Russian River Salvation

Brewed by Russian River Brewing
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Santa Rosa, California USA

Draft at Stone. Pours brown with ridges of different shades. Smell is Belgium yeast and banana. Complex flavors of sweet Belgium yeast, various dried fruit (apricot, banana). Very smooth and drinkable. Alcohol very hidden.

Bottle shared by Thickfreakness. Thanks Charles!
Pours a rich dark brownish black color wiht a beige head. Smell is bittersweet raisin, belgian yeast, and candi sugar. Taste is lightly spiced, a bit sugary and sweet with some dark dried fruity flavors. Balanced flavor for the most part with a medium mouthfeel. Very good for the style.

750ml, batch 7. Pours a dark cola brown with a firm, bubbly off-white head with very good retention and lacing. Aroma is strong. Notes of dark fruit, licorice, slight chocolate and roast, currants. Intriguing blend of aromas. I like the chocolate component of this beer, which is more prominent than others in this style. It’s almost intense enough to think of this as a blend of a Belgian Dark and some kind of stout. Taste is very similar to the aroma. Smooth, slightly chocolatey. Not so much dark fruits as a graham cracker type flavor. Rich yet somewhat dry and a quick finish. This is like if you took a Rochefort 10 and a good porter and mixed them 50/50. This is unique, drinkable, and somewhat fabulous. Of the several non-sour Belgian style beers I’ve had from Russian River, this is by far the best.

Draught at Falling Rock Taphouse, Denver. Clear brown - white head. Berries, licorice, metalliic notes, brown ale notes, yeasty, high sweetness, raisins, roasted, high malty. Lovely smooth fullbodied.

Aroma of malts and funk blend perfectly. Raisin malt funkyness, makes it simple yet very complex when you chew it over. The fruitiness / raisin flavors make for a unique beer with the Belgian yeast funk. A great beer.

On tap at the Falling Rock (post-GABF 2008). Deep mahogany red-brown. Very rich and complex, lots of sweet malt, pruney, cigar box, molasses and spice. Absolutely delicious!

Batch 005 bottle from mreusch, thanks Matt! Poured a deep brown color with some deep red edges and a pillowy beige head that faded to a layer and left nice lacing. Slightly muted aroma with some soft brown sugar, some clove spiciness, banana and raisin, and a hint of Belgian yeast. Smooth, moderately sweet entry that leads into a sweet hit of brown sugar and some soft caramel that transitions into an earthy, spicy hoppiness with some grape and fig as well as a moderate dry yeastiness on the finish. Moderate carbonation and nice mouthfeel with a decent dryness. Got much better as it warmed. Thanks again Matt!

Batch 5. Very attractive dark mahogany colored ale, with an authentically Belgian looking head that lasts and laces well. Nose lacks depth and descriptive character. Has some nice elements of dark fruit and toffee, but it lacks intensity and complexity. Batch 5 seems like it’s not a great batch.