Revolution Gravedigger Billy

Brewed by Revolution Brewing Company
Style: Scotch Ale
Chicago, Illinois USA

Serve in Thistle

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   add pic

Draft at Revolution. Pours a reddish russet color with a soft offwhite head. Nose is quite fruity and woody. Big oak character and caramel with a strong sweetness overall in the nose. Booze is also noted, soft cocoa. Oak is well incorporated in the nose. On tasting, the booze is far more restrained than I would have thought, though it is definitely present. Sticky and chewy but dried out by the surprisingly strong roasty notes. More caramel and plum is noted. Pretty spectacular BA wee heavy.

UPDATED: AUG 14, 2012 had on tap at revolution. Poured into a snifter and pours a pitch black color with a nice head. very pungent and though the bourbon notes are there, they are well balanced. Great depth along with aromas of black cherries, raisins, plums, malts and bourbon. Full bodied with a real polished and smooth feel. It handles the size of the beer well with great flavors of malts, bourbon, black cherries and some plums. It would be great if they had this more often. This was excellent and was really aided by the bourbon barrel.

On tap at the brewpub. Pours a deep, ruby-brown colored body with a finger-width, creamy, tan head that dissipates slowly and leaves a nice lacing throughout. Aroma is really solid with lots of bourbon and oak, deep toffees, vanilla, coconut, a hint of toast, and a trace of cherry. Flavor is just as nice. Cherry wood and bourbon up front with lots of deeper, sweeter toffees. The wood cuts the sweetness nicely and gives off a really pleasant vanilla with some toasted coconut in the middle. Some dark fruits, a hint of smoke, and rich caramel before this finishes very well balanced with an excellent blend of barrel and malt sweetness. Light dryness and bitterness shows up with just a hint of bourbon heat. Lengthy aftertaste following a medium body and a light carbonation. Overall, another barrel aged winner from Revolution. Great balance between the sweeter malts, light dark fruits, and barrel with a nice hint of smoke in there. Really impressive what they’re doing.

I’ll keep it short and simple, I have only been truly disappointed with a Rev barrel aged beer once. They keep knocking these out the park, it’s a lovely dark toffee color (possibly a hint of red) with a sweet boozy nose of vanilla and bourbon. Slightly thick and sticky on the tongue with a taste of vanilla, toffee, butterscotch and my favorite BOOZE! I’ll definitely be going back for more of this one.

On tap at Revolution, Cloudy brown pour, tan head. Aroma of chocolate, caramel and bourbon. Taste of bourbon, vanilla and nice barrel

draft at revo, 2 x 5oz sample pours, this guy poured a nice ruby brown with creamy tan head. aroma was really pleasant and it’s something I’ve been getting used to from Revolution, for most part the aroma on all their barrel aged stuff is pretty excellent. lots of vanilla, coconut, bourbon and burnt toffees. flavors follows up the same as sweet toffee mixes well with a slight sour cherry, vanilla, coconut, and bourbon. the body is thin but not really in an annoying way but more in a way that makes this thing seem rather sessionable. I actually poured 2 samples in a pint glass and enjoyed this as more of a session beer as it drank more like a rich and complex 7% beer than a big 10% BA thing. I enjoyed this one a lot and Revolution seems to once again hit a home run from barrel aging just a decent base beer. Not many people can pull that off.

Snifter pour consumed at the source... Pours a mostly opaque ruddy mahogony hued consistency, dark an almost impenetrable while crowned with a thin wispy film of creamy light khaki head quickly dispersing eventually rendering a thin ring around the glass... A delectable bourbon barrel richness engulfs the aroma initially slowly givIng way to soft charred wood, vanilla, and smooth bourbon notes. Decadent and worth savoring... After allowing to warm up a bit, the flavors follow suit nicely with bourbon and deeper toffee tones. A mild level of char and light smoke was noticeable at first bu was clearly absent in subsequent sips. Flavors start off sweet but never to the point of excess. A mild bitterness presents itself later and lingers well on through the finish. Caramels and dark fruits mingle cohesively alongsude the aforementioned. Medium bodied overall wouldn’t say too thin but perhaps shy of a full mouthfeel. Somewhat prickly carbonation gives life almost a bit too much and would prefer it to be a touch more still. Flavor profile, and not to mention the aroma, fair well with the barrel improving this one quite a bit (once again actually).

On tap at Recolution. Pours hazy dark brown with thin tan to off-white head. Aromas of bourbon, vanilla, brown sugar, toffee, caramel, and some light booze. Flavors of bourbon, vanilla, sweet dark malts, and a little wood. Doesn’t scream scotch ale, but barrel ages goodness is definitely there. Very solid overall.

Draft on tap at the brewpub (Chicago, IL). Pretty excited for this bad boy. Full pour because I’m honestly excited. Pours a rich near opaque brownish hue, a good murkiness in the body offers a swamp water darkness, rich and opaque wih just a touch of ruby through the body. A decent sized chocolate milk head stays as a film and laces ok. Sticks around as a layer. Aromas are quite nice offering caramel and wet oak, vanilla tannins and Bourbon spirit, gentle heat, cherries, caramel, toffee. Some vanilla, toast, and a rich deep sweetness, faint cocoa and peat, barrel is firm yet not overbearing. Initial is heavier end of medium bodied, offering firm toast and caramel backed into a corner by a strong barrel presence. Oak, vanilla, and Bourbon spirit offer great flavors, rich complexity and a sufficient malt body still remains, offering elements of the base such as dark fruit, cherries, toast, and caramel. Vanilla, good barrel thins the beer a touch, but doesn’t make it lose it’s livelihood. Finish is crisp and a bit sweet and thick, with some good toast, cocoa, dark fruit and firm barrel, touches of dancing lingering heat. Really well put together experience here. The barrel program here is showing some great progress and this beer is an example of a winner through and through. Quite tasty.

Snifter on tap at the brewery. Pours an opaque dark brown, almost black, with dissipating tan head and some lacing. Aroma is full of caramel, vanilla, dark fruits and bourbon. The booziness is tempered by the barrel-aging. Body is full with slight carbonation and a slightly sticky texture. Taste is sweet with most of the alcohol up front. I’m not sure if Scotch Ale is the right style in which to pigeonhole this excellent big beer.