carefully monitored the level of heat the beer was picking up from the peppers. I think that is an interesting detail because overall, I didn't find this one very spicy? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

¡La Sorpresa! Barrel-Aged Might Meets Right

In fact, ¡La Sorpresa! is pretty subtle. When I had it at the tasting it was the fourth beer I drank, and by then my palate was probably pretty worn. It didn't inspire me at that time. It wasn't until I cracked open my can and really spent some time with the beer that I was able to appreciate what is going on here. So straight up, this beer reminds me of Une Annee/Hubbard Cave's El Zacatón. It also DOESN'T remind me of beers like Imperial Blud. 

So what's the takeaway? Imperial Blud is more balanced towards sweetness, where beers like El Zacatón and ¡La Sorpresa! lean towards that almond flour, dense body. ¡La Sorpresa! is surprisingly dense...it's like drinking blended up churros. There is an awesome fusion of cinnamon, fudge, the amazing base beer and Heavin Hill barrel, and then there is a nice measured, pepper heat. The pepper heat is a subtle addition. There's a lot of coffee and vanilla kicking around with the peppery heat and Mexican chocolate, and it all fuses together nicely. Overall, this beer is a winner for me. I stand by my original comment that they could dial up the heat a bit, but as it stands this is a wonderful display of almond-flour/churro body and cinnamon Mexican chocolate. The base beer is fantastic and fuses effortlessly. Rating: Light Above-Average (4.5/5.0 Untappd) 

Random Thought: After rounding these beers up, I am not at all shocked that the 2016 Double Rye Barrel-Aged Might Meets Right weighed in at #6 on The  Hop Review's "50 Chicago Stouts: Reviewed & Ranked." That is high praise that is probably...well, probably well deserved. I suspect Temperance won't be flying under the radar much longer, for better or worse. Get 'em while you can.

Destihl Dosvidanya Rye 2017

Brewed By: Destihl Restaurant and Brew Works in Normal/Bloomington, Illinois 
Purchased: 500ml (1 pint, .09oz bottle) bought at Destsihl in Bloomington, IL; 2017 (batch date: 2017)

Style/ABV: American Barrel-Aged Russian Imperial Stout, 12.5%
Reported IBUs: 84

Tonight's beer is part of the increasingly interesting Midwest portfolio of stellar BA stouts. I've been sleeping on this one for a few years, but the word really needs to get out. About Destihl: 

Destihl is a brewery (Bloomington) and brewpub (Normal, IL & Champaign, IL) based out of the Midwest. Specifically, the middle of Illinois in the middle of the United States. Daaaa midwest. The brewery was founded by CEO & Brewmaster, Matt Potts, in 2007. Like many brewery founders, Potts started out as a homebrewer, and would eventually trade his law school education and law practice for those sweet barley suds. Destihl currently brews a myriad of regular and barrel-aged beers, including an increasing portfolio of tasty sour brews. For more info, check out their website. 

So Dosvidanya is Distihl's big barrel-aged Russian Imperial Stout. It is clearly inspired by beers like Bourbon County Brand Stout, but has its own unique flavor profile. The Dosvidanya Rye is another wrinkle to the Dosvidanya lineup, featuring 2-row malt, chocolate malt, roasted barley, wheat, black malt, caramel malt 120, munich malt, victory malt, extra special malt, rice hulls, and of course rye whiskey barrels.

Destihl Dosvidanya Rye 2017

The appearance of this beer is dark, and it manages to produce Stormy Daniels amount of head. There's a fair amount of lacing, and I'm not just talking about her outfit. The legs are abundant, but what really works here is the beer's gentle demeanor. From the onset the bottle art conveys a sweet gentle tone, but lurking beneath is a brutalist concrete interior, hardened mentality, and cutthroat soldier. You have to be tough as nails to handle all four and a half eight inches of el presidente. Or whatever. 

I would say this is one of the more aromatically interesting stouts I've had in a while. The nose conveys rye, dark cherry notes, fudge, oak, chocolate, nice layers of wood, and some hints of coffee. Missing from the nose is overt raisin and whiskey tones, which you often find in these stouts. It's a welcomed change of pace.

