Russian River Damnation Batch 23/46 (Oak Aged)

Brewed by Russian River Brewing
Style: Abbey Tripel
Santa Rosa, California USA

Bottle, courtesy of Eclectic. Glowing clear yellow with a white head. Grassy noble hops and oak in the nose, floral. Pretty sweet, lots of pale malt, then oak, lemon and some pear. No clovey, phenolic banana character. Some herbal hop presence. Full-bodied with moderate carbonation, not crisply carbonated. Nice beer but I prefer the standard Damnation.

Bottle sampled on 9/15/07: Pours a transparent deep golden with a wispy-lacing white head. Aroma of earthy musty oaky, doughy and sweet caramely Belgian malt and yeast. Body starts fairly full and malty with good grassy slightly funky complexity and nice oaky woody balance toward a slightly warming enjoyable finish. Very nice and quite drinkable.

(11/3/07, 750ml bottle, thanks eclectic) Small off-white head, hazy straw body. Aroma is medium sweet, floral, yeasty, light brett. Taste is medium sweet, yeast, lemon, floral, alcohol warming. Medium-full body, moderately creamy, light acidity.

Body is a dark, murky amber with a fleeting fizzy head. Aroma of a musty cellar, notes of spice, herbs, charred wood, sweet malt. Light carbonation, oily mouthfeel. Flavor was woody and musty. Did not care for this one.

A little bit of sourness in the aroma, a lot of spices, but nothing overwhelming. Just smells like a yummy beer. Taste is initially a little sour, but develops into a spicy, sweet, not really-complex-but-good beer. Finish is a little cloying and spicy. Oh yeah, I forgot about the oak. The oak finishes well, but is not overwhelming, just adds some dryness to the beer. This beer is very solid.

Brought to the Champaign Urbana Beer Club November meeting. Thanks to Tom S. for passing along the bottle to me through his friend. Notes of lemon zest and hay on the nose lead into candied peel, honey, chamomile, ginger, sour cherry, and a touch of toasty oak. It’s certainly solid and flavorful, but the finish was lacking as was the mouthfeel. Good, not overwhelming.

Bottled sample via my friend Trevor, and tasted side-by-side with the regular Damnation. Aromas of red licorice, vanilla, and apricot. More red licorice and vanilla in the mouth, along with notes of almond, citrusy hops, and alcohol. A bit heavier in the mouth than the regular Damnation, and with a light sour citrus note.

bottle at the not so aptly named "An Evening w/ Pantanap #1"...appearance: orange-brown pour with a fluffy white head....aroma: yeasty with fruity esthers. citrusy and bready....taste: sweet candied sugar, vanilla, and subtle spice notes. much sweeter than expected which detracted from my enjoyment of th beer.