Revolution Brewing, one of Chicago’s most popular and fastest-growing craft breweries, suffered a setback this week in announcing the recall of an estimated 10,000-plus barrels of beer for quality issues.
Revolution issued the recall Monday for specific batches of Anti Hero IPA, Fist City Pale Ale, Cross of Gold Ale, Mosaic Hero IPA, Eugene Porter and Unsessionable Imperial IPA. The affected beer is safe to drink but doesn’t meet the brewery’s standards for taste and flavor. Revolution founder Josh Deth said this was an unfortunate first for his company, a financial loss and a blow to the brewery’s reputation.
“It’s like a death in the family. No one likes to deal with it, but you deal with it the best you can. And it brings people together and refocuses you on what really matters, which for us is the quality of our beer,” Deth said Tuesday.
The beers affected by the recall “exhibit ester or phenolic flavors, which are more characteristic of Belgian-style ales, and which should not be present in our standard American ales,” according to the recall notice posted Monday on the Revolution website.Deth said the aberration in flavors was produced by a wild yeast that had gone unidentified. The brewery is still trying to determine exactly how that happened, he said.
I would gladly buy mixed packs (3 varieties, one infected, one clean of each variety) as an educational experience.
