Russian River Consecration

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

This was a fine sour though I’m somewhat surprised at just how highly this is rated. It was the first beer I ordered for the evening and I enjoyed the luscious and complex fruitiness. it has a silky texture and an excellent sour edge, but while this is nothing short of excellent, I didn’t think this stood out in the Kingdom of Beer. Just a matter of taste and the moment, I guess. (on tap at the Toronado)

Nice darkish red looking, thick and rich. Mild but rich oak aroma with pleasant sour notes. Very sophisticated. Mouthfeel is thick and rich with huge fruity and rather original flavours, pleasantly sour, complex and suprisingly fat. Hides the alcohol perfectly while leaving you just wanting more.

On-Tap @ Belmont Station poured into Tulip glass. Pours a rich plum color with some glowing red hues and a light, fluffy tan colored head that quickly burns out into a nice thin wispy ring around the glass. The aroma is filled with tart berries, touches of oak and just a plain overall sour aroma. The flavor is very much the same with tart berries being the first thing you taste and eventually allows for some oak and touches of earthy hops to shine through and finishes very dry. Its a very effervescent beer and is light bodied. This is quite a tasty beer. It has very nice sourness which doesn’t blast you away but definitely makes you pucker. The alcohol is very well hidden and will sneak up on you if you aren’t careful as this is an easy drinker. Lovely, delicious stuff.

Original review date 4/17/2009 (batch 001X2) - into a Portsmouth snifter it goes after an excellent pop of the cork from this 750 corked & caged heavyweight. Well, it pours with a ginger/maple head - about 1/3 finger - that looks like sponge candy for a brief instant then fades quickly into little yeast wisps. The body has a dark bourbon and dark cherries (OK, currants) color that has quite a calming effect. Moderate slow-moving carbonation. The scent is present the second the cork goes. The brett is huge but it’s backed by a fruity sweetness of the currants with a light, husky oak barrel and wine tannic feel. Quite complex with a touch of hop pine and slight booziness. I expected it to be sweet but this is really well-integrated. Can’t see too much of anything wrong with this. The carbonation really shows up and brightens things a bit on taste. It gets together with the very soft and sour funk (not as heavy as a horse blanket - maybe a horse do-rag) and the oaky Cab character isn’t a figment of one’s imagination...nor is the poignant taste of currants. Way back when in the early 1980s Haagen-Dazs had a cassis (currant) sorbet available at their shop on the Upper West Side. It was one of those things that wasn’t for everyone but we enjoyed the hell out of it. This brings back those tastes. Slightly austere but still pronounced currants along with the Cab tannin just makes this outstanding and the carbonation brings the delivery even greater strength. In fact I’d almost want this to still a little bit to see how it would go. Quite luxurious to say the least. A little warmth brings out the expected horse blanket feel even further, which fits with everything else like a glove. Seriously Beautiful Chemistry going on here (look up Crackstatic and Ron Hawkins). This begs to be aged - like a young Cab there is a sense of tightness that begs for aging. It took a while for my palate to embrace the concept of the Wild Ale but lots of good things take time. Surprisingly with time and warmth the dry oakiness of this gets to be more prominent and the straight sour texture of the currants is enhanced - the carbonation isn’t going away and it helps hammer the point home. This one waxes and wanes - every moment the spotlight shines on a different element. It doesn’t take long to realize that this is indeed a 10% sledgehammer. But there is nothing that can diminish how good this thing is. My cellar awaits for another bottle. What will this taste like in a few years? I am drinking this very slowly but I am enjoying every sip. Not that I’m a sour maven by any means but this is the best one I’ve experienced to date. In-fucking-credible.

Ratings from both batch 1 and batch 2. In summation -- batch 1 has more of a funky currant twang, is a little thin in the body, and is just damn awesome. A lot of black cherries and funk come out. Batch 2 is more subtle but is awesomely well put together. Amazing brett explosion, and a lot of qualities of good aged wild beers, if that makes sense. Better than batch 1, I think. Not sure how additional aging could help either batch.

Bottle sample at Muckfest 2009 Day 1. Pours cloudy amber with a thin tan head. Sour aroma with apple and cherry notes. Fruity and tart flavor with a bit of alcohol presence and an acidic vinegar finish.

Bottle shared at Muckfest 2009 in Lancaster Ohio. Poured a light amber gold color, some murkiness. Sweet aroma of cherry sweet tarts. Flavor was tart and lively cherries and soda like. A bit of sour lemon. I am not a fan of sours, but this one was very good and could well prove my starting point to likeing them!

(DC Local Gathering, 750ml bottle, Batch 2, thanks CaptainCougar) Small beige head atop clear copper body. Aroma is moderately sweet, wood, some cherry, sourness. taste is medium sweet, sour, lemon, some cherry, light wood. Light-medium body, some acidity, alcohol very well hidden.