Russian River Compunction

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

Tasted way back in the summer at Stone sour ale class by Tomme Arthur. Golden orange like color. Smells of lemon and fruit. Super smooth. Tart sour funkiness. Tastes of the apricot and the plums for sure. Great brew of course.

On tap at Russian River. Aroma of sour fruit, white wine, and oak. Pleasant sour taste, but not over powering. Nice bright palate.

Real Ale at Dark Lord Day 08. Pours a cloudy blonde color. Smells like grapefruit. Tastes like an atomic sour candy in beer form. Has a sour aroma, sour taste (from the front to the back), and leaves a sour aftertaste. I love it!

[Draft @ Monks] Poured a clear amber color with a medium sized white head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of rotted plum, raisins, citrus, apples, brett and the other RR funky cultures. Taste seemed to be devoid of any oak, with some citrus, dark fruits, green apple, light nutmeg, and a really sour, dry, wild yeast finish. This is really missing the oak or a sweeter fruit involved.

Sampled on tap at the First Annual Stone Sour Fest, July 2007
This beer has a hazy, copper-gold tint to it and it is topped by a wispy, barely there, white head. Green fruit aromatics greet my nostrils as I take my first draught of the aroma; I get flavors of star fruit, not-quite ripe honeydew or perhaps it is a not-ripe cantaloupe aroma. The plum notes become quite noticeable as I dig around in the nose. Actually the fruit character really starts to open up after a little bit; Pluots indeed. I can’t seem to shake a sharp, green note here though; perhaps it is contributed by the sour bugs. At times I actually get some notes reminiscent of sweet cherry skins; it is fleeting, but when noticed adds a really nice note to the aroma.

Upfront this beer tastes crisp, tart and dry; it really hits that quaffable character that I like in sour beer. There is a noticeable green fruit note here as well as a touch of vegetal character in the background. The dominant note is a tartness, but I really think (at least it seems so) that the pluots contribute a roundness & extra complexity to the sour notes that are in this beer. As I expected, the fruit character is much more apparent in the nose (which is typical of softer fruits like apricots, peaches and plums). When my palate gets used to the initial flavors, I am able to pick out notes of sourdough (a mix of the funk and some malt notes) at times as well as a grassy grain flavor. Lactic acid is the most apparent acidic quality here, but like I said, there is a persistent, fruity acidity here that is really quite nice.

While the beer is light, it is not austere or bony, there is some body here, which seams wrapped up in the fruit presence / contribution. This is quite complex, though it is not necessarily on the surface and you do have to work at it. I find that I am starting to take Vinnie’s artistry for granted; this beer is so well integrated, so well made. I almost don’t think about it, b/c despite this being perhaps the most balanced, multi-layered, eminently crafted beer at the festival, I almost felt like it was overlooked.

Draft at the brewpub. Murky, darker golden pour with a dirty white head. Vinagery, brett nose with some fruit and a strawlike maltiness. Extremely sour and acidic. Very fruity apricot-like flavors with a powerful lactic finish. I don’t usually like overly lactic beers but this seems to fit somehow... Very dry.

This isn’t a sour ale? Whatever. Draft at RR. Hazy golden yellow, not great lacing or retention... like most of their sour beers. Aroma is oak, acidic, fruity, wood. Medium bodied, very acidic dry finish. Similar to the other sours in that it kicks ass.

Had on tap at the brewery 02/20/2008. Served slightly hazy, with potent sour nose. At first taste, the tart came on much more than batch 1. The fruit is much more present in this batch (#2) than the former. Mild carbonation & served very cold. As this sour warmed the flavors became much more pronounced. Very dry and digestible. The sour & tart lingered well. Overall another wonderful barrel aged sour from Russian River.