Russian River Deviation (Bottleworks IX)

Review #300! On tap at the brewpub for Russian River’s 4th anniversary. The blackboard describes it as a sour brown ale, but this is much different than an oud bruin. Pours amber in color with a bit of haze. Nice off-white head that leaves some wet wisps of lacing. Aroma is sour and appley, much like a good cider. Vinous tartness and gueuze-like barnyard funk. Flavor starts off with a rush of white wine fruitiness and sharp apple cider, then acutely takes a turn for the sour. Lemon and sour berry melt into a semi-dry woody finish. Great complexity. Mouthfeel is lively and the carbonation really sticks the sourness to your palate. Wonderful beer, yet another sour masterpiece from RR.

750ml bottle. Pours cloudy, dark orange with a thin white head, decent retention. Smells of vinegar and barnyard. Tastes slightly sour with some vinegar and hay flavors. Could be more sour for my taste. Medium body, slightly dry, almost vibrant carbonation.

(750ml bottle) Pours a lightly hazy amber body with a small off-white head. Aroma of grapefruit, leather, horse blanket, apple, and oak. Flavor of brett, citrus, caramel malt, and sour cherry with a bone dry finish. I would love to get my hands on a few more bottles of this fantastic creation.

Bottle via trade with 5000. Pours hazy orange with a small, fizzy, white head, diminishing with spare lacing. Aroma is average malt (straw, hay, meal), light hops (perfume), heavy yeast (earth, horse blanket) with notes of green apples, oak, pepper, wine, figs, and pears. Medium bodied, sticky texture, soft carbonation, and a bitter finish. Long duration, light sweetness, heavy acidity and bitterness.

Bottle thanks to 5000: Pours a slightly hazy orange bronze with a thin-lacing white head. Aroma of lightly-sweet toasty biscuity malts and an assertive fresh tart oakiness and some leathery funk. Body starts with decent fullness and a touch of lightly sweet caramel and cherries with a puckering, drier oaky earthy finish. Has some warming tartness toward the finish. Assertive, yet enjoyable. Another winner from Russian River.

Tap. Brewery. Described as a brown ale on the board, we were expecting something oud bruinish. Not so. More like Flemish red -- dry, red, sour, sour cherries, edges of cheesy funk, clean texture with soft edges in terms of effervescence and creaminess.Prominent wood. Tart of course but not extremely so. Any vinegrous component isn’t prominent. Clean, obviously well-constructed but perhaps not old enough for much of the components to blend or overlay well. I tried a few RR beers today at their 4th anniversary but this one stood out as a favorite even though I think it can and will be even better.

The body is a cloudy, glowing golden-orange color. A large, frothy, eggshell colored head shows excellent retention, leaving sticky lacing all the way down the glass. Backlit by the Florida sun, it looks like a magical elixir capable of curing the direst of illnesses. Aromas are heavy on funky oak, with a lambic-like mustiness that rivals the best that the likes of Cantillon and Drie Fonteinen have to offer. Sour apricots tantalize the nose, while an earthy, dusty note keeps things grounded. Oaky vanilla is so well integrated, it’s almost scary. The flavor is damn near perfect. Sour apricots, grapefruits, and lemons are intensely tart, but they never get out of control. A touch of soft peach lends just the right amount of sweetness to the sharp, citric fruits. Funky, funky oak and brett impart lambic must and earth throughout. Mouth puckering sourness is somehow softened by a lactic creaminess on the finish. Medium-full bodied and very finely carbonated, it is substantial feeling in the mouth and silky smooth on the swallow. This is an absolutely masterful creation. Nearly perfect.

Pours a rich and inviting copper color. Aroma is bright and lively, wood, funk, citrus, hay, earth, sourness. The flavor is an extension of the aroma, with the wood notes leading the charge. The sour notes come on through, but are never out of balance. An absolutely astounding beer.