Deep Wood: More Barleywines | Revolution Brewing

We’re nearing the end of another Deep Wood season, but three beers remain. Revolution’s going out on a barleywine kick with Lumberstruck (black barleywine), Oakpocalypse Later (triple-oaked barleywine), and Barleywinery Double Barrel V.S.O.J. (DB V.S.O.J.).  This lineup should definitely keep you warm during the cold January and February days.

Lumberstruck | 13% ABV

Lumberstruck returns for the first time since 2022. It has always been a black barleywine but the barrel treatmeant each time has changed. The first batch rested in red wine barrels before being released; I remember it being very sweet, akin to a mead. This batch changes things up a bit. Most rested in bourbon barrels while some sat in whiskey barrels (six barrels). Those six barrels of black barleywine moved to amburana barrels for only three months. The bourbon barrels and whiskey/amburana barrels were then blended together. Lots more going on here.

Lumberstruck pours a caramel brown color but sits in the glass a darker brown, almost black. The head fizzles away quickly while alcohol stains the glass when moved. As soon as you get near the glass the amburana makes its presence felt. A huge hit of cinnamon and baking spices greet the sniffer, followed by some raisins, figs, and berries. A nice little dusting of chocolate join in the nose flavor fun as well. Definitely a unique aroma.

After my first sip I was struck by the lack of sweetness of Lumberstruck batch 2 compared to batch 1. While it still has some sweetness, the dry finish and possibly the amburana barrels cuts it by some amount. The cinnamon and baking spice from the amburana show up but not nearly as much as I’ve had on other amburana barrel-aged beers. It plays nice with the base black barleywine and doesn’t overpower anything. The other star here comes from the fruit. It’s jammy and big, much like a fig newton cookie filling. A little bit of chocolate joins in as well.

Lumberstruck features that medium mouthfeel that seems to be on all the Deep Wood beers with some of that jammy fruit hanging around a little on the finish. The combination of little to no alcohol burn and dry finish just makes you want to come back to the beer again and again. Do not be scared off of this beer if you thought the first one was too sweet like I did. Enjoy the cinnamon, jammy fruit goodness!

Oakpocalypse Later | 14% ABV

In the spring of 2023, Revolution barrelmaster Marty Scott, Revolution brewmaster Jim Cibak, and Firestone Walker brewmaster Matt Brynildson sat down for a video call. They came up with doing a barrel-aged barleywine with three oak infusions. Firestone Walker would release one (Oakpocalypse Now) and Revolution would release one (Oakpocalypse Later). Both beers would start their aging in WhistlePig Estate Rye barrels. French oak from the Tronçais and Fontainebleau forests in France were then added to the barrels. The beer would then be transferred to Herman Story wine barrels.

This is where the two beers start to differ. Firestone Walker used Herman Story barrels from spring 2024 while Revolution used ones from fall 2024. Firestone Walker rinsed their barrels before adding the beer, while Revolution added it sur lie, or with lees, the yeasty wine dregs in  the barrel. Blammo!

Oakpocalypse Later pours a light brown with a finger of head that quickly vanishes. Typical of the Revolution barleywines, it has crimson highlights and some alcohol stain with legs. The aroma fills the room with dark fruits immediately on pouring. Some bitter baker’s chocolate comes out as well with a little alcohol tingling the nose. Some of the standard barleywine aromas from Revolution – caramel and butterscotch – are way back in the mix and not as prominent as they typically are.

Oakpocalypse Later drinks similar to the aroma. While some caramel shows up, dark fruits like cherries and black currants dominate the palate. Some molasses and brown sugar also show up in trace quantities but it’s really all about that fruit, not caramel. Very little to no alcohol burn with a dry finish really cuts any potential sweetness down. But all-in-all Oakpocalypse Later presents itself as more wine-like than typical barleywine. An ambitious and exciting experiment nonetheless!

Barleywinery Double Barrel V.S.O.J. | 16.4% ABV

The final Twenty Ten Variant, Barleywinery Double Barrel V.S.O.J. brings about a little twist on Double Barrel V.S.O.J. (DB V.S.O.J.). The Barleywinery is a set of experimental aging conditions that were informed by Marty Scott’s working of the wine cellars during his stay at Herman Story in 2022. This version features a sweet component of Straight Jacket aged in Heaven Hill rye and bourbon barrels and then finished for a year in 1792 “Sweet Wheat” casks.

Barleywinery Double Barrel V.S.O.J. pours much darker than previous V.S.O.J. versions. As opposed to the light brown color, this one pours on the darker side of brown, with some red sprinkled in. A half finger of head slowly goes away, and Barleywinery Double Barrel V.S.O.J. has the typical crimson highlights with alcohol stain and some legs. But’s it’s definitely darker.

My first sniff of Barleywinery Double Barrel V.S.O.J. went very floral, but that subsided quickly. Caramel and butterscotch show up, but definitely not as prominent as Straight Jacket or V.S.O.J. It’s the darker side of the barleywine that seems to be at the forefront here – dark fruits, molasses, and brown sugar. Definitely a different take on V.S.O.J.

While DB V.S.O.J. was an amazing beer, it got very sweet over time. Like drinking a can was all you could do. Barleywinery Double Barrel V.S.O.J. does not suffer that fate. It’s not terribly sweet and it’s very smooth, hiding the alcohol really well. Both caramel and butterscotch are integrated into the beer very well, almost like they’re coming off of the barrel rather than the beer. The stars here, however, are the molasses and brown sugar notes. It doesn’t hit you like previous Straight Jackets, instead going for the more old-school barleywine flavors with a little bit of the new-school ones. Some vanilla and light amounts of dark fruits like raisins and figs join in, but this is all about that interesting old-school/new-school mix.

This is definitely an interesting beer. You’re removing the sweetness of DB V.S.O.J. as well as some of the big caramel, butterscotch, and cookie flavors for slightly less bombastic flavors of molasses and brown sugar but losing all that sweetness. I prefer the bombastic in Revolution’s barleywines, but I can’t really say no to a beer that I can finish and then want more.

Final Deep Wood 2024-2025 Ranking

With the addition of the Twenty Ten Variant Collection, Revolution’s Deep Wood lineup – including the summer releases – swelled to a total of 14 beers. Of those 14, five were stouts, eight were barleywines, and one was a “deconstructed stout.” Unlike previous years where I would actively avoid the bottoms of the lists, this year’s offerings are all solid and ones I would gladly have another pour of. (Deth by Bramble finished tenth and I love that beer. Stupid insane Deep Wood lineup.) Without further ado, my final rankings.

14. V.S.O. On & On: Part 3

13. Deth’s Tar

12. Oakpocalypse Later

11. Ryeway to Heaven

10. Deth by Bramble

9. Cherry V.S.O.J.

8. Café Deth

7. Barleywinery DB V.S.O.J.

6. Straight Jacket

5. Lumberstruck (batch 2)

4. Coconut Deth

3. V.S.O.J.

2. DB V.S.O.R.

1. D.B.X.O.D. Le Tronçais

Revolution will release Lumberstruck, Oakpocalypse Later, and Barleywinery DB V.S.O.J on Friday, January 24, 2025 at their Kedzie taproom. Pre-orders go live at Revolution’s webshop on Tuesday, January 21, 2025.