Russian River Deviation (Bottleworks IX)

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

Bottle from miketd’s tasting

Thanks to Mike for cracking this open. I was going to bring a bottle of my own until I found out he already had acquired it (as usual). Now that I’ve had a chance to try it I will be sitting on my bottle for some time. This is one of those one time releases that you should save for a special occasion. Since it is gueuze like it should be great for years to come.

Aroma / Appearance - A thin white head was all that was visible above the clear golden body. Looking just like most top notch lambics it smelled of lemon, citrus and tartness. It doesn’t need to very complex at all to convey its intention of setting the bar high. It does a fine job of conveying its acidity already.

Flavor / Palate - Lemon, oak and citrus alternate on the tip of the tongue. An acidic dry finish attacks the throat lining pushing this very near some of the most sour beers in the world. This is even better than the Isabelle Proximus though I have to confess I wouldn’t turn down either if offered them again. Consider yourself fortunate if you find this on tap around Seattle.

Bottle. Rich amber hue, slight haze, enthusiastic foam. Joyous bretty aroma, filled with succulent wildflowers, seafoam, moonlight, and stars...soft, gently caressing mouthfeel. Leather and lace. Cherry pits ground up and served with laughter. Smooth, the sweetness on the sides of the tongue could smooth the pavement on the street. Endless complexity reveals itself like a poem, slowly capturing the attention at first then etching itself deeply into the soul. Fruit peels, rinds, and piths. Like capturing ancestral wisdom in a glass. Brilliance.

Funky, cheesey, grape-like nose coming off the cloudy orange color. Flavors were very sour and really funking cheesey. SOUR FUNKIN’ CHEEEESE!!!!!

Aroma is very sour and fruity. The beer is golden, but hazy. Flavor is sour like hell (suprise).

Hazy amber with with medium white head. Sour aroma with grapefruit, barnyard, hay and woody notes. Sour flavor with barnyard, grapefruit, leather and woody notes. Ends sour.

(Bottle 75 cl) Courtesy of KimJohansen. Pours a very hazy golden with a creamy off-white head. Tart, Brettish nose. Light in body with distinct notes of horse blanket and a dry and astringent sourish finish. 260708

80th rating of this beer kind of an early 1600th rating. 750 via trade with Suzy Suzy Suzy Suzy Suzy Suzygreenberg. 3 birds one stone, top 50, another sour rating and sharing this my pal Kaitlyn who really likes sours, so hell yeah. Also shared with her boyfriend Adam. and my girlfriend Cyn. Ok onto the beer, orange pour with an off white head. Nose is bretty and oaky and sour. Taste is very acidic with a gueze like funk, funky on the front end. Really nice mouth feel. I love santification so this makes sense why this is so good.

Bottled - tasted blind - my 1800th US beer. A hazy amber beer with a lazing beige head. The aroma is sweet malty with a very acidic note too as well as some fruit. The flavor is sweet with fruity notes - primarily of peaches as well as some notes of grapefruit, and a strong acidic note, leading to a tart finish.