Revolution Unsessionable Imperial IPA

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

Purchased: 12oz CAN from a 6-pack bought at Sheridan 'L' Lounge in Chicago, IL; 2014

Style/ABV: American Imperial IPA/Strong Ale, 10%

Reported IBUs: 100

Let's be real, the session beer fad sucks. Most session beers are American Pale Ales rebranded using the popular but equally obnoxious "IPA" tag. They are nothing new, and more often than not, incredibly predictable. Tonight's beer is a big fuck you to all the session IPAs...a big ass, all-American, Imperial IPA brewed with 6 hops, that punches in at 10%. Suck on that. 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 Unsessionable IPA is pretty ridiculous, and honestly, I am surprised this came in a 6-pack. This beer is brewed using 6 hops, including: Centennial, Chinook, Amarillo, Galaxy, Citra, and Cascade. Punching in at 10% and 100 IBUs, this beer rides that line between a Strong Ale, Barleywine, and American Imperial IPA. 

Revolution Unsessionable Imperial IPA

The appearance is everything you'd want: hazy orange, with a finger of caramel-tinged head that lasts forever thanks to the hops fueling it. This is clearly well-carbonated, and looks the part of the best American Imperials. It's like California girls and sunsets. Totally, Hollywood.

I can't remember the last time I smelled something this good coming out of Chicago. This challenges The Unicorn Hits Rock Bottom with ease, and makes Zombie Dust look like the mid-ABV IPA that it is. This smells like fat oranges, giant tangerine candies, and I shit you not: gummy peach orange ring candies. The sweet peach and tangerine notes flirt with peach iced tea, dank West Coast vibes, and tropical fruits...but it's all grounded in that sweet peach goodness.

This hits with your tongue with honey-like sweetness. The hops gloss over your palate leaving traces of orange, tangerine, and sweet peaches. This is insanely sweet, with hints of caramel sugars between the aggressively dank and resinous hop punch. This rides the imaginary line between an American Strong Ale or Barleywine...I'm reminded a bit of Dogfish Head's 120 Minute IPA. I'm also reminded of the Pipeworks/Rock Bottom collab, Unicorn Hits Rock Bottom. This is just an insane fusion of intensely sweet hops propped up against a huge malt profile. The hops are equally fruity as they are bitter and dank. The bitterness provided much needed contrast to the sweetness. But this keeps things cool and sweet. It's very West Coast, and reminds me of Florida. 

Soak these in alcohol and walla

At 10%, this beer is way too fucking drinkable. I'm serious, I killed 12oz of this in like ten minutes. That's how you get wasted. Despite being drinkable, this is till heavy-handed and full-bodied. The carbonation and hops cut through a lot of the fat, but this is a curvy beer in every way possible. The palate depth here is outstanding, and this is about as complex as something like this is going to get. It's not quite the 120 Minute...but it's flirting with that Unicorn Hits Rock Bottom. I mean really, this unfolds with sweet orange, peach gummy rings, and tangerine up front; that gives way to intense caramel sweetness, rich sugars, and dank as hell hops lurking beneath; the back end trails with intense hop sweetness, resin, and a sticky-sweet finish. This is truly an aggressive, big, over-the-top interpretation of an American Imperial IPA. A true "fuck you" to all the session bitch beers out there.

Rating: Divine Brew (4.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Divine Brew on this. If Revolution can keep this around on a regular basis, well, then Chicago is going to finally have a coveted Imperial IPA. For all the good work that Pipeworks is doing, they aren't releasing beers on the regular. Chicago is seriously lacking in the Imperial IPA category, and this beer right here has potential. I'd also love to see this barrel-aged. Food pairings: spicy foods. Seriously. Get this beer to go with some over-the-top wings, and thank me later.

Random Thought: At 100 IBUs and 10%...you'd expect this beer to hold up to spicy foods. And it does! I've now paired this beer with homemade taco salad and nachos. In both situations, I piled on the hot salsa (homemade, with fresh habaneros, baby!). This beer cuts through the spice with ease. 

