Serbia’s Revolution Brewery just released a new stout for January. So it’s time to look at the beer they started with last year, Revolution Brewery Magnum 357 IPA. It’s a single hop IPA. Take a wild guess what hop it is…
I went to their brewery debut at Miners Pub in November of 2017. The brewers were there, and eager to get feedback. My first statement was probably not what they expected.
“Is this a Red IPA?”
First, Magnum 357 has a strong aroma of caramel, some cherry, and just a little of the Magnum hop. It practically tastes like a red ale, with more caramel and red fruit, then a honey mellowness throughout. I guess these flavors are added to offset the fact that Magnum does not have any strong aroma characteristics. And they cover up the fairly high ABV of 7.0%. The bittering hop bite doesn’t sneak in until the very end. In short, this is not at all a bad beer, but labeling it a standard IPA is confusing.
Serbia is still in an experimental stage with craft beer. This is the fun part about drinking here. Since Revolution Brewery’s brewer said this was their first batch, they were not quite sure what they would get. I look forward to whatever they get next time.
