Brewery Review: Revolution Brewery - Chicago, IL

It has been a while since I've done one of these. Today was supposed to be my day off from work, but I came in for an extra 4 hours. I got home and went out and did a quick 10 miler before Jen arrived and my parents took us down town to Revolution brewery. I'd almost made it here before, having walked from navy pier all the way down to within 1 block of this place only to realize that I wouldn't have enough time to make it to my final destination. Fortunately I made it this time. This place is pretty cool. As for the beer, they were all rated against each other (for the most part).





Working Man Mild - Brown with a ruby tint. A small filmed tan head. Aroma is sweet and toffee'd. Tastes carameled with toasted wood followed by a smoky taste. Low carbonation. Quite flavorful.

84/100

Bottom Up Wit - Bright pale yellow with a white cloudiness. Soapy foamed head. Smells yeasty and citrusy. On the palate I find flavors of bread and lemongrass with a light citrus sweetness. A decent wit.

77/100

Cross of Gold - Pale amber with no visible carbonation. Smells mildly floral and biscuity sweet. Crisp and grassy with a caramel sweetness and a grass drying finish. Orange peel is prominent. Very refreshing.

86/100
Iron Fist Pale - Bronzed clear copper. No head. Strong caramel malt smell. Taste really reveals the bitterness with a caramel toffee backbone. Leaves a sweet toasty flavor with floral hop profile
84/100
Fistmas Ale - Brown with a red hue. Smells toffee'd with a spiced finish. Taste is well gingered with clove and cinnamon. Still maintained a carameled sweet backbone, and not over spiced.
85/100
Double Fist - Very clear amber. Taste immediately reveals grapefruit and zest with a paralleled caramel and toasted malt. Carbonation is minimal except in the back of the throat. Very complex and balanced.
87/100
Institutionalized - Lacing is strong atop a dark copper. Strong sweet roasted aroma. Taste is somewhat candied and carameled. Hot but contained. Malty but balanced with a subtle bitterness.
85/100 - Best Barley Wine I've had!
Bourbon Barrel Mad Cow - Black but when held to the light, holds a red hue. Quite boozy of bourbon and malt chocolate liqueur. Lesser body and lacking malt character to balance the bourbon wood flavor.
75/100

Revolution Brewery is a newer brewery to the Chicago area located off Milwaukee in Logan square. It takes on a modernistic but western wood-like theme look. Dim lights are accompanied with oak barrel binding rings, making for a unique look. We arrived around 5:00 and the place only got busier from there. They don't have a flight deal so I had ordered a sample of each beer. DON'T DO THIS. It was 20$ for the samples of beer above. Although they were larger than usual, I found it absurd to charge this much just to get a taste of their beer. Plus they were already out of their two cask conditioned beers.
However, the beer itself was absolutely fantastic! The food was as well. Jen and I ordered their Veggie Chili and a Mushroom Pizza which were really delicious. Their burgers are huge as well. They have an Island bar with booths and tables revolving around. I do believe they had an upstairs accommodation as well.
Overall the experience was great, I enjoyed the beer and the service was helpful. I think it would be better to arrive a couple hours earlier. All their beer was very complex and flavorful, even the 3.5% Working man mild! Unfortunately the bill ended up being over $100, so be prepared to spend.
Check them out: http://revbrew.com/

Brewery experience: 45/50