Russian River Perdition

750 ml bottle shared with sammy and hyde. sammy’s bottle. my first russian river brew and truely something i wasnt expecting ever to be able top try. thanks sammy for opening the one. pours deep amber with a lovely tan head. very comple aroma. pale malts with some sour aspects. belgian qualities poke out through the nose here and there. i really dont think i could put any style to this one. flavour are woody, some brett that has really drawn quite a bit from the barrel, hops that i wasnt expecting. very very easy to drink but the layers of flavours and complexity were mind blowing. thanks again sammy!

Batch 003, shared with Chris from thebeergeek.com at City Beer, SF. Almost opaque, rusty red with a ton of suspended sediment. Light aroma of raisins. Almost rich and warming, yet mild and a balanaced beer of drinkability. Fruity while being dark and mysterious. Delicious. After the Lost Abbey, it’s clear who rules the Belgian roost in California ... RRiver! (#3409, 4/11/2008)

750 mL bottle, corked & caged (Batch 001, fresh):Gorgeous mahogany with a very generous ivory cream. Iron flavoured spices and a balancing toasted malt presence make for a deeply complex aroma with black pepper, bitter honey and wonderful floral accents…roasted grains fill the mouth and the creamy and smooth palate is a perfect match. Bright, lemony qualities on the back of the tongue before getting wrapped up by sweet bubblegum. Great beer!

Clear amber red color with good retention. Clove, spice, cardamom, chamomille, and other spices. Taste is bready and has much of the same things noticed in the nose. Higher than medium carbonation with light body; dry finish. Very good beer, I could drink tons of this.

Sampled March 2007 at Father’s Office, Santa Monica CA
This beer sits in the tulip glass with a brilliantly clear, lightly burnt, reddish amber color (it is a bit dark for something associated with Pale Ale, but certainly no darker than many American Style Pale ales). The head starts out a good finger in height, and has an amber tinged, tan color to it and it lingers on for quite some time (a solid visual presentation from the tap). The aroma is a nice mix of spice and fruit character and this is certainly an enjoyable brew to linger over the nose for a while. I get aromatic notes of prunes, cloves and raisins.

The taste is quite nicely integrated. It is a mix of spicy hops, earthy-spice driven fermentation character as well as a nice fruitiness from both malt and fermentation. I get flavors of caramelized apples, pears and a touch of raisins. It is actually quite fruity at times as this is the most noticeable flavor contributor. The finish is dominated by an earthy spiciness that is reminiscent of an almost peaty-coriander character with a touch of clove. This is not really sweet, yet still manages to evoke an concentrated fruit character of figs, raisins, prunes and perhaps even some cherry notes. When coupled with a goat cheese gratinee, the beer actually picks up a bit of sweetness, which accentuates a still bright, yet sweeter fruitiness.

This is really the quintessential quaffing brew. I am really enjoying my glass of this brew and I am wishing that I had easy access to this on a regular basis. The stand out for me is how well integrated and layered the flavors are here; nothing screams at you here, but still it is a very interesting brew without taking away from this being such an easy drinking beer fit for a happy afternoon session among friends.