Victory DirtWolf

Brewed By: Victory Brewing Company in Downingtown, Pennsylvania 

Purchased: 12oz bottle from a 4-pack 3-pack bought at Capone's Liquor & Food in Chicago, IL; 2014

Style/ABV: Imperial IPA, 8.7%
Reported IBUs: ?

How appropriate for me to pop my Victory cherry with their filthy and raw Imperial IPA. About Victory: 

Victory Brewing Company is a brewery based out of Downingtown, Pennsylvania. The brewery was founded by Ron Barchet and Bill Covaleski, two avid brewers and lovers of beer. Although Victory opened on February 15, 1996, the duo were brewing brewing beer long before opening their own company. You can read more about their accomplishments on the brewery's about page. The brewery uses German malted barley and European and American whole flower hops (the use of whole flower hops is one unique aspect of Victory). Victory is currently working on expanding to Parkesburg. For more information about Victory, check out their website or their Facebook page. 

Today's beer, the DirtWolf, is an Imperial IPA featuring whole flower Citra, Chinook, Simcoe and Mosaic hops. This one uses a two-row malt base, and punches in at a big 8.7%. 

Victory DirtWolf

The DirtWolf pours like your quintessential American Double IPA. DIPA her, I hardly know her. Right? Amirite? Gaiz? This one is conditioned, and you even get some yeast floaters hanging around the bottom of your glass. This is a hazy yellow/straw color, juicy in appearance, and kicks up a finger or two of white head. The head is white with elegant lacing, like classical music and the US Constitution. It's a good looking beer and bottle.

The aroma here is all kinds of hops, with raw and earthy citrus, resinous orange, dank orange/tangerine/grapefruit, and just...tons of orange and grapefruit. The citrus is earthy and raw, but it's more sweet than anything. I'm not getting any iced tea or wet leaves here...just straight up dank citrus.

Props to Victory for this one, it is super clean and hop-forward with little malt interference. I'm getting raw and uncompromising citrus, bitter flowers, dandelions, grapefruit/orange, mild citrus rind, and some resinous and pithy lemon notes. This is clinging to the edge of the sweet cliff, almost falling off into something darker and less sweet. But this retains a bright citrus edge, probably thanks to the Mosaic and Citra hops. There's some mild catty notes in here, mostly in the form of dank hemp and resin, and a little spice too. Mild citrus zest and pepper. The finish is clean and dry. It's aggressive and hoppy...the DirtWolf title seems apropos. 

This is medium-bodied, and actually pretty full/heavy. I wouldn't crush more than two of these in a sitting, I think. Although I'm not getting any booze, this definitely has that 8.7% vibe. It's a big-ass American Double. Palate depth is great, with good duration. The complexity isn't far behind. Up front is a big assault of razor sharp and clean hops. We're talking about citrus, orange, grapefruit, and some nice citrus zest. The mids are where the bitterness starts to build, and you pick up some rind; it's still pretty dank in the middle. The back end drops more bitterness, with some catty Simcoe, resinous lemon, dank citrus, and a nice dry finish. It finishes clean and beckons for another sip, which is always a welcome quality. 

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this. This is a solid contender as far as Double IPAs go, especially @ 11.99 a 4-pack. It's probably not the most economic Imperial IPA, but it drinks so clean and refined. It's really a beer without any faults, it just seems to lack some edge to really push it into that world-class echelon of beers. At this point we are just nit-picking. Food pairings here include a pantheon of American bar foods, leafy burgers, or pizza. I'm planning on making zucchini pizza with mozzarella cheese and homemade tomato sauce -- I think this beer would pair perfectly with that.  

Random Thought: If you are wondering about the 3-pack thing, when I bought this beer I discovered that someone stole a bottle from my 4-pack and replaced it with a bottle of Southern Tier's 2XOne. I would be more pissed, but the 2XOne was pretty tasty. Still, that's a dick move. Proof that the beer community does have some bad apples.