The taste is a complex fusion of rye whiskey barrel, cherry-fudge, chocolate dipped cherries, layers of wood, almost-cherry-skin without any hint of sour, chocolate-forward coffee without any artificial or adjunct chocolate notes, gentle alcohol kisses, and a lot of complex caramel notes. It's a very constrained and mature interpretation of the style.

My untappy notes say: "Next best deviant after the og. Tons of chocolate, rye, coffee, licorice, vanilla, macaroon, wood, spice. 3d and complex like anal." I of course penned that slightly tipsy at Dosvidanya day. But to give credit to myself, I think that is mostly fair. I'm not getting quite as much vanilla or macaroon at the moment, but the licorice is a natural comp to the big cherry notes in this beer. This is full-bodied, complex stuff. It has good depth, complexity, and structure. The way this lingers on your palate reminds me of Deschutes' The Abyss. It kind of has a bitter, cherry-forward, caramel-driven finish with hints of rye. It doesn't finish overly sweet, and it leans away from the barrel/spirit sweetness and instead favors complexity and flavor. Again, this is a very mature stout. I'd say up front I'm getting chocolate, black cherries, chocolate-cherry-coffee; the mids drop rye and licorice and the viscosity picks up; the back end starts with aggressive layers of wood and barrel, and fade into lingering rye and cherries and caramel and dryness. 

Look...before I drop the score...this is riding the line between a strong above-average and light divine brew for me. I think there are a lot of amazing barrel-aged stouts presently available, and I would not hesitate to recommend this beer. BUT BUT BUT what makes this beer ESPECIALLY INTERESTING is the presence of the almost-jammy-but-not-at-all-sour fruity cherry notes. It's just a super unique, uncommon flavor not present in 99% of barrel-aged stouts. And that not only counts for something, but it makes this variant especially unique and interesting. I've emphasized on this blog before how I think review scores are basically bullshit and that people need to move in the direction of nuance with beer. There is nothing I've tasted quite like the Dosvidanya Rye 2017. It's almost flirting with something like Goose Island's Backyard Rye, only way more complex. And I really dig that. I'm curious to see how this ages, but as it stands on this present date: 

Rating: LIGHT LIGHT Divine Brew (4.5/5.0 Untappd) 

Random Thought: Destihl has figured out the stout game, but they are really lagging behind with cool glassware. As I am aware, there is no Dosvidanya glassware. And that is ridiculous considering they have made 'Dosvidanya Day' an event. ISO: kick ass Dosvidanya glassware.

2017 Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout - a divisive beer that reminds me of Prop '16

Brewed By: Goose Island Beer Company (owned by AB InBev) in Chicago, IL 

Purchased: 16.9oz bottle bought at Binny's in Chicago, IL; 2017

Style/ABV: Russian Imperial Stout, 12.9%

Reported IBUs:60

It's been a long time since I've featured Goose Island's Bourbon County Coffee Stout on this blog. I wanted to briefly throw out my thoughts on this year's vintage, because it seems to be pretty hit and miss with people.

So first and foremost, let's note that this year's BCBS coffee is brewed with Intelligentsia Black Cat Espresso. Every year Goose uses a different coffee blend:

The pro and con of using a different coffee blend every year is that you get some very different tasting vintages. I seem to recall the 2015 coffee having more citrusy notes. I think a lot of people really cling to the 2012 and 2014 vintages. And yeah, just every year you get a slightly different beer because the coffee is different.

So here's the deal with the 2017 vintage...aside from pouring out and looking like BCBS (nothing new here), the aroma on this beer is a blend of velvety smooth Mexican chocolate, bourbon, raisins, vanilla, and ash. 

And that really carries through in the taste. This is an EARTHY and ASHY beer. I'm guessing a lot of that is due to the blend of coffee they used. There's almost a level of spice and heat present in the beer. Like, I'm tasting super earthy Mexican chocolate in this. And when you combine the hints of ash and heat with t

2017 Bourbon County Brand Coffee Stout

he slight alcohol burn inherent in this beer, it really feels like a Mexican stout. The spice flirts with cinnamon, and the base beer (BCBS Vintage 2017) is a chocolate bomb. It reminds me of the chocolate you might dip your churro in. A lot of people are reporting green peppers in this beer. I'm definitely getting some earthy, peppery notes, but it is more of a chili note. Maybe an Anaheim chili or a poblano note. Green pepper is a very distinct note in beer, typically associated with stale coffee. And that's really not what I'm getting here, but hey that is just my basic bitch palate. 

