Revolution Oktoberfest

The Stats
Style: Marzen/Oktoberfest
ABV: 5.7%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 3.77/5
- Untappd: 3.68/5
- RateBeer: 3.42/5

"Classic German-style Oktoberfest Lager that goes down smooth with a pleasant, toasty, malt flavor. The addition of traditional German Magnum and Hersbruker hops provide a crisp balanced bitterness and spicy/earthy aroma to round out this robust beer."

Pours out rusty orange/copper in color with a transparent body and two fingers of white head.

This has a generic, watered-down lager scent with some wet grass and hay. I'm picking up some wet grain and cereal too, but there's a a decent toasty quality that I like.

The taste yields some flavors that were absent from the aroma. I'm getting lots of apples on this and even some citrus and orange. The taste still retains a lot of that barnyard and wet hay from the aroma, but I think it add a funky quality to the beer that I am enjoying. I must say there is almost a smokey, tobacco flavor going on, but it plays off of the toasted notes I got from the aroma. A subtle spice kick with black pepper rounds out the flavor profile with more of the oat and cereal taste on each finish.

Mouthfeel is light with good carbonation. It is as easy to drink as you'd expect for 5.7% and the hefty amount of flavors make it easy on the palate.

Things started off shaky with Revolution Oktoberfest, but it finished strong. This has a surprising amount of complexity for the style which alone makes it worth a look if you see it at your local store.

Rating
7.8/10

Revolution Brewing Red Skull

The Stats
Style: American Amber/Red Ale
ABV: 8.3%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 4.06/5
- RateBeer: 3.63/5

As I said in my prior review of Mosaic-Hero IPA, Revolution Brewing out of Chicago is here in Massachusetts in full force. I spotted today's beer at only one store, so I had to snatch it up. It's an Imperial Red Ale brewed with Cascade hops and then dry-hopped with Citra.

A beautiful dark, ruby red on the pour that was mostly transparent except for some chill haze. I got about a finger of eggshell/yellowish head.

Sweet malts and subtle citrus on the aroma with just a tinge of pine.

Some nice dank hop bitterness greets me first which is nice since it was absent from the aroma. The malt presence is big and bold, but it doesn't distract from the fresh hop taste. In fact, the malts lend an underlying caramel flavor that makes this sweet until the pine and spruce show up. It sounds crazy, but the pine with the fresh hop taste kind of makes me think of walking through a row of wet Christmas trees. That combined with the sweet, sugary flavors gives off just the faintest bit of maple syrup. The finish comes back to some resinous pine sap and a tiny bit of juicy hops.

Mouthfeel is full-bodied with good carbonation. No alcohol taste or warming at all. It finish a little dry, but overall smooth.

Red Skull is a great example of the Red Ale. While a bigger hop juice presence would have been welcome, this still has a full flavor palette chock-full of enough pine, citrus, and sweet malts to satisfy any lover of the style.

Rating
8.5/10

Revolution Brewing Mosaic-Hero IPA

The Stats
Style: American IPA
ABV: 7.0%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 4.25/5
- RateBeer: 3.81/5 (mean)

Revolution Brewing has recently invaded Massachusetts and they have been welcomed with open arms. I recently stocked up on several of their offerings and must say that they will be in my regular rotation for the foreseeable future This bad boy is part of their "Hero Series" that showcases specific hop varieties and as you can see, we are  going back to the recently popular Mosaic hop. I think the past year has seen almost every brewery in the U.S. blow a load for Mosaic, but only some can make the most of it. Good luck, Revolution!

Pours a slightly hazy, but mostly transparent glowing orange with two fingers of white head.
   
The aroma has big pine and tree bark with pineapple and it's sweet like honey.
  
Some really nice hop oils and resin hit the front of my tongue immediately and they linger for a long time which is great. Not as much pineapple from the aroma, but instead it is a candied orange and even clementine. After the fruit juices subside, pine greets me with a kick to the face as sap and spruce bring almost a Christmas tree feel to the taste. The finish is actually quite bitter with lingering dankness and hop oils.

Mouthfeel is perfect at 7.0% as it is full-bodied with perfect carbonation and no alcohol presence. Some of the heavier sap and dank notes might rub some people the wrong way, but I like it and find this to be fully flavored and easy to drink.

Mosaic-Hero succeeded at highlighting the ever-so-loved Mosaic hop with notes of tropical fruit and pine. It is incredibly drinker-friendly and contains an array of characteristics that will satisfy anyone who comes across it. If only it wasn't a one-time thing :(.

Rating
8.7/10