Russian River Deviation (Bottleworks IX)

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

Lots of sour on the nose with some grape and a tad bit of yeasty fruit. For a quick second, there is a bit of fruit up front but then a lot of sourness sets in making it a bit difficult to pick out some of the nice subtleties that are peeking out. Finishes with a dry wine like feel with grape and a strange chewing of raw ingredients kind of feel. I really like this, big sour with a nice balance.

Aroma is lactic-sour, some eggs (sulphur), and an ineffable presence of "yellow". Okay, I really don’t want to give this a weird rating, but.... Taste is slightly sour, lemony, tart citric.... Finish is oaky-sweet. Some cherry. Lingers. Lots of salty sweat and weirdness. Overall, not as complex as I would have liked. Good, but not amazing.

Thanks to toncatcher for sharing this bottle. Awesome sour ale. Very tart, sour grape rinds. Some mild vanilla too. Excellent.

Bottle acquired through trade with Yonkers65. Thanks Bruce! Shared with Jared at his OC pad for the 7/18 D-Metal Tasting. Hazy dark gold color with a thin white head, lots of carbonation and a bit of lacing. The aroma is tart and citric with notes of lemon and damp barnyard with ginger. Extremely peppery as well. The spicy geuze-like character (from the Sonambic addition I assume) is almost overpowering the flavor. It is somewhat "hot" with acidity, but there is a pleasant oak tone underneath with a lingering nose of grains. The palate is light and carbonated with a good tingle effect. All around pretty good, but I think the use of a spontaneously-fermented component (maybe Beatification Batch 002?) may have knocked this one down for me. Drinkablility decreased as I went on for my second glass.

bottle shared by beershine and oakes, huge thanks: pours a beutiful cloudy honey colour good sized white head. aroma is is about the best i have had from RRpure RR sour, great tart, slight lemon, crabapple, damn close to perfection. flavour is great tart lemon, crabapple, fresh fruits with plenty of zest, the malt comes out at the endand is also very well done the sourness is near perfection, some grass comes in at the end just outstanding.

Rating #400! 750ml bottle, with a huge thanks to Enniskillen for this rare treat! Pours a cloudy apricot juice color with a fluffy white head that maintains a whispy cap. Aroma is more sour than funk, but both are well represented; grapefruit and lemon rind as well as some grass. Flavor is very tart and sour with more funk coming out on the finish. It’s difficult to properly describe everything going on here. One of the more complex sours I’ve had to date; drinkable, but almost too much going on here for my preferences in sours. Very well done and certainly unique, good stuff. Thanks again Chris!

750ml bottle election style. nice golden orange color, healthy head that creeps out of the bottle, awesome. Smells sour, fruit, mmmm. It tastes excellent, complex sour lemons, cherries, supplication, some funk, hint of wood. This is one of the best sours I have ever tasted, my friend only wanted a taste and I drank the whole bottle, wow! Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 11-05-2008 05:28:53 update 09/19/09 not as good as it was almost a year ago, the complexity was muddled by an overpowering sour pucker.

Notes from Hair of the Dog Dave Tasting. Pour is golden copper with small white head. Yeasty aroma with some sour funk and fruit notes too. Sour taste but not overpowering. Nicely carbonated and lasting finish.