In terms of everything else....this is Bourbon County so you should know what to expect. There's the big base beer, which is assertive and sweet and bourbon-y. This year's vintage is all about the chocolate right now. So there's a prominent chocolate presence over-the-top. For whatever reason, the BCBS Coffee 2017 is a little thinner than the other variants. I'm guessing that is due to the blend of cold pressed coffee. It also has a slightly lower ABV than the base. It's still medium-to-full-bodied with good complexity and depth. And overall, this really unfolds in waves with lots of chocolate and ash up front; spice and peppery heat and alcohol and barrel in the mids; the lingering finish is smokey. It's basically like they accidentally brewed Prop 16. Again.

Rating: DECENT Above-Average (4.5/5.0 Untappd)  

Full disclaimer: I'm one of the fucking weirdos that LOOOVVESS Prop '16. If you found Prop '16 off-putting and/or disgusting, you will hate this beer. If you hate peppery notes or ash notes in your beer, you will hate this beer. The ash notes definitely drift into that cigar-y, smoked tobacco, smoked cigarette realm. And that's not gonna work for a lot of people. For me, I could see myself pairing this beer with some grilled steaks or a cigar. Fajitas even. It's too bad this beer was so limited and unavailable, because I think it has serious food potential. But as it is now it's a super hard beer to acquire and will likely be opened at bottle shares and loved by some and totally shit on by others. So good job Goose Island, and also fuck you.

Random Thought: A cursory observation is we should commend Goose Island for taking risks with new coffee blends every year. And we should criticize Goose Island for making so little of the coffee that you have no real good way of getting enough of this stuff to do verticals or to pop these bottles liberally with food. I mean there was SOOOO much regular BCBS available this year....why not give the people what they want. Oh well.

Revolution Double Barrel V.S.O.D. 2017

Brewed By: Revolution Brewing Company in Chicago, IL
Purcased: 12oz CAN from a 4-pack bought at Revolution Brewing Tap Room in Chicago, IL; 2018 (filled 01-04-2018)
Style/ABV: American Barrel-Aged Oatmeal Stout, 17.0%
Reported IBUs: 27

So in some ways, tonight's beer is basically a copy and paste of last night's VSOD review. Except it really isn't. Because while VSOD was an exercise in how beer can be a vehicle for barrel character, DBVSOD -- IN SPITE -- of being more boozy and featuring more barrels (i.e. Woodford Reserve Double Oak and Whistle Pig 10 year Rye), is actually a return to beer-forward notes. 

Revolution Double Barrel V.S.O.D. 2017

Now I'll grant you the beer basically looks the same. "The beer produces a finger of brown head that fades into sweet nothings." It is dark, viscous, and Stout-y. And you really only catch glimpses of dark brown on the far edges of the beer when sticking it in bright light. [insert jokes about how this beer is dark like my soul or my preference in women or whatever]. 

The aroma is where things get really interesting. The beer is like a fusion of Deth's Tar and VSOD -- big anise notes, lots of the base beer, vanilla, wood, fudge, rye and wood spice, and maple on Eggo waffles. There's definitely some alcohol on the nose, which I'm frighteningly pretty immune/blunted to. There's also a good amount of caramel -- a note that is so common and taken for granted in beer you could easily miss.

This is aggressive on the palate, with an almost cola-esque quality up front as your palate gets walloped by 17% ABV, barrel tannins for days, and a fair amount of dark sugars. There's almost a Quad-like quality to the fruity aspects of this beer, with hints of cherries and raisins and overripe fruits. The palate duration which I'll talk about more in a second is off the charts, and the lingering profile in your mouth is blissful bourbon with rye-like notes, alcohol heat, wood, and grain. As the beer oxidizes a bit and warms up, the fudge, oak, coconut, and vanilla characters start to open up and pop. Oh, and there's a kiss of maple and Eggo waffles.

