Russian River Beatification (Batch 001)

Formerly brewed at Russian River Brewing
Style: Sour Ale
Santa Rosa, California USA

Bottle from Walt,thank you sir. Pours like a glass of apricot juice with poppy seeds in the bottom. Ahhh the aroma is pure de-lish. Heavenly and complex. Sour oaken notes with the definite aroma of sour apple,not unlike the Jooy Rancher candy. I guess that by my not liking these brews years ago that I may have missed out on some very good brews but this make up for some of them I am sure.The flavors of the sour apples just are fantastic along with the mellow oak... gotta go and finish this.

Bottle of Batch 001. A hazed golden orange color with a diminished white head. Banana, citrus, barnyard yeast, pepper, clove, candy spice, and bubblegum in the aroma. Sour, lambic or gueuze like rather than the Rodenbach or La Folie style of Flemish Sour Ale in that it lacks the rich cherry found in the latter. Rich and intensely sour, but this beer is more palatable with citrus flavors rather than the dark fruit or cherry (cf. La Folie). Sour, green apple and lemon flavors that finish dry and with a sourness that is just short of a pucker. Bottle purchased from Toronado (11/19/06) but sampled at home.

Nose-funky, sweet juices, sweet horse, beautiful nose. Body-standard Flemish Sour body-lemony yellow with a wispy fading head. Taste-sour, funk, light wheat, great sourness, beautifully done, all the flavors are well matched and balanced. An almost perfectly made beer that is very complex and layered. Really, more of a work of art than a beer.

PH1: apricot puree body with minimal off-white head..aroma very lambic-esque (must, old leather, yeast, and sourness)...exceptional lambic flavor (excessive sourness and yeast leading to a blueberry/concord grape aftertaste)...the beer tantalizes your taste buds...perfect palate; absolutely amazing...8-4-9-5-17----- same body as PH1...very similar aroma as well, but much more refined (more musty, less sour)..flavor much more like a flemish..less sour, less dry (similar to De Dolle belgium strong ales)..nice palate; less complex...8-4-8-4-15 overall: 8-4-9-5-16

PH1: murky orange body, resembling peach pulp, with reddish tones anda quickly dissipating off-white head. Sharp sour aroma, oaky, with brie cheese rind and fruit skin (cherry). Essentially a lambic, puckeringly sour with brie cheese rind and fruit skin, kind of like a geueze trying to be a kriek.
9-4-8-4-17

001: body similar to PH1, but with a lasting off-white head. Sour, musty aroma, but not as sharp as PH1, lacking the fruit component. Body is much more typical of a Flemish Sour Ale, with sour funky notes immersed in a fuller, sweeter body. A bit less complex than PH1, and lacks the sharp bite that gives the former version its character.
8-4-8-4-15

Overall rating 9-4-8-4-16. Excellent per the norm for Russian River.

Bottle. Batch 1. Golden amber beer with a low whitish head. Apple aroma with some oak. Apple/pear fruitiness with good tartness and some oak. Not overly sour. Lingering tartness. refreshing. Very dry.

375 ml bottle, via IrishBoy, Batch 001. Pours a cloudy orangish copper colored body under a fairly small fizzy beige head. Rather odd, the head sounded like a bowl of Rice Crispies. This may be the first time I’ve HEARD the head of a beer. Active carbonation maintains a small creamy film. Aroma is wonderfully tart and sugary sweet at the same time. Great ripe fruitiness with apples, pears, and peaches. Some dry powdery woody notes and light brett. Flavor is quite tart and bracingly dry at first but fades to a semi-dry crisp finish with lots of apples and oak tannins. Some notes of leather, yeast, and bretty funkiness. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with great super fine lively carbonation that really opens up the beauty of the finish. Overall, this may not be my favorite Flemish Sour because I really think that it stands out among them as being quite unique, but it is however a pretty freaking awesome beer. I’d say it’s close to Temptation for my personal RR favorite overall, but so different because the Temptation was more clean and simple, while there’s alot going on here. Excellent.

From a 375mL Bottle. Cloudy, golden pour with a splash of orange and a healthy, sparkling, dissipating head. Oh my. The expected sour funky aromas are there, but there’s so much more. Some delicate vanilla is there to balance the oaky dryness, and a hint of maple bark adds a great subtle dimension to the musty character. Underneath, some sour fruity granny smith apples and freshly picked strawberries keep me coming back for another whiff. Light, highly effervescent, champagne-like body. Perfectly sour and refreshing with a light, dry oaky, finish. The light, tart fruits from the nose start out on the palate, which concludes with a long finish of buggy oak. Beautifully attenuated. There’s a wonderful layer of earthy, cheesy, pedio funk that really shines brightly in the finish. pH1 is definitely better, but both are fantastic. Deliciously tart and complex.