Russian River Salvation

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

from old rating notes: on tap at Brouwer’s Cafe in seattle before Fremont Oktoberfest. mahogany pour with a big frothy head and tons of stick. light floral aroma. good yeasty belgian taste - dark fruits, light bitterness. awesome creamy medium texture. K7.5

Bottle courtesy of jdubfl. Pours a dark cola brown with thin white head. Aroma is sweet and malty with notes of figs, ripe dark fruit, yeast, caramel, some candy sugar, raisins, some hints of chocolate and spice. Flavor is sweet and malty with notes of candy sugar, ripe dark fruit, light floral esters, yeast, some hints of caramel and banana. Generally medium body with a pleasing malty finish.

On tap at RR. Cloudy/hazy brown color. Aroma is malts, sweet fruit, banana, raisin, and spice, and flavor is along the same lines. Very light yeast. Excellent representation of the style.

Pours a beautiful hazy tan with a thick, fizzy off-white head. Citrus and malty aroma that includes some banana and clove. Wonderful citrus blend of flavors that is accented by banana, coriander, and all spice. In the early sips, there is a bit of a sour cherry aftertaste. The roasted malt becomes more predominant as the beer warms. I was very impressed.

Bottle from my brohter, Buffalohead, Batch 005. Clear copper under a dense, rocky, tan head with outstanding lace. Complex dark fruits, dates raisins, figs up front in the aroma, folooes by caramel and some subltw spice. Medium body, slightly syrupy, soft carbonation, a nicely rich palate. Lots of sweetness starts quickly, but a gentle spicy bitterness is sufficient enough to bring on a balanced finish.

On tap at the Russian River Brewpub. Pours a deep orange amber body with lots of swirling lace after a dense, finger-width, off-white head dissipates slowly. Aroma of fudgy caramels, plums, spicy citrus, banana and sweet Belgian yeast, a light toasted brown sugar, cloves and cinnamon, and a touch of spicy licorice. The flavor is similar and just as complex in a slick, light body. Wonderful balance as all the flavors jump out during separate sips. A little more spicing than the aroma with lots of sweet malts all coming together before a tart and dry finish. Lingering flavors of dark toffees, plums, lemons, and spices last for quite awhile. Overall, a very impressive beer. Lots of complex aromas and flavors with a great balance. They all seem to come together nicely and go down very easily. Great beer.

Pours a hazy amber with a nice off white head that was creamy for a bit. Smells of figs and plums and sweet malt and some pice on the linger. Medium body with a very smooth finish. Flavor was killer.. Raisins and plums and sugar and oddly enough I got some type of earthy tones on the back end. Wish I could pin point it more.. It was not oak or smoke but earthy and very cool!! There was some spice and maybe a hint of pepper.. I would have no issue knocking this tasty treat down again!

Bottle of batch 8 (I think 2 and 3 made appearances, but I only tried the 8 after a few others mentioned that 3 had oxidized) at the “Drink for Charity” event at Rattle & Hum. Pours a nice hazy dark brown with a thin tanned beige head. Nice bit of funkiness and some sweet prune notes. More prune and plum flavors. Finishes light and crisp with a little bit of sweet malt.