Russian River Compunction

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

Sampled during the First Annual Stone Sour Fest. Golden color with a nice head. Aromas and flavors were very grape-like and rather acidic. Another great sour beer from RR

Growler, courtesy of my wife. Thanks, Ali! Pours a hazy, orange-apricot color; thin white head with patchy lacing. Loads of tartness, funk (cobwebs; horseblanket, but mostly cobwebby more than anything too earthy and spicy), tart apricots / peaches, and pleasantly acidic aroma; some white wine grapes and lively, spritzy grapefruit; just a great, intricate aroma. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: loads of tart, zesty grapefruit and citrus rind and apricot; gorgeous fruit character at the core of things, not overshadowed by the tart, funky edges; solid levels of carbonation, clenching tartness, biting acidity, and surprisingly developed funk and brett. Just an excellent balance of tart apricots and lambic-like funk, brettiness, and acidity. I could drink a lot of this, and I think I will. Lengthy finish, showing pluots (apricots, really; no plumminess coming through), tart cherries, and funk.

Tap at DLD. Cloudy golden yellow. Smell of sour lemon, grapes, tart cherries and barn. The taste was of tart fruit, sour lemon candies and grapefruit zest. Wonderful guest brew at DLD.

Draft-3rd brew of Stone 1st Annual Sour Festival, July 22nd 2007. Shared this cool day very mellow day with bikesandbeer, wetherel, westsidethreat, padrefan, fordest, denverlogan and many others. Pours Yewllow gold with a 1 finger bright white head. Nose is sour, woody and very funky. The taste is vinous with a big sour punch, and also nicely balanced and sweet. This was really pretty damn awesome, probably second favorite of the day.

Growler. Near heavenly nose. Tart and lightly funky aroma. Citrusy, slightly musty. Tart apples. Apricot skin, dry and dusty basement. Slightly cheesy. Pours a bright, hazy gold with a thin but lasting white head. Tart and acidic with some juicy fruit undertones. A hint of basement. Slightly spicy. Vinegary with near stinging acidity. Some hints of a Flemish sour but with a lot more acidity. Absolutely wonderfully funky, albeit lacking the complexity of Deviation. Lush and creamy with lively carbonation. Excellent lasting vinegary, tart and acidic finish. Thanks a ton for this kick ass beer Mark!

08 darklord tasting. Beer of the night for me. Hazy yellowish pour. Huge fruit and obvious sour notes. Flavor is just bursting with sour fruit goodness. I’ve honestly never had a pluot before, but I will be grabbing one to check it out. I get some apple and apricot in the flavor though, maybe some grapefruit and other sour citrus. Finishes all out sour. This was intense.

#300, on-tap at the brewery 2/18/08. Pours a cloudy honey yellow color. Foamy white head with minimal lace. Smells cour and fruity, somewhat citrusy but not really, orange fruits maybe.?. Tastes sour sour sour, citrusy and spicy. Mouthfeel is pucker sour and crisp. Vibrant. This is the most impressive sour beer that I have ever had. I bought a growler of it, it cost $51.

This is my new favorite RR Sour. The others are complex and subtle with slight influences that you have to search for and wait as they develop. This one kicks you in the teeth like an explosion of flavor. No subtlety about it! First on the tip of your tongue, than the roof of your mouth, and finally the back of your tongue and throat. Like chewing a sweet tart, the flavors mix wonderfully of sour grapefruit and a Granny Smith like apple to sweet apricots and plums that carry to the finish. A warning, DO NOT try the Beatification immediately after this one. Like going from a hot tub to a cold shower. Trust me, I learned the hard way.