Cross Of Gold - Revolution Brewing Company - Brewpub

Bedhead

Illinois

4.43/5  rDev +17.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Insanely smooth, crisp beer. Finds just the right balance of...well...everything. Not bursting with flavor, nor is it the most interesting beer I've ever had, but it's just really enjoyable. I could probably put back an obnoxious amount of this if given the chance (and following morning with nothing scheduled). I cant find anything wrong with it.

Serving type: on-tap

11-06-2012 20:59:37 | More by Bedhead

FosterJM

California

4.23/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

1471st Review on BA
Bottle to 20oz Nonic
22oz

2012 bottling
Thanks to dvelcich for the extra

App- A good looking beer out of the bottle. Lemony/wheat hazy yellow with a pronounced 1-1/2" head that faded rather quickly. Looking at glass when done, looks clean. No dots or lace anywhere.

Smell- One of the hoppier blonde ales I have smelled and was quite pleasant. Hoppy, wheat, pepper and subtle with a backing pale malt aroma.

Taste- Retains a lot of a blonde ale notes throughout but man the hop additions make this shine. Crisp, clean and hoppy but lightly pale malt and lemony wheat flavors. Well balanced and very tasty.

Mouth- A nice light/medium body with a lighter/medium paired carbonation. The residual flavors are lemony hops and pale malts.

Drink- This was a very good beer and a welcome suprise. I normally am not a fan of Blonde ales, but with the hop additions, this was quite delicious.

Serving type: bottle

08-26-2012 20:19:10 | More by FosterJM

nickd717

California

4.2/5  rDev +11.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

On tap at the brewpub.

Pours a nice clear golden color with a small white head and some lacing.
Awesome citrus hop aroma, with honey and grainy pale malt. Smells phenomenal, way better than I expected from the description.

Flavor is great for the style. A little grainy with sweet pale malt and honey as well as bright citrusy hops. Reminds me of a golden ale version of FFF Alpha King even, which is about as high a compliment as I can give a beer like this.

Nice palate, fairly sweet and medium-light with a mild sweetness.

Overall, wow, what a great golden ale. This is typically a boring style in my opinion, but this one was very drinkable and enjoyable.

Serving type: on-tap

05-04-2010 17:04:28 | More by nickd717

Thorpe429

Illinois

4.1/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

On tap at the brewpub - December 27, 2010.

Pours a fairly-light golden color with a single-finger white head and a bit of lacing as it falls into a thin collar. The nose is a bit light and then hits fairly well with a nice hop aroma resembling the better versions of the style that I've encountered. Milt citrus with a bit of tangerine. The flavor is slightly-sweet with a very mild malt character as well as a touch of hop flavor. Light body with slight bitterness and a very slight sweetness as well. Really quite drinkable.

Serving type: on-tap

01-04-2011 00:55:49 | More by Thorpe429

Etan

Illinois

4.1/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

22oz bottle from the first bottling into a pint glass.

A: Translucent yellow with a nice white head.

S: Sweet grain, floral esters, slight crisp hoppiness.

T: Smooth grain and slight hoppiness, fresh bread, unripe apricot, nice dry finish.

M: Tingly carbonation, light-bodied.

O: One of the best American blondes I've had.

Serving type: bottle

08-11-2012 02:26:33 | More by Etan

steveh

Illinois

4.08/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Not to be deterred by a style-miscue with my first Revolution beer, because it was still tasty, I grabbed this one from the shelf. Sort of expected to read that it was a Belgian Golden Strong of some sort, I was surprised to read that they call it an "English Style Summer Ale (whatever that is) -- and even more surprised to see BA list it as an American Blonde. Hmm. Going to review it on the fly...

22 ounce brown bottle with no dates at all.

A -- Hazy peachy golden color with a very dense, off white head that settles slowly leaving good lacing..

S -- Inviting, mellow piny hops and fruit esters of peach and pear with a light malt backbone.

T -- Sweet, English malts up front -- cookie to crackery, very Marris Otter-like, blending into light fruit esters and a mellow bitterness, finishing with a balance of cracker and cookie characters and a mellow citrus character with light bitterness lingering in the aftertaste.

