Form of the Destructor | Revolution Brewing

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Revolution, like many businesses during this time, has had to adapt and adjust their business model. Typically, Deep Wood releases would have a big party on the Friday of the release. With the pandemic shutting down the taproom and closing the brewpub until further notice, those parties will not happen for the foreseeable future. But they were still planned in advance. Marty Scott (head barrel dude and #1 Van Halen fan) had some special things lined up for them. So in order to not have the beer just sitting in barrels or kegs, Revolution decided to crowler them off and sell them. Form of the Destructor was one of those recently released.

Form of the Destructor started life as a single barrel in what was to become Double Barrel VSOD 2020. I’ll just let Marty take over from here:

Purchase it solely based on that tweet above. A few notes about these Sanctuary beers from Revolution. Always extremely limited (usually to a keg or barrel or so), these Sanctuary beers represent a different take, a single barrel, or a different blend of one of their Deep Wood beers. As a way to get them in the hands of Deep Wood fanatics, Revolution decided to crowler off the beers into 32 oz cans and sell them ($50 apiece). Both Form of the Destructor and an apple brandy Double Barrel VSOD were offered for sale when Rev Rewards members were able to purchase. Both sold out within an hour or two. So yeah, very few of these out there.

I’m not a big fan of Double Barrel VSOD. Both times Revolution has released the beer in cans (2017 and 2019) I felt it was underwhelming compared to some other versions of Deth’s Tar (especially in 2019). So that tweet really drove me to purchase this. Using some common sense, I figured downing 32 ounces of a 16.66% ABV beer by myself on Thanksgiving with food! while watching the Mystery Science Theater 3000 Turkey Day Marathon (merriment!) could yield the best results.

The Beer

Form of the Destructor (crowlered on 11/18/20) pours pitch black with no head. In case you didn’t know from the listed ABV, the numerous alcohol stains all around the glass will let you know you’re dealing with a big boy here. Some slight brown and red highlights show up when holding the beer at an angle to the light, but otherwise no light gets in.

Hey-o booze! First whiff you get on Form is all booze. Past that, big notes of chocolate, vanilla, oak, leather and tobacco. But the big surprise here comes from the copious amount of dark cherries and currants coming through. It reminds me of this year’s Birthday Bourbon County, full of big fruit notes with no fruit added. This beer did sit in barrels for 2.5 years, so I feel fine comparing it to Goose Island’s 2-year aged Bourbon Counties. Think of it as such – a blend of 2-year Reserve (big chocolate and vanilla), Birthday (fruit) and Rare 2015 (oak, leather, tobacco). Big names there.

Revolution has clearly figured out something with their Deep Wood beers in hiding the alcohol so well. Form of the Destructor is no exception. While you know you’re drinking a big beer, it never feels like 16.66% big (unlike some of those big Bruery beers back in the day). It helps that the carbonation hits a medium spot, leaving only a hint of booze and big chocolate notes behind. Anything lower would probably make the beer too much to handle bigger quantities of.

And boy do you want to finish all 32 ounces. Much like those 2-year Bourbon Counties, Form stays smooth throughout the sip. While some alcohol burn persists, it keeps it low, making me guess a stout closer to 10 or 11 percent. The real star here comes from the big notes of chocolate, vanilla, and cherries that come through. The chocolate and vanilla are most definitely expected and show up at the beginning of the trip along the tongue and ride the entire time. The cherries, however, jump on near the end of the ride, and must all be coming from this magical Weller Special Reserve barrel. Those cherries even bring some wine-like notes to everything, but not so much that you’d guess it was wine-barrel aged. 

Verdict

As for consuming this beast, I will say that I surprisingly finished the entire 32 oz crowler with little issues. It never got too boozy or difficult to take down. I just kept pouring into my glass (about 6 to 8 ounces per pour) until I unfortunately emptied the crowler. I loved every minute of it. Having it after a big meal helped, but the next day still proved rough. And Mystery Science Theater 3000 certainly helped move things along. Well worth the $50 I paid for it.

If you’re one of the fortunate Revolution VIPs, be on the lookout for these crowlers during the next release. If you’re not, make friends with one and responsibly share it with them. While not all of Revolution’s Sanctuary beers hit it out of the park, a vast majority do and are worth your investment. Especially when the barrel master at Revolution says it does.