Revolution Ryeway to Heaven 2017

Brewed By: Revolution Brewing Company in Chicago, IL

Purchased: 12oz CAN from a 4-pack bought at Revolution Brewing Tap Room in Chicago, IL; 2017

Style/ABV: American Barrel-Aged Rye Ale, 13.0%

Reported IBUs: 20

Every now and then a beer comes along that is one-dimensional in its execution but basically drops a bomb on the style. This is that beer. Prepare your insulin. Prepare your anus. Ryeway to Heaven is "Brewed with over 60% rye, this limited production rye ale has a seductively ample body which suggests sweetness while retaining a dry finish. Aged 12 months in American Rye Whiskey barrels, this “Ryewine” as we call it, is wholly unique in its malt and barrel-derived complexities."

Ryeway pours into a distinctly worn, amber-red body, kicking up a finger of tan head. This was pretty lively when I cracked the can, which is not a bad thing by any means.

Revolution Ryeway to Heaven 2017

The aroma on this beer is just...ridiculous. You get big barrel up front which adds burnt sugars, oak, vanilla, and caramel. There is a distinct maple syrup and marshmallow scent, with rye, honey, Graham cracker, and pecans. It's not unlike smelling creme brulee, but with a kiss of alcohol. I'm reminded of pecan pie and Baklava as well. There are also fruity notes, with some cherries dancing around in the mix.

On the taste: straight away you notice the T H I C C and huge mouthfeel. The taste boldly mirrors the nose, with marshmallow and maple leading the way as the main characters. Hints of pecan pie, creme brulee, and Baklava dance with alcohol and bourbon, vanilla, oak, light char, caramelized sugars, and Graham cracker. There is some honey sweetness and a dash of rye spice to round everything out.

This is a full-bodied, beautiful sipping beer. Palate depth and duration are both very high. This is complex insofar that it has great depth for what it is, which is an over-the-top "rye wine" aged in rye whiskey barrels. On the beer spectrum this is firmly in the realm of sweet, sugary, and boozy. Still, there are layers of goodness here, with marshmallow and maple up front; the mids roll into all those beautiful barrel/char/oak/burnt sugar flavors; the back end drops cherries and alcohol, and lots of rye spice. The reminders of various pastry desserts are present throughout.

Rating: Decent Divine Brew (4.75/5.0 Untappd)

Ryeway is a baller sipping beer...it's basically liquefied pastries in a can. No complaints from me. Hopefully next year RevBrew makes more of it.

Random Thought: Now I'm tasting some good Baklava...mmm...Baklava

Pipeworks Reaper vs Unicorn Ryewine

Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 22oz bottle (Batch #221/222/223) bought at Binny's in IL; 2013 (bottled 10.[7/8/9].13)

Style/ABV: Ryewine/Barleywine, 10.0%
Reported IBUs: ?

In this week's Unofficial Pipeworks Thursday™ we are looking at the Reaper vs. the Unicorn. I'm not sure who to root for this time around, but my hunch is the unicorn. About Pipeworks:

Pipeworks has humble roots. The brewery was founded in Chicago in 2011 by Beejay Oslon and Gerrit Lewis. The duo were both homebrewers that met while while working at West Lakeview Liquors. In 2011, they began to raise money for their brewery using the online Internet site, Kickstarter. Olson and Lewis were both educated at De Struise Brewery in Oostvleteren, Belgium. With that knowledge, and the money from their kickstarter, Olson and Lewis created a unique brewery that is smaller in size, and intended to brew smaller batches of beer. The company's motto is "small batches, big beers." And indeed, since the brewery has been around, they've been releasing a lot of one-offs and small batch releases. The goal is to release a new beer every week. You can read more about the brewery at their website HERE.

The Reaper vs Unicorn is a Ryewine/Barleywine thing. The bottle reads:

"The unicorn may have finally met its match in Death Incarnate. But hold your horned horses, because the unicorn lives to rye another day! What a sickle joke! But, we aren't tricking you, this barleywine is a real treat, with a rich malt skeleton and a more than paranormal amount of hops. If you're going to harvest soul-y one beer this season, don't fear the Reaper..."

Pipeworks Reaper vs Unicorn Ryewine

The beer pours like an Imperial Red Ale, which makes a lot of sense if you've had the Sam vs Unicorn or Santa vs Unicorn. Barleywine? More like an Imperial Red. In lower light, this beer's body is a dark red/muddy brown color, and kicks up two to three fingers of super dense, bready, caramel-amber head. The beer dons a juicy, murky, reddish-orange body in bright light. The head is all caramel/amber, with hints of orange. It's an Imperial Red! There's tons of sticky lacing on this, and some glossy legs.

I'm getting big resinous pine, resinous citrus, and woody resin. There's a lot of rye spice on the aroma as well, with some bready rye, rye bread, and lots of peppery rye. There's some caramel as well. The nose is super hoppy, but it's resinous hops...resinous grapefruit, citrus, and orange.

This reminds me more of the Santa vs Unicorn than the Sam vs Unicorn. For whatever reason, this one doesn't have any assertive carbonation helping things along (which is weird because the beer still has a big, lively head and lacing). The malt is blunted here, and there's a lot of it. You get big rye, caramel, and sweet malt sugars (brown sugar?). There's a lot of rye spice in the mix, and lots of resinous hops. I'm getting resinous/woody pine, citrus, grapefruit rind, and tangerines. There's some peppery-rye-booze on the finish.

The lack of carbonation doesn't hurt the drinkability here, even at 10.0%. But I find myself pining for it a bit. This is a medium-full to full-bodied beer, with lots of sweet malt body and tons of resinous hops. Palate depth is okay, and complexity is also okay. You get lots of sweet, rye-forward malt up front; that rolls into big resinous/woody hops; the back end features peppery spice and some booze. 

Rating: Average (3.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Light Average here. I don't know if this beer was intentionally supposed to feature this little carbonation, or if it didn't attenuate far enough, or the conditioning didn't go right. Who knows. Either way, this isn't a bad libation. You get lots of the Rye and malt sweetness. It drinks like an Imperial Red Ale. I would pair this beer with a burger, wings, or other aggressive American foods. You could pair this with anything spicy as well. This one was okay, the Sam vs Unicorn was much better.

Random Thought: TGIF, bitches!