Obviously this is a sipper. This is a battered, worn-in beer. It's not T H I C C like some of those 10% pastry stouts, and I don't think it needs to be or wants to be. When you dial up a beer to 17% and barrel-age the bejesus out of it, you don't need it to be super thick. The slight thinning out of this beer is like the balding gym junkie who is pure testosterone, all muscle, and firing 8 hearty ropes. This plays off the barrel and the spirits, and so I'll accept that it is a heavy medium-full. Palate depth is in the land of sipping, as in you can take a sip of this, let it linger on your palate for 60 seconds, and go back for more. It's like the deep end of the pool at the YMCA. This is also super complex, which -- duh. The complexity is going to trip some people up and there will be detractors. This is not a beer to drink at any temperature below cellar and preferably room. This is not a beer to butt chug unless you're a masochist. This is a beer to pour in your glass and mull over for an hour or two. Because again, up front this is loaded with fruity notes, alcohol, rum, bourbon, and wood; the mids roll into anise and caramel and more overripe fruits; the back end is alcohol and rye and wood spice, with caramel and oak and vanilla and fudge coming along for the ride. 

Rating: Strong Divine Brew (5.0/5.0 Untappd)

This is like...the craziest shit Revolution has ever done, and worth every penny. Which isn't even that much at $35 for a 4-pack. Pound for pound this is up there with BCBS Rare '15 and Reserve, and it's cheaper and comes in a can. The downside is this was a very limited release, and the limit per person was two 4-packs. But...the good news is people are still trading this for absurdly below value. I don't think people quite comprehend what they have on their hands. I'll take all the Double Barrel VSOD. This is my Friday night beer. I love these big-ass, barrel-aged stouts I can sip on for an hour or two. Really awesome shit, and makes me really excited for what Revolution has in the works for their 2018 releases.

Random Thought: I should probably make my Superb Owl pick. As a lover of greatness, I am hoping the Pats win. As a realist, I think Philly has a really good chance. That Eagles team is stacked. Either way, both teams have hilarious and entertaining fan bases. Should be a hell of a Superb Owl.

Revolution V.S.O.D. (Very Special Old Deth) 2017

Brewed By: Revolution Brewing Company in Chicago, IL
Purcased: 12oz CAN from a 4-pack bought at Revolution Brewing Tap Room in Chicago, IL; 2017
Style/ABV: American Barrel-Aged Oatmeal Stout, 13.4%
Reported IBUs: 27

Shit is getting serious now. VSOD or "Very Special Old Deth" is Deth's Tar aged for two years in barrels. This one actually clocks in at a slightly lower ABV than Deth's Tar.

But man, the pour on this is battered and viscous. The beer produces a finger of brown head that fades into sweet nothings. The only thing keeping any carbonation on the beer's surface is my sweet Revolution glass's laser etching. 

The aroma here is absurd. Front and center is an absurd amount of barrel, oak, wood, and vanilla. It's that splintered barrel aroma that is in your face and aggressive and poignant. To me it is reminiscent of the Reserve Bourbon County from 2017. Once you muscle your way through the layers of barrel, the aroma opens up into chocolate and brownie and fudge. 

The taste of this beer is boozy bliss. Straight away I'm noting chocolate dipped raisins/Raisinetts spiked with massive amounts of bourbon and rum. The barrel and woody dryness meets the tongue next -- as you might expect, there is a fair amount of oxidation here. There's ample amounts of coconut and vanilla, with some shades of maple syrup sweetness. There's also a fair amount of spice, and some lingering residual hoppiness. I'm getting some rye bread and notes that remind me of dark grains. Good stuff.

Revolution V.S.O.D. (Very Special Old Deth) 2017

What is there to say about this beer that you can't glean from the beer's description or infer knowing what the base is about. This is a full-bodied, complex beer that lingers on your palate for a long time. It has a lovely progression with oxidized wood, barrel, oak, and Raisinetts up front; the mids roll into rum, bourbon, spice, more dark fruits, hints of fruity and floral coffee; the back end drops coconut and vanilla and chocolate. The beer fades to black leaving kisses of drying alcohol and wood on your tongue, with lingering maple sweetness. It's wild. This is also a sipping beer. 

