Russian River Depuration

Formerly brewed at Russian River Brewing
Style: Sour Ale
Santa Rosa, California USA

Another beauty from Nor Cal, a honey color with a small eggshell white head. A tangy acidic farmyard scent with traces of grape sweetness. Lambic like tartness, a very wine-like flavor, a good chioce for Sour Beer fans!

Batch 01 - Deep golden body, slightly hazy, some bubbles, huge Champagne like head; Incredible nose, deep, complex and with a rarely seen balance, lots of all kind of apple aromas with a deep and fresh yeast citrus peel touch; Perfect a little sharp carbonation in a perfect textured body, super balanced with a mild both lactic and acetic bite, if the body was a little more present/ upfront it would be perfect; Long great finish with a super balanced late acid bite that slowly moves in, lots of apple aromas, there might even be a little Chardonnay peel present. AMAZING beer, by far the best of the RR’s sours, actually the best US sour I have had, actually the first serious US contender on the sour scene.

Batch 2. Bottle shared with piscator34. Pours out a hazy light orange with a fluffy head. Smell is woody, some funk and some grapes. Taste- sourness is subtle- more citrus tart than huge sourness. The grapes keep it medium bodies and impart interesting flavour,. Doesn’t have the big punch of say supplication, but is very nice in its own right. High carbonation as expected. Very drinkable and I wish I had more.

As I get close to 1000 ratings, I figured I would do something special for the countdown - #998 is a nice 98th percentile brew that I was able to obtain when RR was still doing beer-by-mail. Golden color with a medium, slightly foamy white head. Aroma is dominated by light grape essence and lots of wood - also picking up some citrus and Brett (Somewhat reminiscent of CdC). Flavor has a nice grape/citrus/wood taste that mixes well with the brett - not over the top sour, just barnyard-ey and pretty tasty. Mouthfeel is nice with a pleasant, lasting tingle. Doesn’t really come close to Cuvee de Castleton, but its still a damn good brew, just like everything else I’ve had from Russian River. Woodiness reminds me somewhat of Jolly Pumpkin Oro. A good one that I hope they release again soon!

Bottled sample via oakbluff. Gold in colour with moderate carbonation. Aromas of funk, white grapes, and a bit of lemon. Flavors of juicy white grapes (the meat of the grape, not the skins), a bit of wood, more lemon, and mild funk. More tart than sour in the mouth. Not quite as complex as some of the other sour Russian River beers that I’ve had, but very drinkable. Good stuff!

Murky deep golden ale failing to sustain a head. A strongly woody, quite musty nose focusing on woodiness and inherent wild derivatives (mushroom, earth, dust…). Compared to its predecessor (Castleton), this felt a bit less clean, less citrus-forward and just foamy with its biting and expanding big bubbles. Its vinous feeling is nevertheless convincing through slight nutty, vanilla and even alcoholic nose that could be attributed to its chardonnay origins. I’m afraid I would have preferred a bit less focus on dust which, mysteriously, I seem to prefer when dealing with berries or red fruits, but the paler ones seem to benefit from a cleaner, juicier vessel. This is precisely what Temptation was doing so brilliantly.

In short: A woody blond sour ale. Rough and very good.
How: Montreal-crew sour beers tasting. Bottle from Goldorak, Batch 1, age?
The look: Almost no head on top of a cloudy golden blonde body with little particles.
In long: Far from a juicy tart sour beer this one goes into a wild dusty direction. Barrel is very apparent with a rough wood flavour. Grapes are also very apparent and even feel a little ranked. Grainy malts, dusty yeast, dry critrus skin, a little corky. Overall the beer felt rather dry and rough. Pleasantly dry and rough. Medium tartness and sourness. Wild/lively but not funky per say. We had this one right after the Cuvée de Castleton because we thought they would be similar (sour ales aged in barrels with grapes) but they turned out to be total opposites. Another good brew from this truly excellent brewery. Now who’s the marketing genius behind the name Depuration? I understand that Russian River beers will sell like hot-cakes regardless of the name and they have this xyzation thing going, but comon… Depuration! Geez… Defecation was already taken? What’s next? Russian River Ovulation?

Batch 001, I’m almost certain I got this during my trip to California, but I may have gotten it through a trade...

Had an orangey hue and a really weak ring of lace.
Sultanas is what first hit me in the aroma, then the barrel like vanilla and woody flavors came next, with a slight amount of cork to give it a good "aged" smell.
A pleasing soft caramel with a few vanilla beans, a bit of alcohol and a slight acidity gives it a white wine flavor profile, Chardonnay wouldn’t have been my first guess, but probably in my top 3. The body was a bit thinner than I would have liked, but the aftertaste is long and strong, and it’s where the wild yeast really had the biggest impact. Not my favorite "-ation" from Russian River, but most definately an enjoyable one!