M -- Light-medium body with a smooth mouthfeel. As dense as the head is, there is little spritzyness from carbonation.

O -- While it's slightly stronger than usual for the style, I'm labeling this a Best Bitter. It has the right body and flavor characters along with a great drinkability (in other words, you want to follow with another). A great take on the style with some great English Ale characteristics -- don't drink it too cold.

Serving type: bottle

09-14-2012 21:24:36 | More by steveh

AgentZero

Illinois

4.05/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A - Pale golden beer with a small white head that left nice spots down the side of the glass.

S - Sweet pale malts, some honey. Mild floral hops with a little bit of orange. Not getting a ton of coriander in there.

T - Sweet honey and pale malts. The corriander comes through much stonger in the taste with some sweet oranges. Hops on the end provide an appropriately sharp and abrupt finish.

M - Smooth, soft carbonation, lighter side of medium bodied.

O - A pretty nice beer that avoids being overly harsh and yeasty. Easy to drink with good flavor, enjoyed this beer even though its a style that isn't one of my preferred.

Serving type: on-tap

07-22-2011 01:08:51 | More by AgentZero

diabecktic

Illinois

4.03/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance:
This beer was served to me with ~1.5 fingers of thick, creamy head; the retention is excellent and there is quite a bit of lacing which clings to the glass. This translucent brew is a lightly golden color with a very, very slight reddish tint.

Smell:
Given the style, I found the nose to be a bit suprising (more on this later). Hops dominate, but a subtle zest compliments it nicely. The aroma is very "outdoorsy" - it makes me think of a pine cone.

Taste:
The flavor matches the nose almost exactly as described. I found this to be a very hoppy beer; I can't quite describe the spices, but they help keep the bitterness in check.

Mouthfeel:
The body on this beer is somewhere in the realm of medium-light. It tingles the tongue, but not so much that one would find it unenjoyable. If you manage to ingest some of the head, you'll find that it adds a bit of density.

Drinkability:
This beer has tons of bite, so I would suggest drinking it fairly slowly. The overall "edge" is enjoyable and I found this to a bit better on the colder side.

Summary:
Since I'm the first person reviewing this beer, feel free to take what I say with a grain of salt. When I first had this beer, I thought I was drinking an IPA; my server told me that it's actually a lager which is brewed with "a bit" of hops. Needless to say, I thought that it had more than "a bit" of hops. This is a unique beer that you will find enjoyable if you don't mind what would seem like a mis-categorization. I rated this beer highly because I liked it even though it doesn't seem to fit what the brewers call an "American Pale/Blonde Ale."

Serving type: on-tap

02-20-2010 23:30:33 | More by diabecktic

homebrew311

Illinois

4.03/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

My first Revolution bottle purchase... may there be many more to follow! Appearance is slightly cloudy, mainly gold, generous 2 finger head retains nicely. Plenty of lacing left behind. Nose starts with faint green hop presence and lemon, sturdy bread presence as well. Smells fresh and tasty. Taste starts off with light caramel sweetness followed by fruity hops. Moderate amount of bitterness comes through and is countered by dry bready finish. Everything is working in balance here, and there is quite a bit of character for a blonde ale. Mouthfeel is light with moderate to high carbonation. A solid brew from an amazing brewery.

Serving type: bottle

08-17-2012 05:12:45 | More by homebrew311

GbVDave

Illinois

4/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 22oz bottle into a 20oz imperial pint.

A: Pours a chill hazed, well, gold color with 1 creamy finger of short lived, bright white foam on top. A few ropes of lace were left behind on the glass.

S: Light citrus hops and lightly toasted malt mix well with a subtly spicy yeast aroma. Very simple and clean.

T: As above with slightly more emphasis on the toastiness of the malt.

M: Relatively smooth and refreshing on the palate with just a touch of hop astringency on the back of the tongue to keep things interesting.

O: Very solid session ale. I could easily see this being the "money maker" that affords them the ability to continue to explore their more experimental leanings.

Serving type: bottle

08-13-2012 23:34:02 | More by GbVDave

Chaney

District of Columbia

4/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Can't say I've had many English Pale Ales in my life, but here is one.

