The Light Through the Deep Wood | Revolution Brewing Skip to content
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Brewpub + Restaurant

Hours

Mon-Tues / Closed
Wed-Thurs / 12-10pm
Friday / 12-Midnight
Saturday / 11-Midnight
Sunday / 11-10pm

Address

2323 N. Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL 60647

773-227-2739

Taproom + Production Brewery

Upcoming Closures

November 14 — Closed for Private Event
December 6 — Closed for Private Event

**There are no beer or keg pickups on days we are closed for a private event**

Hours

Mon-Tue / Closed
Wed-Thu / 2-9pm
Fri / 2-10pm
Sat / 12-10pm
Sun / 12-6pm

Address

3340 N. Kedzie Ave
Chicago, IL 60618

773-588-2267

The Light Through the Deep Wood

World-class bourbon barrels hold our gaze as we look into the 2023–24 Deep Wood Series.

Welcome to the beginning of a story our brewers have been writing for years. We've found that there's no shortcut to time in building the kind of barrel-aged beers that carry our name. But that time gives us the space to experiment, to learn, and to make something even more special. And between what's new and what's always been here, we think you'll find a very alluring spot in the Deep Wood this time through.

July 21

Summertime Deep Wood releases began in 2019 as a toe into the unfamiliar waters of warm-weather big beer. Not even half a decade in, we’re cannonballing into the deep end while our Summer Fun playlist bathes the surrounding area in the carefully curated works of Eddie Van Halen.

Two new beers, and a third that’s never the same thing twice. July’s going to be a fun one.

Dread & Breakfast

“My baby,” is how Barrel Program Manager Marty Scott refers to Dread & Breakfast, who built this breakfast blend entirely out of the components that have existed in the barrel states for years. He may have used more colorful descriptive language than that, but we’ll spare you until you overhear such colorful language from him on release day.

The components are almost entirely Very Special Old barrels, Double Barrel Very Special Old barrels, and Extra Old Barrels (a note on what that means here). The producers are a who’s-who of revered bourbon staves, including WhistlePig, Willet, Heaven Hill, Elijah Craig, and even some Saxum red wine barrels. There’s some Deth’s Tar finished in Brazilian Amburana. There’s single-forest French oak. There’s freshly roasted cacao-fermented Guatemalan Catui coffee from Dark Matter Coffee. All of this, done as precisely as possible, with as little adjuncts as possible, to create the ultimate pointillist depiction of the most important meal of the day.

“If that doesn’t get people excited, I quit,” Scott said.

Life Jacket


One day, you’ll have to explain to your friends and loved ones that you once knew a world with only one kind of Straight Jacket. Luckily, progress and evolution are as inevitable as the tides. And just a few short years after the initial Strawberry/Honey two-step, Straight Jacket goes tropical like a Magnum P.I. crossover event.

Our brewers taste a lot of fruit combinations in a lot of beers, precious few of which ever see the light of day for customers. The delicate balance of complementing an existing beer while finding a unique thing to say is extraordinarily difficult. Suffice to say that by the time we landed on the Life Jacket combination, we had no worries for our crew’s vitamin C levels. "We're casting a wide net with the fruit in this beer," Scott said. Possibly as a nautical joke.

Passionfruit
brings a bright acidity and assertive new flavor anchor to build from.

Guava
adds a smooth, ripe strawberry/pear sweetness and a creamy texture.

Mango
brings the sweet concentrated-sunshine flavor that screams summer.

Coconut
, toasty, beachy, and lightly nutty, provides contrast and commonality to the barrel-aged typhoon our team has created.

Even then, Life Jacket’s sugar comes mostly (75%) through malt, not fruit. The fruit is high impact in flavor and aroma, but doesn’t serve as a sugar depth charge to throw balance out of whack. It’s a lot. And yet, it’s perfectly dialed in to our priorities as folks who think a whole lot about what barrels can do.

Cuvée de Grâce


As our aspirations have gotten higher, our processes have grown more complex. As we’ve mentioned, there’s no “unaged version” of Deth’s Tar, Straight Jacket, or Ryeway to Heaven. Varied, purpose-built components are threaded together to build every beer we put the name Deep Wood onto. And Cuvée de Grâce is partly to thank for that.

Blending has elbowed its way to the fore of our barrel program over the last half-decade, but it’s also a time-honored brewing tradition worldwide. Our team finds balance, commonalities, contrast, and delightful surprises when new barrel combinations meet. And basing a beer entirely on that process, as we do here, allows you a peek into a moment in time at Revolution, never to be repeated. Beer flavor over time is dynamic, aging follows its own priorities, and in Cuvée we capture interactions between our barrels that might not be possible slightly earlier or slightly later than the day we commit to a blend.

Here you’ll get the benefit of extra time. We could, in theory, call this a V.S.O. Cuvée for the sheer number of two- and three-year barrels lending their voices. You’ll hear Ryeway, Deth’s Tar, and V.S.O. Gravedigger loudest. But they’ve never sung together quite like this. And a bit of V.S.O. Boss Ryeway rounds out Hell’s own barbershop quartet in a way we’ve never seen before, and you’ll never see again.

