Russian River Supplication

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

I hope nobody minds this placeholder rating for the purposes of the DD Top Ten list. l’ve got a real rating somewhere, and l’ll enter it one of these days, but for now l hope it’s enough to say that this is one of my very favorite beers ever. Batch 001 and its Pinot-focused bliss, of course. Batches 002 and 003, while good beers, mostly just make me sad.

Bottle Batch 3: (Thanks golubj!) Pours a deep hazy copper with the slightest pink hue and a pillowy off white head that retains perfectly. Aroma is amazingly complex. Oak, dust, vinous qualities, touch of leather, currant, almond notes, acetic/vinegar, earthy old wood, and some tart kriek-like qualities. The mouthfeel is crisp and creamy with a sharp cleansing character. The flavor has a powerful, Lambic-like acidity, as well as vast funkiness of cork, dried oak, sharp rind-like sourness, and a subtle almond note comes through under all the complex dryness. There is also red wine tannins, currant, leather, acetic vinous notes, cherry skin tannins, more woody character, and just a myriad of enigmatic layers of complexity into the dry, delicious finish. An unbelievable Sour Ale!

ON tap at Belmont Station in Portland, OR--Glad I saved the bottle I brought back home from San Diego--Poured a murky hazy brown-orange body with a small whitish head. Sweet fruity (cherry) nose and flavor/palate. Sticky, sharp, carbonic, tart, sour (God, was it sour!) profile. tongue dazzling with liveliness. Not so terrible.

thanks cmubeerman. batch 2 and 3 side by side. Batch 2 is really excellent - sour, funky and tart, lemony. Extremely well balanced and outwardly Russian River. Batch 3 is much more subdued, but still similar. Oily in the mouth, especially when compared to the fresh tartness of batch 2. (batch 2 = 4.3, batch 3 = 3.7). What a fun vertical.

Hazy deep orange color. Wonderfully tart aroma of sour cherry and funk. Sour cherry flavors and slight oakiness come out as it warms. Sour finish that lingers on the tongue. Love it!

Warm orangy amber with a denser small bubbled head. Sourish dry fruity salty yogurty nose. A bit tannic. Some strong cherry. Lighter carbonation, full body. dry tart yogurty fruity cherry. Some biting oaky tannins. A bit salty. Lingering small heat and fruity tannins. Really delightful joy to dirnk.

~Pours a light golden copper color with small white head. ~Scent of sour wine, citrus, oak, and cherries. ~Sour sweet taste. Similar to a cherry sweet tart. Cidery and tart, but not over bearing. ~Light feel, Quick dry finish. ~My first sour ale. I wasn’t sure what to expect. i really enjoyed this one. Wish I would have bought a bottle or two of this one to share.

Poured from the bottle into a goblet. Pours a clearish orangy-brown color with a think wispy white head. Lots of champagne type bubbles that fade quickly. I don’t know if i have ever seen a color like this before, either. WHOA- the smell is pungent. As soon as I open the beer you can get a whiff from across the room. I get a lot of vinegar, some musty red wine, some alcohol and the barnyard as well on the nose. Smell is consistenty strong throughout. Tast is similar. I get the huge pucker of the sour cherries, vinegar etc. right up front. Aftertaste mellows it quite a bit and makes it even more enjoyable. Bit of alcohol on the end. Nice champagne fizz on the mouthfeel. Fairly drinkable for the style- has a lot going on throughout the beer and my mouth is pretty puckered after this one.