Russian River Dead Leaf Green

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

This is a very good, very tasty, and beautiful English Pale Ale. It has a good, golden-amber colour with a beautifully thick, foamy white head leaving excellent, almost perfect, and rich lacing. The taste is toasty and floral, with a bitter element and it is very well balanced. The carbonation is noticeable but it’s not overcarbonated or fizzy. Ultmately, it is tasty and very drinkable.

On-tap at the brewpub. Pours dark amber with a moderate white head, sheet lace. Smells complex and sweet. Dark and sweet hoppy with caramelly malt scents as well. Tastes sweet and dark hoppy, caramelly malty sweet. Hops are sweet and earthy and slightly resiny. Medium body, good carbonation.

Tap at obriens 15th annv, though this sounded interesting, turned out to be a very fine brew. Rich color, leaf green flavors as noted in the name. Not overly complex but enjoyable. Would love to see this in 6 pack. Great texture.

growler pours a beautiful deep amber with a nice white head that retains really well and leaves good lace. very nice nose combines a deeply toasty nose, with light cocoa notes, overlayed with floral hoppines. well-balanced flavor balances complex malt notes with solid bitterness and nice hop flavors. very nice American interpretation of an "ESB".

tap at memphis taproom/Philadelphia- Best nose out of any beer ever. Hops smell so incredibly fresh. totally green, hempy, cannibus smell, really fresh smelling hops. resinous. tasted more mild with a sticky mouthfeel. herbacious taste. very, very good beer. the herbaciousness was the most appealing character.

On tap at the brewery. Pours a rich, bronze-ish caramel color, transparent, with an amazing head of fizzy white foam. One of the most impressive heads I’ve ever seen, this one formed a huge dome puffing out the top of my glass, lasting an incredibly long time thanks to the steady stream of carbonation flowing up from the bottom of the glass. Aroma of graham cracker malts and lightly sweet caramel, balanced by some herbal, earthy, lotus leaf hops. Light bodied with a shimmering carbonation to caress the tongue. Chewy malt flavors of graham cracker and some mild cinnimon spice. The hops are quite earthy, but in a delectable way; very aptly named. Dry, herbal, tea-like hop cleansing in the final smack.

Sampled at Russian River in mid-June 2007. Deep clear copper with a white head. Toffee and cascade/floral hops in the nose. Flavor has notes of toasted caramel, pine, grapefruit citrus/cascade hops. Tastes like a quaffable mixture of an English Bitter and an American Pale Ale. Medium bodied with moderate carbonation - smooth texture. I really liked this one.

First of all, this is an English Pale Ale. This was also the only beer I wanted more of after having the sampler. The odds of that happening are improbable. The aroma here is very light, a touch of caramel/toasted malts, floral type hops if you really search. The flavor is completely unique. I can’t decide if it’s a new English hop, or a wet hop English beer. However, I can’t see that happening. The flavor is very similar to a pile of raked autumn leaves... except in a good way... just how horseblanket is used as a good flavor descriptor. This leafy floral taste was unlike anything I have ever had. The body is medium, the bitterness is low but detectable. Who would have thought I would have found an EPA to be the most interesting beer at RR?