Rating: Strong Divine Brew (5.0/5.0 Untappd)

Random Thought: I want to spend some time taking a crap on Josh Noel's face, because I think his assessment of this beer was way wrong. But we should probably talk about price and format. I know this whole can thing has become a joke of sorts, but the price of these beers is insane. VSOD was like $30 for a 4-pack. That's basically $0.625/oz or $13.75 for a bomber. $13.75!!! And these are in fucking 12oz cans. So you can split a can with a friend, or solo-dome it and not feel like the world's biggest alcoholic. To compare, Goose Island Reserve was selling for around ~$24 and came in a 16.9oz format. Just food for thought...   

Revolution Deth's Tar 2017

Brewed By: Revolution Brewing Company in Chicago, IL
Purcased: 12oz CAN from a 4-pack bought at Revolution Brewing Tap Room in Chicago, IL; 2017
Style/ABV: American Barrel-Aged Oatmeal Stout, 14.8%
Reported IBUs: 27

Revolution Deth's Tar 2017

In keeping with my plan to review Revolution's 2017/2018 lineup of barrel-aged beers, I'm looking at the 2017 vintage of Deth's Tar. Deth's Tar is Revolution's barrel-aged Imperial Oatmeal Stout, and the base for their Deth by Cherries, Cafe Deth, VSOD, Double Barrel VSOD, and a handful of variants that were tap-only.

I actually reviewed this beer back in 2013, and I remember it being pretty bourbon-y. To wit: "Honestly, there's a lot of complexity lurking beneath the bourbon, despite the fact that this is so aggressively bourbon-y." 

The 2018 vintage pours into your typical pitch-black body, and kicks up a finger of short-lived, brown head. I'm going to recommend drinking this towards room temp. At colder temperatures I pick up more fruity notes on the aroma, and it almost veers into anise and licorice overload. Oddly enough, when this warms up the aroma turns into boozy brownie batter, raisins, barrel, and dark fruits. At the very least, if you decide to take this beer on at colder temps, let it warm up as you go.

The taste follows through, with intense barrel, wood, fudge, and dark fruits and light raisin/oxidation on the back. There is a surprising amount of anise and hop complexity present in this beer. It's interesting to compare regular Deth's Tar to VSOD and Double Barrel VSOD...you can really see how the additional barrel aging has changed the base beer. And conversely, you can see how the 2017 vintage of Deth's Tar has a HUGE base. I'm tasting a fair amount of char in here as well, which really plays off the barrel and bourbon and compliments the anise and bold roasty malts. This is just a HUGE intense beer, and it feels substantial outside of just the ABV.

For me, this beer is a grower and not a shower. There's a lot of nuance in here, and I think this is a pretty complex brew. As this sits in my glass the oatmeal stout base comes out a bit more, and I'm getting some of that roast and caramel malt presence. At 14.8% you are talking about a lot of spirit and alcohol. And this has a medium-full to full-bodied mouthfeel. The duration is moderate to full with good palate depth and good complexity. Again, up front I'm getting a lot of fruity notes like cherry with a blend of chocolate and brownie. The mids roll into char and barrel with some bourbon, more raisins, anise, light baker's spice. The back end finishes dry with alcohol, spirit, rum, and more roast/char/barrel. It's also worth emphasizing that this year's Deth's Tar is slightly thicker and bigger than past years, which is ultimately a good thing.

Rating: LIGHT Above-Average (4.5/5.0 Untappd)

This is an impressively solid Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout, and reminds me of stalwarts like Bell's Black Note and Barrel-Aged Old Rasputin. This might be the least interesting beer of Revolution's 2017/2018 barrel lineup, but it is still a massive, complex, thoroughly enjoyable beer. And while this beer isn't quite a Bourbon County killer, it's still entirely nuanced and original and worth its own merits. Also, there is some reckoning. Namely in the form of VSOD and DBVSOD.

Random Thought: Things I won't be watching this weekend: the Pro Bowl.