Russian River Supplication

Brewed by Russian River Brewing
Style: Sour Ale
Santa Rosa, California USA

2009 Bistro Barrel Aged Fest. Poured hazy reddish amber, granny smith apple, passion fruit, wood, little malty.

Ok I was going to save Veritas 006 for #1300, and then I had this at the Bistro Barrel Aged Fest, and it seemed even more worthy, so here goes. Pours a brilliant reddish amber with slight haze and a half-inch of creamy off-white foam. Aroma is amazing with sour cherry, bretty and lactic notes, leather, oak, and some sweet malt. Flavor is tart, with brett, lacto, pedio, funk, and some sweet caramel malt, sour cherries, oak, and spice. Complex and just amazingly good flavor. Sour but not overly so like Beatification can be. Medium body with a sharp, acidic palate and a long finish. Went back for this two more times despite all the other great barrel aged beers there. Great beer, Vinnie! Worth the long wait.

Pours a slightly cloudy golden amber with thin fizzy white foam head. Wonderful aroma of tart oakiness and dark fruit. Puckering but not too acidic with lots of oak sourness and dark fruit flavor especially sour cherries. Nice balance of sweet and tart with dry finish.

Hazy golden pour. Aroma is loaded with cherries and wood with some lactic tartness. Flavor is tart but not overly sour with a lot of wood and cherries. This was VERY good.

Bottle. 1st sample. OK, I am sorry to say that I don’t care for this style. But, this was HORRIBLE! I know my opinion is jaded but come on. I don’t know why this beer was rated so high. It had a nice color and the aroma was pleasant also but I should have stopped there. I just did not care for the taste. Would not recommend. 2nd sample. OK, giving it another try. It’s like Grandparents horehound candy at Christmas. It never gets better. New Belgium La Folie and Russian River Temptation much, much better.

Never a favored style but this is an interesting beer. Such a sour nose. Wood, cherries. Flavor to match with a ton of funkiness. So sour! This beer screams with personality.

Served on tap at O’brien’s TION night in a 13oz Chimay on Feb 2. Have had it in bottle (batch 003) on several occasions previously. Bottle matches tap pretty close. Color was a dull gold with a light white head. Smells of tart fruits, cherry, apple, sourness. A very drinkable sour, less biting than a flanders or some of RR’s other sours, medium bodied, and less fruits in the taste than I expected. Good stuff.

375ml bottle from WeeheavySD. Pours brown with orange and gold edges with white head. Aroma is sour as hell with wood, cherries, and some funk. Flavor is tart with some sour cherries, funk, and some wood. This has a lip smacking tartness to it. Really good stuff. I can’t stop licking my lips. Good beer to celebrate my 30th birthday.