Russian River Compunction

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

Growler. Skin of glassy white on a fully hazed blonde pour. Sunny, bitingly acidic aroma of pineapple and apricot with some basic sugars; brilliant funkiness of white cheeses, mildew, wet socks and grasses beneath. Light bodied balsamic. Suitable softness and balance. Gewurtztraminer and tropical fruit flavor carries a zingy tart punch, but comes across softly with a silky film of vanilla. Seems to ring of a tinny honey presence at times, mostly landing on a firm resonance of apricot, plum, pineapple, guava and extended juicy fruitiness. Dries out a little, before blossoming in full furious acidity; tanginess of musty vinaigrette and pepperiness. Surprisingly full mouthfeel with sparkly carbonation; very punchy, demanding and confronting especially for its leanness. Raw lemon juice finish that doesn’t gather the typical funkiness. Streamlined and scrappy, which makes up for its relative simplicity quite kindly. Thanks for sharing, Tyler!

Sampled at the First Annual Stone Sour Fest. Pretty decent flavors of sour cherries. My favorite of the day.

Stone Sourfest. I’m a sucker for sour so I liked this one and probably overrated it a bit. The main issue with this beer is that it’s JUST sour. There’s very little complexity behind the funk which takes away from my overall impression.

Pretty golden pour with a oil slick of a white head. WOW...is that tart, or what? Big green apple, sour orange, and maybe sour lemon (I’m wingin’ it here, bro!) I’m enjoying the puckering effect (painful though it is) enormously. The sour funkiness continues unabated right through the finish...no apologies here. Very, very, nicely brewed!

On tap at Monk’s Cafe. Let me preface this by stating that I’ve eaten a pluot, and I didn’t care for it. I didn’t get a ton of pluot influence in this beer. It poured a really clear light amber, which makes me think perhaps this would be better from closer to the bottom of the keg. Compared with the Supplication, this was was lighter in body, more sour, a little less bretty, and kind of chewier. It might be asking too much of the beer for it to carry a stronger pluot influence, but from what I remember that was a dull, boring fruit. Nevertheless, a nicely made, refreshing brew, kind of interesting, but I’d like to see more residual sweetness from the fruit.

Golden hazy yellow with minimal head. Aroma is sour and barny with a touch of plum. Very sour up fruit with a nice fruity sweetness from the pluots. Finishes dry and sour begging you to sip for some more.

Pours a hazy peach color with a white head. Aroma is lots of brett, funk, tart fruit, and some earthyness. Flavor is tart fruit, brett, funk, and a fruity finish.

draft at RR. if you like temptation or supplication this is right up your alley. has RR distinct sour/tart/funky quality. super easy drinking but ill admit that i didnt get any distinct flavor of pluots (and i love pluots). there was a soft fruitness beneath the sour but it wasnt anything specific i could point towards the pluot.