Russian River Consecration

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

Kudos to cloudskipper for this mega-dank brewski! 750cl, poured into a crystal snifter. Pours a completely opaque, very deep crimson colour, almost like a stout. The head is beige, puffy, and mostly lasting. The nose is musty, dirty, and slightly acetic, with strong notes of oak, vanilla, ceder, cherry, black currants and horse blanket. The funk is not as predominant in the nose as I anticipated. The flavour, however, brings forth a kick a strongly acetic, bretty, and tart sourness that overwhelms the senses. The finish is salty and tart, but in a citric way. The currants create a delicate balance that makes sour, lemony quality a bit toned down. The alcohol is definitely a substantial part of a flavours, though it isn’t a bad thing somehow. The mouthfeel is airy, and the light, yet spritzy carbonation makes up most of the body, though it does coat nicely at the end of every sip.

This was on draft and though it was so amazing I bought a bottle to take home. It came a deep rich ruby red with a medium white head with pink tinges in the bubbles and light lacing. The nose is very strongly of ripe frutis like berries and cherries. Very wild on the tongue and lively in the mouth by not unpleasantly so. Flavor shows some sour notes which is amazing when mixed with all the sweet flavors. Light bitterness in the dry finish. I was simply blown away by how much fun the was to drink, and am looking forward to sharing the bottle with friends.

Bottled, drank for my bday. Deadish brown pour with a minimal head. Carbonation is not lacking, though. The aroma is surprisingly vegetal, actually kind of thin and lacking, with some olive and smoke notes. Not sour in the nose. There is in the flavor, for sure, but the currant notes don’t blend especially well with the sour — as is often the case — and we are left with a beer that tries to bridge two kinds of beverage and doesn’t do so particularly well. There is just little agreement between the sourness and the fruity wine notes. Certainly this is not a bad beer by any stretch of the imagination, but for now I’ll happily stick with Vinnie’s other sour offerings.

This poured a dark ruby red color with basically no head at all. Aroma was very sour, dark fruits and currants, and some funk barnyard aromas too. Flavor is puckeringly sour, but this does not cover up all of the awesome sour dark fruit and citrus flavors/ A great beer.

On tap at Deep Ellum. Arrived with a dark ruby body with a thin spotty head that kept disappearing and replenishing itself. The nose is sweet and tart like freshly washed blackberries and pomegranite. The body has this amazing tangy and tart feeling that lets the suble currant flavors dance around on your tongue. I tasted subdued notes of balsamic vinegar, currant, blackberries, pomegranite and raspberries. This beer was just so amazing. Every aspect was understated and simple and the flavors really grow the more you drink. I had three glasses... delicious!

Bottle Alaskanwarren opened up for my Denver visit. Thanks Brian! Leather brown, modest tan head. Very strange sort of funk to the nose. Anise, old fashion linament, a dry viney sort of smell, raisins, minty alcohol. Not a particularly inviting smell. Now the flavor, that is something else entirely. A big opening of green plum flavor, surrounded by nice peppery wood and mouthwatering tartness, like the snap of a just under-ripe cherry, lemon on the lips in the finish. Absurdly refreshing for a 10% beer. Odd disconnect between taste and smell, but overall a very fine beer.

12 ounce sample on tap at the brewpub. Bretty, funky, fruity aroma with some dried fruits...almost cherry-like, but likely currants. There is also some anise and light sweetness present in the nose. This is pretty aromatic and rather pleasant. Transparent mahogany body with a small off-white head and fair lacing present. Starts tart, sour, funky, with some brett and other bug flavors. Becomes more fruity with pitted fruits in the middle. Finishes pretty dry with some weird woody, cardboard flavors late, which is kind of off-putting. Ethanol is hidden well, if this is really 10%

I was a little upset when I popped the cork on this one and a quarter of the bottle came spilling out onto the floor. This is extremely lively. It has a beautiful dark ruby brown color with a light brown fizzy head that climbs high, then dissapears. The aroma is not too complex, with cranberries, rasberries, currants, sour cherries and wood. The taste is mouthwateringly sour and effervescent, with the same flavor of tart fruit, mainly berries. As my first sour ale, this reminds me of a very sophisticated red wine spritzer, only with more depth due to the wood aging, medium body, and mild bitterness at the end. I would love to pair this beer food.