Russian River Deviation (Bottleworks IX)

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

Nose is strong with apple peels and a deep earthiness. Pours a lucid light amber. Taste is sour, nice light hay, slightly spicy, musky, turns tart on the back end and finishes with a sour apple taste. Very dynamic flavor profile.

Bottle at Liquid Sunshine. Wow. Just wow. What an utterly heart-stoppingly brilliant beer. Very opulently sour, and yet still juicy, like a ripe peach, or apple, or pear. Incredibly aromatic, citrus, oak, berries and cherries, and so young and sweet smelling, and yet so funky... I haven’t begun to talk about half of what is happening in this beer. Words cannot describe, you just have to taste it for yourself.

Poured a hazy golden red color with a small, white head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of brett, funk, light citrus, bread, oak, cheese, and some green apple. Taste of more brett, strawberries, cherry skins, light vanilla, oak, a bit of toffee, and a dry, sour finish.

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!!!

Bottle shared by beastiefan2k... many thanks. Pale blonde cloudy beer. Opalescent appearance. Aroma is awesome with rich pale malt and a light funky vanillaish character. A bit of lovely grapey sweetness. Very soft flavour with a rich tapioca/rice pudding vanilla sweetness. As it warms up the soft funkiness really picks up with a great wild horseyness over the rich clean pale malt. Some mint and a fantastic pale malt character. Lingering apricot fruitiness. This beer is delicious... a great way to end a fantastic tasting.

This has to be one of my favorite RR beers so far. So much complexity. Aroma is huge sourness and tart fruit, wood, alcohol and some sour apple and grapes. Taste is amazing. Sourness upfront and throughout. Puckering goodness and not too dry but enough. Sweet tart and some barrel. Delicious.

Bottle from 5000. Rating #1600. Hazy pale, peach body with a medium-sized white head that fades to a lasting cover. Big, funky citrus nose with lots of grapefruit, lemon, cheese, horseblanket and cobwebs. Moderately sour, lightly sweet taste with pithy, citrus rinds, yogurt, melon, light cotton candy and apples. Medium body is round with moderate carbonation. Finish is long with a lasting acidity and a pithy bitterness. This is bringing back memories of Cable Car and Cuvee de Castleton. Lovely!

Recently tried a bottle of this at a sours tasting. Colour... very cloudy, amber suspension. Nose... acetic, crisp, pungent vinegar. Palate... POW! BAM! This ale makes you pucker up like you been eatin’ green persimmons! Time for an acetic, ascorbic, oaky, brett filled ride on the Grand Funky Railroad! Sour City! Next station stop, Sour City! Toot, toot!!