This little beauty made an appearance on the Columbus beer scene this week, and it flew off the shelves. It was originally released in September, apparently, and has been a very popular beer from Revolution Brewing, who claims it is the biggest beer they have ever brewed, and their first specialty beer to be canned. If you will recall, we love what Revolution is doing. Anti-Hero is one of our favorite go-to IPAs. We recently fell in love with the movie Drinking Buddies, which is set at Revolution Brewing. I was raised not far from Chicago, and I love the city. I am thrilled that Revolution is doing so well, although next time, would it be too much to ask for a Giordano's pizza delivered with my six-pack? Goodthanks.
This 10% ABV, 100IBU behemoth pours a medium golden color. There was a pretty good amount of white head as I poured it, but it quickly dissipated. The aroma on this just made me sigh with pleasure... notes of grapefruit, pine, lychee, passionfruit, and light crackery notes floated past my nose. Taking a sip, the taste is not quite as bold as I expected from the aroma. This beer does not punch you in the taste buds, but instead, quietly invades them. The same flavors are in the taste as the aroma, but it is really sweet, and there is also a grassy note that I am getting in the flavor that I did not notice in the aroma. Fortunately, it is not excessively cloying in sweetness; I have really come to dislike IIPA's that are too sweet and clash malts with hops. In this beer, the sweetness just underlies the beer, complementing the hop flavors and aromas so nicely instead of overpowering them. It is well-carbonated and leaves sticky hop residue in the mouth.
This is Anti-Hero's fantastic big brother. Apparently, it was only brewed once, but let's hope that vigorous sales and demand turn this into a seasonal offering from Revolution. Now, about that pizza...
4.8/5 caps
-Jennie
Blah blah blah my random banter that I'm sure no one really reads. Fuck this, let's just get straight to the beer. I needed to get this, as it's the talk of Columbus right now.
I, unlike Jennie, am enjoying mine straight from can. As soon as I crack open the can, my olfactory senses are overwhelmed with pine and grass, with initial hints of grapefruit and lychee that come out more with each sniff. The aroma is worthy of noting the old "they should make a candle that smells like this".... Now, exactly who 'they' are has never been determined, so instead of trying to figure out who 'they' are, I will let this 10%, 100 IBU behemoth slither past my lips, hoping the bliss obtained in the aroma is equally as gratifying in the taste. Well fuck... it is. Big hop flavors that onslaught the taste buds, wrecking them with grapefruit, lychee, pine and some earthy notes. Eventually, there is some light malt flavor, but it fades quickly as the hops continue marching their way across your tongue, changing the flavor profile once again to bitter with grapefruit and orange zest. Shock of shocks, it's a nice bitter finish, but this drinks smoother than any other 10% beer I've had. It's abusive on the taste buds, but has the body and carbonation of a 6% IPA. This is fantastic.
We have 4 more cans of this, one of which will be spoken for. What to do with 3 more of these? Hmmm...
4.85/5 caps
-Nathan-
Food pairing: A spinach and cheese pie from Giordano's. Seriously. Please send one.
Cheese pairing: Provel
Music pairing: Rise Against, "Savior"
No comments:
Post a Comment