Russian River Deviation (Bottleworks IX)

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

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.

A huge thanks to psprings for bringing this out to hellbillys tasting. Poura a hazy buddy brown with a small white head. Aroma is sour, yeast, fruits. Flavor is sour acidic dusty citrus, oak, apple. Nice sour, thanks Paul!

Bottle (via trade with 5000). Poured cloudy bronze, capped with a moderate sized white head. Beautiful aroma - primarily tart, with nuances of oak, citrus (especially orange), apricot, leather and wild yeast. On the palate, funky barnyardy flavors interact nicely with fruit flavors like orange rind, apricot, and lemon. The complex flavor is further complimented by notes of wild yeast, wood, leather, and earthy herbs. Dry, sour finish. The beer is incredibly drinkable; it’s satisfies my love of sourness, but it doesn’t take the acidity over the top. Another world-class wild ale from RR. Thanks for the trade, André!!!

Rate #300! Big thanks to Beershine and Oakes for sharing a bottle of this. Pours light caramel in color with small white head. Nice sour, acidic aroma. Flavor is sour and citrusy with a good amount of funkiness. Light to medium body with lively carbonation. Excellent beer.

Sampled compliments of Pepsican. Pours a cloudy golden color with some floaties. The aroma is interesting it’s got a great funky barnyard character but there is a soapiness that I almost never find in sours, it’s not a bad thing it just caught me right off guard. The flavor is wonderfully sour with notes of oak an some citrus that works with the sourness to give some great lemon flavors. Notes of cherry and good yeast, pretty acidic but an absolute pleasure. Thanks Andy.

Served from a 750mL bottle that Roger picked up for me at BottleWorks. Appearance is a barrel hued golden brown with a good amount of bubbling effervescence. The aromas and flavors are rich oaked tartness, lemon, wood, Brett. The mouth is dry with a moderate puckerness and a light burn from the oak. An excellent sour for sure!

Bottle @ WTF OMG! Pours a hazy orange. Nose is tart fruit, lemonade, sour apples, lactic acid, vinegar, chardonnay. Flavor is dry white wine, sour grapes, sour apple, lemon, citrus, wood, funk, sweet sugar. Excellent beer! Real glad I got to try this.

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.