Galaxy-Hero - Revolution Brewing

    Blasting off from his secret base hidden deep within an asteroid, Galaxy Hero flies to the assistance of earth! Using his state of the art Hop Rocket and hopped-up ray gun, Galaxy hero fights to save us all from the evil genius, Dr. Badbeer! Who is this galactic warrior, and will he be able to defeat the maniacal minions of Dr. Badbeer to save the day? Tune in to next week's exciting conclusion to find out!

    Galaxy Hero is an India Pale Ale brewed by Revolution Brewing. Revolution created this entry in their "Hero" series for Chicago's annual Comic and Entertainment Expo (C2E2) which features comics, cosplayers, and all sorts of pop culture-y goodness. The beer is released every year right around the time that C2E2 takes place (March-April-May). It's kind of surprising that this is only the fourth Revolution beer that I've reviewed. As you may have read in the past, I live literally just down the road from the Revolution brewery here in Chicago, Illinois. My wife and I both drink a lot of Revolution beer, but for some reason I never think to review it!

    Galaxy Hero has a very clear, coppery-orange appearance with a sandy-colored head. I poured this beer the same way that I pour all non-nitro beers, but somehow ended up with a huge, two finger head on top of the beer. The head dissipated pretty quickly though, leaving just a few white bubbles that slightly laced the glass as I enjoyed the beverage.

Galaxy Hero piloting his Hop Rocket to the rescue!

    The IPA's aroma is heavy on the citrus, such as grapefruit and tangerine. There is also a slight bit of a resinous, piney smell, as well as tropical fruits. The beer's aroma is sort of musty-smelling, but in a good way if you can imagine that.

    Galaxy Hero is on the light side of medium bodied, with a medium level of carbonation. The brew finishes quite wet, leaving your mouth feeling somewhat oily and sticky. The beer has an alcohol content of 7% ABV.

    Galaxy Hero's flavor is extremely grapefruit-forward. There is both the citrusy tartness of grapefruit as well as a strong grapefruit peel bitterness to the beer. The pine, tangerine/orange, and tropical fruit notes from the beer's aroma are also present in it's flavor - though they are more subdued than I would have expected from their smell. The IPA's galaxy hops definitely lend a sort of musky, grassy, earthiness to the beer's flavor. There is only a small bit of pale, cracker-like malt sweetness to the beer. I feel like there is room for a bit more malt flavor to come through and knock back some of the beer's bitterness here.

    Galaxy Hero was the first of Revolution's "Hero" series that I ever had. I remember being really excited about the brewery showing off different hops against a similar malt profile. Revolution continues to create new Heroes for us to enjoy, and I am still excited to try each new one! Galaxy Hero is quite good, but I feel as though it could be balanced just slightly better. I was really kind of surprised at how much grapefruity bitterness was present in the beer. Overall, though, Galaxy Hero really showcases the musky, tropical, citrus, and earthy flavors that galaxy hops bring to the table in a delicious way!

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Unsessionable - Revolution Brewing Company

    Unsessionable is an Imperial (or Double) India Pale Ale brewed by Revolution Brewing Company in Chicago, Illinois. With 6 hop varieties and a high alcohol content, this beer nearly lives up to its name. You're going to want to make your best effort to challenge its name once you taste the brew, however.

    Unsessionable pours a golden-bronze color with a decent head topping it. This foam shows remarkable retention, and leaves a good amount of lacing once it does finally fade.

    The hop aromas in this one are undeniable. Scents such as tropical fruits, lemon, pine, and grassy notes meld together seamlessly, and represent the huge range of scents thats hops can lend to a brew. Sweet caramel malt scents lure you in to the first taste, even if the hoppy aromas might have made you hesitant to dive in.

     Unsessionable is extremely smooth, with a slight alcohol warmth that is pleasant on the tongue. The IIPA is medium bodied with a similar level of carbonation that effervesces the many hops scents and flavors. The alcohol content of 10% ABV is really the only reason you wouldn't want to session drink this beer!

He tried to session it, he failed.

    With the incredibly hoppy scent of this beer the super sweet taste you get at first sip can be a bit of a surprise. There's definitely the expected hops bitterness, but the malt backbone really keeps the astringency at bay. Hops flavors of juicy fruit, lemon, pine, candied orange peel, and more delight the mouth as the smooth beer is enjoyed. For a brew with so much going on, Unsessionale never gets overcomplicated on the tongue and strikes an amazing balance that is incredibly pleasant.

    This is the first specialty brew that Revolution has canned. Normally, one must visit their brewpub or taproom at their brewery to get a taste of their specialty ales, so I was extremely excited at the precedent of this one being canned. I can only hope that Revolution continues the trend, and releases some more amazing beers for distribution across the country!