October 20

Deth’s Tar was originally envisioned as the absolute celestial center of the Deep Wood Series, and it remains that way years down the line. But along the way, thanks to some discerning work by our Barrel team and the depth of our relationship with Dark Matter Coffee, the coffee-powered Café Deth became almost identically indispensable to us. The duality of unadorned beer and perfectly adjuncted Deth’s Tar will again serve as the starting line for our fall releases, alongside the long-anticipated return of Deth by Cherries. One release weekend, one brewery, and a very good overview of what one can get from barrel-aged Stout.

November 10

The increasing chill in the air brings three heavy hitters, just in time for the holidays. The buddy-cop action of Straight Jacket and Ryeway to Heaven in the same month continues, and we’re bringing back Double Barrel V.S.O.D. with them.

Double Barrel V.S.O.D., last released mid-pandemic, appeared and vanished like a mirage. But fresh off a recent barrel tasting, Scott said that the Buffalo Trace-heavy barrel stock is hitting new heights.

"That beer slaps," he said, slightly muffled from behind a stack of barrels. "People are going to be excited about this."

January 26

The end of any given Deep Wood season is usually our time to take big swings. And this year’s curtain call manages to match the early-season chaos energy of July's lineup and maybe even go a little further.

V.S.O.R. Select


There’s always something special at the end of the line when we get hand-selected store pick barrels from Binny’s. They brought Sazerac and Weller 10 wood to the table, and we responded with a clutch of Willet to round things out. We’ve filled them with Ryewine brewed w/ piloncillo, and by the time we transfer them over to packaging, the beer will have been slumbering for a full 27 months.

On & On Part III


Each barrel-aged step we take with our confidants from Half Acre Beer Company takes us that much further through the looking glass. The first time around, we brewed Porter, they brewed Barleywine, as we traipsed through the mirror dimension. In Part III, we’re more or less deconstructing a Stout. A standalone pale/sweet component and a standalone dark/dry component are brewed and aged separately before being reblended into the final product.

Our aim? The antioxidants produced in the darker version won’t be around to hold up the sugar oxidation in the sweet component. So we’ll get the V.S.O.-style sugar aging that powers that series alongside the balancing dryness and roastiness of the dry component. If the ‘23-’24 Deep Wood Series has to end, it’s going to end with one of the most memorable brews we’ve produced and our friends at our side to share the first taste.

Frequently Asked Questions

The 2023–24 Deep Wood Series

Where is the public presale order page?

The Deep Wood Series beers can be preordered through our Shopify site. In the week following the release, any remaining stock will be sold through our Taproom and/or Brewpub, as well as distribution for select Deep Wood beers.

I live outside of your distribution area. Can you ship me any of these releases?

We are not legally able to sell and ship beer directly to customers. Occasionally some of the Deep Wood Series beers are available through Tavour. You’ll need to follow them to learn more – we don’t coordinate those releases.

Does the Season Ticket include the summer 2023 Deep Wood releases?

Yes, the Season Ticket begins with the July release of Life Jacket, Cuvée de Grâce, and Dread & Breakfast and will continue through January 2024.

Frequently Asked Questions

Season Tickets

What is the Season Ticket?

The Season Ticket is a one-time purchase that entitles the holder to one four-pack of every single ‘23-’24 Deep Wood Series release (July ‘23 - January ‘24) at $30 off the retail price, plus a bonus 19.2oz can of Deth's Tar and your choice of a four-pack from select '21 Deep Wood Series releases.

Season Ticket holders will also be able to pick up their beers one day ahead of the public release, and have first crack at Deep Wood Series event tickets and Deep Wood specialty crowler purchases.

Purchasing a Season Ticket won't prevent you from buying a full allocation of any of the Deep Wood Series beers during their regular releases.

Do you still send out Rev Rewards presale emails?

The Season Ticket program has replaced the previous points-based system of Deep Wood presales, so customers can lock in the entire year’s lineup with one transaction. Aside from the Season Ticket, there will be no private presale of Deep Wood beers before the public preorder date.

When and where can I pick up my Season Ticket allotment?

Season Ticket holders can pick up their four-packs at the Taproom (3340 N. Kedzie) the Thursday before the public release. There are no season ticket pickups at the Brewpub (2323 N. Milwaukee).

I missed purchasing a Season Ticket before they sold out. Will more be added in the Fall?

No more Season Tickets will be offered for the ‘23-’24 Deep Wood Series after the June 2023 sale. But individual four-packs of each of the Deep Wood Series beers will be pre-sold online the week of the release party.

How long will you hold my preorders for?

We’ll hold preorders on Deep Wood Series beers for up to 30 days from the public release date.

Are proxy pickups allowed?

Yes, proxies can pick up Season Ticket orders, up to a maximum of ten orders, including their own.

Why am I not getting the Season Ticket emails?

If you’ve opted out of receiving email from Revolution, you’re automatically removed from our database and we’re not allowed to send you messages. If you’d like to opt back in, just sign up using this link and the email addressed associated with your Season Ticket purchase.