Russian River Deviation (Bottleworks IX)

Bottle... O-Town/Vero Beach Throwdown Part 8... This beer rocks!... Murky caramel-colored ale with a small, fizzy, white head. Funky, acidic aroma delivers citrus fruit, leather and horseblanket. Full-bodied and creamy with soft carbonation. Fantastic balance. Just enough residual sugar to keep the extreme acidity in check and smooth out any rough edges. Tannic, tangy finish. Thanks to Beershine and Oakes for sharing this world class beer!

#1600!! Courtesy Oakes and Beershine. Thanks for sharing guys! Pours a gorgeous dark orange, with a small, swirly, light off white head. The aroma is a beautiful mix of tart tannic fruits, acidity, and mild funk. I got some apple in there as the most prominent citrus character. The flavor blends these features almost perfectly. Definitely sour, but not overly so, which enabled me to pull out the soft fruity essence of the beer. Great balance for a sour brew I thought. The acidity wasnt over the top, and this had some great flavor. I need to get more! Killer!

(BCTC, 750ml, thanks kramer) Medium off-white head with murky amber body. Aroma is medium sweet, funk, lemon/cherry, light caramel. Taste is medium sweet, lemon, yeast/funk, wood, light cherry. Light-medium body, light acidity.

Courtesy Oakes and Beershine. Copper with a bit of off white foam. Barn funk, tart acidity, tree resin, and citric notes on top of a soft, lightly bready grain base. Medium body, just a bit more carbonated than balanced, but it works with the flavor profile. Excellent.

750 ml bottle generously shared by Justin for the 7/18 tasting in OC. Nose of peppery spice and lemon zest... Flavor seems to be dominated by the sonambic component...very grainy, spicy, peppery, a touch of oak in the late finish. For whatever reason, this beer comes off all too harsh for me and quite unenjoyable. Definitely not in the group of better sours for me. To each his own...

750ml bottle. Thanks to miketd for sharing. Aroma: Cherries (both fruit and pits), grapes, cheese, slight barnyard, lemon, oak, and floral. Tartness in the aroma a sign of things to come. Appearance: Golden/orange in color and slightly hazed. White head was small and foamy with good retention. Fair lacing. Flavor: Light malt sweetness gives way to funk and tart. Really tart. Lemon, orange, cherries, green grapes, slight cheese, dusty/barnyardy, oak, and floral. Really dry finish with a mineral note in the aftertaste. Palate: Medium bodied. Medium carbonation. Overall: I drank this and Isabelle Proximus in the same night, and I can’t pick a favorite from the two. They’re both delicious.

Bottle. A hazy amber beer with a big white head. Fruity, grape, piny and acid and sour aroma and taste. Medium body with a dry acid finish.

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.