    Imperial India Pale Ales can be intimidating due to their massive hops content. Personally, I find that IIPAs are actually much sweeter than IPAs, and are easier to drink as well. The high alcohol content of Unsessionable is part of what makes it great, though it will definitely shut down anyone trying to finish more than a couple cans in one sitting. If you see this golden can in your local store, by all means, pick it up! I cannot put into words how impressed I am with this beer!

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Rosa Hibiscus Ale - Revolution Brewing Company

    Rosa Hibiscus Ale is a Herbed/Spiced Beer brewed especially for summer by Revolution Brewing Company in Chicago, Illinois. The brewers brag that 12 pounds of hibiscus flowers are added to the brew as well as orange peel. This is one of the more unique brews I have ever seen.

    Rosa pours a beautiful pink-hued bronze, thanks to the flowers no doubt. A slightly pink head forms with good retention, though it settles down to a film after a while. There is some major lacing going on with this one!

    The beer's aroma is that of sweet, but light, bready malts. There is definitely a flowery scent to the ale, and an almost wine-like tartness. This is already seeming like a great summertime ale!

    The beer is light to medium bodied, though a high level of carbonation fills out the mouthfeel to keep the ale away from the watery side. The carbonation feel like much smaller bubbles than usual, and what results is a light and refreshing drink. Revolution's summer ale has an alcohol content of 5.8% ABV, so it won't slow you down too much out there in the heat!

Lucky bees!

    Rosa Hibiscus Ale's flavor is light and sweet. In the beer's aroma, the malt was in front of the flowers. The opposite is true for the beer's flavor. The flowers give a mix of fruit (grape, raspberry) and vegetable flavors to the beer, while the sweet malts keep things bright and summery. Just as it smelled, the beer tastes somewhat tart. There is just a slight bit of orange peel flavor at the very end of each drink.

    Ok, I think Revolution is up to something with this beer. I've never had a beer that tastes so much like a summertime flower garden. In fact, the beer kind of reminds me of nectar. So much so that I'm slightly curious if Revolution Brewery is secretly growing Beer Hibiscups in some hidden field somewhere and harvesting the plants' sweet, sweet nectar and canning it. That would explain why Rosa only comes out in late spring every year. I say we find this field, and take a few..."transplants" for ourselves!

    Rosa Hibiscus Ale is a summery flower garden in a glass. The only thing keeping this ale from being my favorite summer drinking beer is the tartness, as it gets cloying after a while and I don't really want to follow one Rosa up with another. Still, this brew is truly one of the most unique beers I have tried, and is definitely worth sipping if you can find it in your area!

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Anti-Hero IPA - Revolution Brewing Company

    Anti-Hero IPA is an American India Pale Ale brewed in Chicago, Illinois by the Revolution Brewing Company. I recently visited the brewery, and this was the first beer of theirs that I tried. Here's my review:

    Anti-Hero pours a dark gold with a finger of off-white head with good retention. Even after the foam fades, a layer of bubbles remain and leave great lacing on the glass.

    The American IPA smells strongly of floral and fruity hops. There is definitely more of a fruity scent to the beer than the piney scents that can be present in highly hopped ales. There is also a mild undertone of grainy, sweet malts.

    Revolution's brew is surprisingly full bodied, with a medium to full mouthfeel and a moderate carbonation level. There is a slight oily slickness to the beer that is common with hoppy ales. The beer has an alcohol content of 6.5% ABV.

    Anti-Hero IPA tastes just as hoppy as it smells. Citrus, pine, and floral notes all combine into what can only be described as a hops bouquet. There is surprisingly little bitterness to the brew however, even with all that hop flavor. Anti-Hero's sweet, grainy malts likely have everything to do with keeping the potential bitterness down, as well as rounding out the beer's flavor. There is just the slightest bit of a soapy flavor to the beer though that keeps me from fully enjoying each quaff.

Forward, my beer comrade!

    I had never really thought about it before, but I'm realizing now that craft beer is expanding at a massive, and alarming rate, its likely that beer may be on its way to conquering the world! As their numbers grow, so do their specialties. Oh sure, the bottle says Pilsener, but it very well could be a Poisoner. There's a reason that beer earned the right to be called a Stout, and don't even get me started on whatever wetwork Red Ales had to go through to earn that title. It won't be long before we see beers marching down our streets. The only way to confront this growing menace is to continue to drink their soldiers to death before they can amass a force large enough to begin the battle! Will you take up the bottle and fight by my side?

    Joking aside, Anti-Hero IPA is a very good American India Pale Ale. I'm glad that this was the first of Revolution's beers that I tried, as it made me want to try all of their other offerings all the more. Even with the tiniest bit of offputting soap flavor, I'll still seek this AIPA out regularly.

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