Revolution Brewing recall (or withdrawal)

[Barley_Bob]

Did any one else see this?

ALE PRODUCT WITHDRAWAL - 10/17/2016

I think it's laudable they're this focused on quality. I wish more breweries were willing to dump bad batches. With that said, am I the only one that wants to try it?

Full text:

ALE PRODUCT WITHDRAWAL - 10/17/2016
10.17.16 /

To Our Valued Rev Brew Fans,

Revolution Brewing is issuing a product withdrawal of batches of beers produced with our house ale yeast that do not meet our brand specifications for taste and flavor. Affected brands include Anti Hero IPA, Fist City Pale Ale, Cross of Gold Ale, Mosaic Hero IPA, Eugene Porter, and Unsessionable Imperial IPA. Please note, there are no health or safety risks involved with the consumption of this beer. This is strictly a quality issue.

The affected beers exhibit ester or phenolic flavors, which are more characteristic of Belgian-style ales, and which should not be present in our standard American ales. We believe these off-flavors were produced by a wild yeast that has gotten worse over time and was not identified in time by our quality control methods. Our brewing team has re-propagated our house ale yeast, and all beer now being packaged at the brewery meets our standards for taste and flavor.

To ensure the overall quality of our beers, Revolution is in the process of removing all questionable beer from our system, including the destruction of identified beers at our brewery, removal of these brews from our distributors’ warehouses, and return of the beer from retail locations. With fresh beer being packaged starting this week, our distribution network will begin working to replace beer immediately. The affected batches have the following package dates (found on the bottom of cans, on the labels of bottles, and printed on kegs):

Anti Hero IPA 8-5-16 to 10-11-16
Fist City Pale Ale 8-11-16 to 9-26-16
Cross of Gold Ale 8-23-16
Mosaic Hero IPA 8-16-16 to 9-8-16
Eugene Porter 8-3-16 to 10-6-16
Unsessionable Imperial IPA 9-27-16 to 10-7-16

Please note, this situation does not affect our Oktoberfest, Rev Pils, Citra Hero, Rosa Hibiscus Ale, and Bottom Up Wit beers.

Revolution maintains high standards for quality and integrity in our beers and these affected batches unfortunately do not meet those standards. Our goal is to always to have the freshest, best quality beer for you to enjoy. Consumers who are in possession of the affected batches of Revolution Beer can exchange it for fresh beer only at the Revolution Tap Room (3340 N. Kedzie in Chicago). Please contact us at [email protected] with any other questions or comments.

We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this has caused for Revolution beer drinkers. Thank you to all the Revolution fans who have helped us identify this issue with our beers, and thanks to everyone for your support.

Joshua Deth Jim Cibak
Chairman of the Party Brewmaster

 

[GPP33]

Lefthand had a wild yeast issue recently as well. Good to know the pros face the same challenges. As a brewer I understand the incredible job these guys do given how many batches they brew and how rearly this happens. Unfortunately, to someone who doesn't understand the process it's probably a big black eye.

 

[Vandulus]

Looks like I'll have to re-taste the Unsessionable and Mosaic Hero I bought a few weeks ago to compare. I thought they were both delicious, but after reading this I realize the Unsessionable had a bit of a phenolic bite to it. Ironically I just finished reading brewer's series Yeast book and they repeated stressed quality control and lab testing. I might have to do a little extra cleaning this weekend in my own brew area!

 

[sablesurfer]

Years back Boulevard offered to buy back bottles of a beer, or like me, you could keep them and see what they turned into.

 

[Xernex]

Funky Buddha has had the same kind of issues recently as well - seems their Sweet Potato got recalled - While I was in Florida I happened to get a few of the bad batch - 4 4pk's. They were mortified when I contacted them, and actually gave me a $50 gift certificate to use at their online store since I wasn't local. I thought that was a pretty good gesture, because they could have just said "ohh sorry, too bad".

 

[Homercidal]

Hmm... I thought Anti-Hero tasted a bit off when I went to Chicago last month. Still not bad, but not exactly what I remembered from previous visits.

 

[Barley_Bob]

Hmm... I thought Anti-Hero tasted a bit off when I went to Chicago last month. Still not bad, but not exactly what I remembered from previous visits.

Now that you mention it, I think I had a couple of drafts over the summer that weren't quite the same. I didn't think they were bad either, but I remember thinking they were noticeably different. At the time, I thought they must have changed the hop schedule somewhere, and I recall the hop aroma was less distinct and pungent. I didn't put it together because it was a while ago - maybe in August?

 

[Homercidal]

Yeah, my visit was in mid September. I kind of attributed it to a change in recipe or my own tastes. Anti-Hero is a solid IPA. I can't pass it up every time I get that way.

 

[microbusbrewery]

Sometimes it works out really well. Epic Brewing has had a couple mishaps. The first time that I know of wasn't super publicized, but if I remember correctly they had a batch of Brainless on Cherries accidentally aged in a barrel that had been intentionally inoculated with brett. I got to try it at a cheese pairing dinner hosted by Kevin Crompton years ago. He explained they recalled all of it and they were going to let it ride and see how it developed in the bottle. I got to try it again at a rare beer tasting about a year ago (at least I was told it was from that original accidental infection). I really like Brainless on Cherries, but I liked the infected version even more.

The next time it happened it was to Brainless on Peaches and they took advantage and actually marketed it (see link below) and it sold out at the brewery in an hour or two.

http://www.epicbrewing.com/news-and-events/item/1088-wild-brainless-on-peaches-a-beautiful-disaster

*Correction, this link refers to a third one. The second one I was thinking of was a actually a special release they did of BoC and BoP. They were hand bottled and individually numbered. Google isn't working for me to find it.

 

[jschein]

WOW just shed some light on all of the things you need to think of if you want to open a brewery. The testing costs must be enormous

 

[Titleist3]

I've had Anti Hero (and other beers) at places that don't have clean beer lines (BWW in Woodridge comes to mind) and it and everything else at those places taste off normal. I've had Anti Hero at Revolution itself and it always tastes great there. Bombers can be hit or miss based on where you buy and how old they are, but there are quality stores that have high turn over where that's usually not an issue.

I think it's a great sign that a brewery cares enough about product quality to recall something that doesn't meet their expectations. This just makes me like them more - and I already love Revolution. It's a must stop for Chicago brewery visits, IMHO.

 

[madscientist451]

WOW just shed some light on all of the things you need to think of if you want to open a brewery. The testing costs must be enormous

Actually you could get around this by avoiding establishing a "house yeast".
Maybe use a particular yeast for a few batches (or more like 5-7) and then start over with fresh yeast.
If you weren't mass producing and packaging, the testing costs would be minimal. Basically, have a tasting panel blind taste your brews against similar commercial beers.

 

[k1ngl1ves]

Yeah, my visit was in mid September. I kind of attributed it to a change in recipe or my own tastes. Anti-Hero is a solid IPA. I can't pass it up every time I get that way.

Next time, try their Fist City. It sounds like a title to a gay porn, but it's a top notch beer and easy to find. Possibly my favorite of their everyday lineup. I'm fortunate to live in distribution. They're an all around fantastic brewery.

 

[k1ngl1ves]

They already started re-supplying the masses.


Bought a sixer yesterday marked 10-18-16.


Life is good.