Served in a shaker pint.

A: Fairly clear gold, with some mild chill haze, lots of visible carbonation, and about a 1/2 finger sticky with head that stuck around for a while.

S: Smelled like orange juice, yeast, a touch or grain, and quite a bit more hop character than I was expecting. Still, this wasn't a hop bomb by any means.

T: Fresh hop taste for sure, with a nice fruit bill without being overdone or syrupy. Very fresh, flavorful, and dare I say "thirst quenching."

M: Fairly light, which was most likely the intention, with bitterness that heated up after a while, splotchy lacing, and nice carbonation bill.

O: I'm new to Revolution, but I'm totally digging their stuff so far. Also, a bomber of this was dirt cheap.

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2013 22:44:19 | More by Chaney

jrallen34

Illinois

3.93/5  rDev +4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 5

I drank this on tap into a 4oz tasting glass.

The beer is a very clear medium gold with a white head that rises about 1 finger.

The aroma is pretty light, pretty plain with only a little skunk.

The taset is pretty plain, but by no means bad or skunky. It really just reminds me of a much better version of an american macro.

The feel is ok, not as watery ad zi'd expect. Pretty drinkable.

Serving type: on-tap

03-25-2010 20:19:45 | More by jrallen34

TMoney2591

Illinois

3.88/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Served in a shaker pint glass at Sheffield's.

Gotta love any beer that references William Jennings Bryan, amiright? This stuff pours a clear golden brass topped by a finger or so of white foam. The nose comprises light citrus (I hate being that vague, but, frankly, the citrus smell was that vague, so...), light biscuit, and a very slight hint of lemongrass. The taste brings in more of the same, with the biscuit and citrus (now mostly identified as a lemon-orange blend) leading the way in geminic (yeah, I just coined a new word, folks!) harmony. The body is a light medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a crisp, lightly dry finish. Overall, a nice, simple, straightforward little blonde, one I wouldn't mind spending some more time with later...

Serving type: on-tap

07-21-2012 01:39:30 | More by TMoney2591

Hopfist

Illinois

3.8/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

I've had this one a number of times. Usually when I feel like bouncing around their beer menu for the day, and I've already had their Porter, IPA, and whatever's on cask . The last time I had it, I was informed by my server that the batch was not only really fresh, but was a generation zero yeast crop. The spankin-new yeast produced a product that was far crisper, clearer, and cleaner than any other trial with this ale. The near absent bitterness and hop profile were suddenly quite apparent, and I even detected some fun little spicy esters, though very mild. Near-brilliant gold in color, and exceptionally drinkable. It's downfall is that it's just not that interesting a brew, which is why it's also their no.2 most popular. It's the "fun microbrew option" for your mojito drinking gal pals, though again, it's not bad either.

Serving type: on-tap

09-20-2011 17:47:59 | More by Hopfist

jvande7

Illinois

3.68/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A- golden/yellow/straw colored beer that you can see straight through with no trouble. served in a pint glass.

S- smells hoppy and good. sadly it doesn't taste as good as it smells but the hop aroma is wonderful. smells like a premium/high-quality more-hoppy version of a classic/traditional american rice beer (bud/mgd).

T- tastes like a premium/high-quality more-hoppy version of a classic/traditional american rice beer (bud/mgd). this is not what I look for in a beer, but the good news is that MANY bud/miller drinkers are looking to transition to the craft beer world and this is just the beer to get them started. tastes slightly more hoppy than balanced.

M- thin/medium mouthfeel. fairly crisp and perfect for the style.

D- drinkable? Not for me. this is not my kind of beer. this is craft beer, but it doesn't stray far enough from the Bud/MGD category for me. I suspect this beer was designed to be the way it is - great transitional beer that will appeal to the masses. not for beer dorks though, imo.

*I struggled with this review because while the beer is not my favorite, it is well-made and should appeal to the majority of beer drinkers out there. I don't want to discourage anyone from trying it, but I want to help fellow beer advocate's make an eductaed decision when choosing what to enjoy.

Serving type: on-tap

03-10-2010 18:04:27 | More by jvande7

TheRealBigC

Nevada

3.68/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This is a pretty good beer. Nothing stands out, but on a hot summer day/night in Chicago, this one really hits the spot.

