Russian River Consecration

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

Batch 001X2: Garnet. Voluminous dirty-white head condenses into a tight steadfast cream. Cohesive fusion of raspberry, red licorice, bright cabernet and plastery yeast aromatics. Fairly sherbety with a dab of iron, leather, medicine, airy phenols and tobacco. Nary a whisper of alcohol. Densely carbonated. Gentle sting of alcohol briefly quells the initial irony-laden tartness. Quite hollow and airy at the center, with the snappy brett-derived phenols and gritty-iron-clasp displacing the curiously ghostlike malt. Clean yet merely suggestive pale malts take on some strawlike bounce toward the finish, but fail to impart any substantial heft or depth along the way. Fairly simplistic due to the prevalent iron-tinged lacto twang and nonexistent malt sweetness. Juicy smack of currants dovetails with the raspy iron and coarse mineralic bite, though due to the rampant, unchecked tartness, the fruit character is largely reminiscent of dried strawberries, unripe plums and peaches rather than boasting a deep, fresh-picked succulence. Oak graces the palate with a dusty dryness, but is otherwise muted. Steadily wavering notes of Band-Aid and crunchy phenolics succumb to the pervasive lacto twang and faint medicine. Closes with a fluffy dollop of pale malt, though with a slightly clashing tart and gritty mixture of iron, medicine, leather, minerals and unripe fruit. Darn, was really hoping the bottle conditioning would impart additional nuance and send this into the realm of otherworldliness. I find this to be marginally superior – namely in mouthfeel and appearance – to the draft version I tasted six months ago. While this is certainly skillfully crafted and refined, as are all of Vinnie’s bottled creations, this is in dire need of some soft, full, sweetish malts to both complement the pale malts while cushioning the mineralic briskness, slight astringency and one-dimensional acidity.

Thanks fogdog for the share. Pours red-brown with an off-white head. Nose is vinegar, reminiscent of Duchess de Bourgone, dark cherries, and spice. Flavor is vinegar, funk, dark cherry, dark fruit, plum, and tart sour cherries. Very tart, excellent.

Thanks to John C in a trade.Pours a dark red with a small beige head. The head diminished quickly. The aroma was full of sour cassis with strong alcohol notes. There was also some wood present. I really enjoyed the aroma. It was medium bodied with a wonderful sourness. Quite nice on the palate. Overall a really nice beer.

Rating #800. Bottle, courtesy fogdog. Dark brandy red pour, white film of lacing sheen on the glass, and no head. Nose starts sweet, with dark plums and cherries, big tart and brown sugar, with some spicy cider notes that blend quite well. Flavor has lots of dark fruit, plum, apricot, sweet full finish of tart apples and other crisp notes. The oak gives everything a nice frothy shower of flavor. Very balanced, full-bodied, delicious, and really just another fine example of a world class beer from Russian River. They can do no wrong.

750 ml bottle from Freddy. Pours a murky amber-brown with a small beige head that quickly dissipates. The aroma is strong with berries, wine, spicy oak, and funk. The flavor is complex with sour cherry pits, berries, lots of oak, red wine(merlot or cab), vanilla and caramel. The mouthfeel is silky smooth with lively carbonation. The finish is long and dry with lingering complex tart flavors. Overall: This is an impressive sour, but its really not worth the high price tag; a good beer, but a poor value.

tap at toronado, dark red with minimal head. strong winey sourness aroma. very strong sour flavors, with hints of red wine and oak. assault on the palate, dry at first then it leaves your mouth watering wanting more. boozy and thick once it warmed up a little. the currants are barely noticable with the prescence of such strong sourness.

Bottle shared by Bstil and Eyedrinkale, thanks guys. Pours a dark mahogany with a thin lacing. Currants, and raspberry. Light woodinesss with a tart dry woodiness and low acidity. A moderate etoh warming slips out in the finish. I had another bottle with strasko last night and i would have rated it a 4.0, but hey why bother changing it.

on bottle at toronado and stone. very smooth and mild sour aroma and taste, almost cherry like with the aged currants.