Deep Wood 2023 Finale | Revolution Brewing
Our sponsor Beer on the Wall will be one of the places to have the V.S.O.R. Select and On and On: Part 3 on draft a day early during their Revolution Deep Wood Preview Party! Both the Park Ridge and Elmhurst locations will be participating with some possible cool surprises along with the previews from 6 – 8PM!
Revolution gave everyone a Christmas gift – a month off from a Deep Wood release. While I’m sure your wallets recovered a little bit, Revolution decided to end their 2023 Deep Wood season with two collaborative bangers – V.S.O.R. Select (with Binny’s) and On and On: Part 3 (with Half Acre). F5 commence!
V.S.O.R. Select | 15.7%
The third iteration of V.S.O.R., V.S.O.R. Select follows releases of V.S.O.R. during the 2019 and 2021 Deep Wood seasons. Both iterations ended up near the top of their Deep Wood class, with the 2021 V.S.O.R. taking the top spot overall for me. V.S.O.R. Select differs slightly from those releases in that bourbon barrels took part in the blending of this beer as opposed to straight rye whiskey barrels. Each component still sat in barrels for over two years and the barrels were hand-selected by Binny’s Beverage Depot. (Keep that in mind when it sells out insanely quickly on Tuesday, as Binny’s will receive approximately half of the canned yield.)
V.S.O.R. Select pours a caramel color that creates about a finger of head. That head dissipates like a Pepsi would minus the fizz noise. Once it rests in the glass it comes off as a dark brown with some crimson highlights that you really can’t see through. Alcohol stain and legs show up as expected from a 15.7% barrel-aged beer. Put simply, V.S.O.R. Select looks like Straight Jacket or Ryeway to Heaven.
I would expect tons of rye and bread aromatics that I typically smell on Ryeway to Heaven and V.S.O.R. and, yes, I do in fact get those rye bread notes. This one’s different though as the bourbon barrel in the blend adds some other things like vanilla, caramel, and a bigger chocolate presence. Those chocolate nose flavors skew more towards a bitter chocolate as opposed to a sweeter, milk chocolate. So while you’ll still get all the rye bread aromas you can handle there are some additional added bonus aromatics present.
V.S.O.R. Select does just what you’d expect on the palate. The rye spices dominate and there are some bready tastes joining it. The vanilla and especially chocolate add a nice little change of pace, especially if compared to Ryeway to Heaven. That chocolate really leads the charge though causing V.S.O.R. Select to swerve into the pastry lane without being too sweet at all.
Outside of DB V.S.O.J. during last year’s Deep Wood season, Revolution never really made a beer too sweet even though it could have (and that DB V.S.O.J. only shows itself as sweet when compared to other Deep Wood beers really). You’ll get snickerdoodle (my favorite!) and Christmas cookies off it, especially with a little molasses note that peeks through a bit.
Revolution always hides the ABV on their big beer exceptionally well and every time I’m always amazed by it. V.S.O.R. Select falls in line in that regard. It sits on the tongue with a medium mouthfeel and leaves some chocolate and rye behind and then gets out of the way. Zero booze burn. I’ll repeat that – zero booze burn. Exceptionally smooth and easy to drink. Yes, I finished off the can quickly and wanted more. Dangerous and delicious.
V.S.O.R. Select basically does what V.S.O.R. does so well – rye and chocolate – and adds some vanilla and caramel to the mix as well as increases the smoothness. I can only imagine the difference being more pronounced if I had them back to back. V.S.O.R. Select will definitely not turn away those that love V.S.O.R. and those that might not have liked it as much should dip their toe in the rye waters here. A stunningly excellent and very easy to drink beer.
Rating: 9.7/10
On and On: Part 3
Another third release (but not all from Revolution), On and On features Half Acre jumping on board to help with creating this beer. Part 1 (released by Revolution) went the barrel-aged Imperial Porter route, while Part 2 (released by Half Acre) leaned into Revolution’s strength of barrel-aged barleywine. (Full disclosure: I have a can but haven’t tried it yet; I need to get on that!)
For Part 3 they decided on a double barrel stout – with a twist. The description released by Revolution mentions “a stout fluent in the language of barleywine.” Without any further info from the breweries, it sounds to me like a stout/barleywine blend with the stout comprising a bigger part of the blend. There’s also no info on the barrels involved or the time spent in them. I do know that it’s 16.6% ABV though!
On and On: Part 3 pours a caramel color, but a darker one than something like Ryeway to Heaven or Straight Jacket. A finger of white head forms and slowly vanishes while some bubbles linger on the outer rim of the beer. As per usual you can’t see through the beer in the glass but the highlights when tilting the beer are interesting. I checked numerous times and kept seeing purple colors show up so I’m going with that. Alcohol stain and legs on the glass stay in line with the rest of the Deep Wood series or a 16.6% ABV beer.
So On and On: Part 3 smells like a barleywine/stout blend dominated by the stout. I always wonder if I would pick that up even if I didn’t know that beforehand. Chocolate and molasses from the stout, caramel and butterscotch from the barleywine, and vanilla and spices from the barrels (presumably). A hint of maple syrup forms as well but it’s not nearly as dominant as it was in Dread & Breakfast. Definitely fun to smell!
Things flip on the palate. Those typical Revolution barleywine notes of caramel and butterscotch go big while the chocolate provides a nice complement. Spices, vanilla and molasses weave their way along your tongue and add a little depth and whimsy to things. A light chocolate butterscotch does form briefly but for the most part the flavors stay apart like a middle school dance. Both seem distinct and separate.
The booze on On and On: Part 3 shows up from the jump unlike other Deep Wood beers. It eventually lessens a bit but when booze burn and spices stay on the tongue longer than anything else it makes it a bit challenging to finish. Thankfully it doesn’t weigh down on the palate too much and moves most of the flavors out after the sip.
On and On: Part 3 is fun and interesting but I would’ve liked the blend to, well, blend more. The distinct barleywine and stout characteristics are well and good but a little more integration between the two could’ve yielded some truly amazing results. Add in some booze burn and you have a really good beer. But a really good beer doesn’t stand up to some of the other Deep Wood offerings this year, especially things like V.S.O.R. Select. It’ll be interesting (and I’m thankful) to be able to try the component blends at the release party.
Rating: 8.4/10
Final Deep Wood 2023 Season Rankings
Revolution’s Deep Wood series never fails to impress and this year definitely lives up to those expectations. As is typical the barleywines and ryewines out did the stouts. V.S.O.R. Select and DB V.S.O.D. were extremely close but the uniqueness of the DB V.S.O.D. nudged it ahead for me. Both Life Jacket and Dread & Breakfast were successful experiments and ones I hope continue in some form over the next few Deep Wood seasons. (For those wondering, the best release of the year – highest ranking and most beer – took place in November, with Ryeway to Heaven, Straight Jacket, and DB V.S.O.D. coming out.)
11. Cuvee de Grace
10. Deth’s Tar
7. On And On: Part 3
6. Cafe Deth
5. Life Jacket
2. V.S.O.R. Select
1. DB V.S.O.D.
Revolution will release V.S.O.R. Select and On and On: Part 3 on Friday, January 26, 2024 at their Kedzie taproom. Pre-orders for both beers will happen Tuesday, January 23. V.S.O.R. Select (12 oz) will cost $50 per 4-pack with a limit of 1 4-pack per person. On and On: Part 3 (16 oz) will cost $50 per 4-pack with a limit of 2 4-packs per person. The Friday release party will have the components of On and On: Part 3 and an insane Rioter’s Reserve keg so you’ll definitely see me there. Say hi!