Golden blonde color with decent head and nice lacing. Taste isn't extraordinary, but it is crisp and refreshing - and fresh.

Revolution has awesomer beers, but there's certainly nothing wrong with this one. A good choice for friends who aren't beer afficinados and just want a good crisp beer.

Serving type: on-tap

08-26-2011 03:52:12 | More by TheRealBigC

UCLABrewN84

California

3.55/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to queens1130 for sharing this one at drewone's tasting.

Pours a clear light yellow with a foamy bone colored head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt, fruits, and citrus zest. Taste is much the same with a mild hop bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer that is light and refreshing.

Serving type: bottle

12-03-2012 22:05:02 | More by UCLABrewN84

WoodBrew

Illinois

3.54/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

The Cross of Gold was good...but I agree with others....this is more of a blonde ale than an English IPA...the Beer poured a hazy yellow with white head that left a spotty lace. The scent was sligth bitter hops with a subtle waith of citrus. The taste was a very good balanced beer that did not overwhelm....sligth citrus flare helped to give the beer character. The mouthfeel was medium to light in body with decent carbonation. Overall it was ok...probably would not go seekign it out....but glad I tried it.

Serving type: on-tap

04-01-2013 00:17:28 | More by WoodBrew

Sean9689

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

On-tap at Rev Kedzie Grand Opening Party.

A - Pours golden (woah) yellow in color, white head, thin collar.

S - More sweetness from the malts with a light sprinkle of hops. Really well-balanced for a Blonde and just want I was expecting.

T - Again, fruity sweetness, light caramel, hops, citrus. All pretty straight-forward, but this is how it's suppose to be with this style (for the most part).

M - Light body, good carbonation, clean finish.

O - A nice beer to begin your session with or something to recommend to someone who's just getting started into craft beer.

Serving type: on-tap

06-26-2012 15:51:22 | More by Sean9689

KDawg

Illinois

3.48/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

had this on tap at revolution. Poured into a pint glass with a clear gold color and a nice foamy head

balanced but kind of muted aromas of citrus', grains and a touch of hops as well

medium bodied with a very good feel. The flavors of citrus and grains do lack a bit of depth

a very drinkable beer. It's good and works as a more session type beer. It is what it is

Serving type: on-tap

01-06-2012 22:51:44 | More by KDawg

mttaylor1066

Connecticut

3.4/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.25

On tap at Gino's East... in Chi town!

Pours a nice golden color, with a thin head. Has a hint of Cascade hops on the nose... rather light but that's OK with this style. Good carbonation. The mouthfeel is just right for a golden ale.

However, this has a vegetal quality that doesn't quite sit right with me. t has a dull bitter edge to it. I'll pass on the next round.

Serving type: on-tap

03-12-2013 18:01:08 | More by mttaylor1066

scruffwhor

Illinois

3.39/5  rDev -10.3%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.25

FYI! I really don't think this is an EPA, but an American blonde ale.

Clear, golden brass color with a little bubbling. Quick, small head and just a thin half ring of foam.

Crisp grassy, unmalted, and slightly toasted malt aroma. Smells clean.

Crisp lightly toasted malts with maybe an apple tart flavor. Grassy and earthy clean hop bitterness. The hops add the right, astringent clean pop to this beer. Easy to drink and cleansing for sure.

Serving type: bottle

02-03-2013 15:39:22 | More by scruffwhor

chugalug06

Colorado

2.65/5  rDev -29.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Hazy yellow brew with tons of white foam on a pillow-y white bubbles.

Definitely English. dry, bitter, and farmhouse-y. Not a mind blowing aroma. Nothing special, but nothing horrid.

Very bland and dry. Nothing stands out, but I wonder if this brew is significantly past its prime..?? Bitter, dry, biscuit'y ness is almost impossible to get over. Over carbonation is almost seltzer esque.

This brew is not horrible, but it does not excite me either. It's average and deserves to be rethought, perhaps it's the style that I just don't agree with...? Can't recommend.

Serving type: bottle

11-24-2012 00:43:24 | More by chugalug06