Russian River Consecration

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

On tap at RR. Cloudy brown color, aroma of sour cherries/berries. Flavor the same, along with darker fruits, very slightest of funk, mild oakiness. Weird, vaguely bitter aftertaste drops it down a bit in the rating. Would have enjoyed a stronger sour presence.

Pours ruby-brown. Aroma of cherries, vinegar, red wine, wood and a light amount of caramel malt. Tastes of sour cherries, wood, wine, vineger and a light amount of caramel. Finishes tangy, fruity, and only slightly dry. Nearly thick, slick mouthfeel. Quite nice, more flavor than just funk and sourness, but just a pinch.

Batch #2 on tap at Verdugo in LA: Pours a transparent dark amber with a thin, wispy-lacing light tan head. Complex aroma of sweet dark cherries and tart vinous oak with. Starts with nice biting carbonation and tart complex oak and cherries with some black currant notes and good acidity toward a slightly warming finish. Another winner from Russian River.

Split a bottle with my buddy Steve at union jacks. This was his first sour ale and he is hooked. It poured a muddy mahogany with a small tan head. The aroma was of sour berries, brett, oak, slight vinegar and a hint of darker fruit. The taste was fantastic! Great balance of fruit, funk, and oak. Not too sweet, not too sour and the oak rounded everything out. This was dangerously drinkable. It is hard to believe that this beer has a 10% ABV. This is my favorite sour ale.

Bottle at DLD ’09. Dark brown and cloudy with small beige head. Aroma is sour fruit and tart and big oak. Flavor is real sour, some barrel, tart and lots of fruit, berry. Medium body and sour pucker. Fantastic.

Special thanks to bman1113vr for this opportunity. Pours with a dark ruby, amber hue Aroma is of alcohol, yeast, and dark fruits. Flavor has an alcoholic beginning with a sour ending - amazing taste! Medium texture with light carbonation.

Bottle. Rich amber-ruby-brown beer with a cream colored head. Tart/sour aroma with nice currant fruitiness and some oak. Tart/sour flavor with currants, oak, and malt showing through. Medium bodied. Lingering sour/tart and some currants. Nice acetic notes. Wonderful.

RATING 4K, many thanks must go to my man SoCal Connection Jon for providing me this bottle: Rich mahogany hue with a small but lasting bubbly head in my big ole Karmeliet glassware. The aroma is pure heaven, wild berries (aka the currants), moderate lacto and brett influences, vinegar and sour milk, caramel and toast, lovely oak tannic expression, salty and smoky too. I could smell this all day. The taste is hardly a letdown, sharp acidity and fruit over a layer of caramel supported by a clean oaky finish. Well rounded and utterly refreshing, I had over half this 750 finished before writing down a word because it was so drinkable. The fruity acidity just never stops, simply the finest Sour Beer I have ever had, KNOW THAT!