Russian River Supplication

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

Cloudy brown pour, gushing action (god it still pisses me off SO much) with a head that rapidly dissipates. Aroma is sour cherries, some barnyard action, caramel, various other fruits, very complex. Medium bodied, great sour kick that I’m lovin. If I didn’t get half of it on my pants I woulda scored it higher.

Batch #002. Copper color with an off white head. Strong oak, caramel and earthy funk aroma. Medium body and smooth. Taste is oak and caramel quickly snuffed out by a strong tart acidic sour cherry flavor. Love that oak barnyard smell here. 367

Thanks to footbalm for sharing this one. Pours a hazy amber brown color with a tan head. Aroma is sour cherries, wood, and funky brett. Flavor is woody, tart cherries, and a dry tart finish.

Caged corked 375 ml. dark olive green bottle, description and serving suggestions on the back portion on the label, Batch 002, glassware recommendation on the cork, sampled in my Russian River tasting snifter. L: Poured carefully to keep the yeast sediment in the bottom of the bottle, hazy orangey amber with a compact beige head, fair amount of lace sticks to sides of the glass. A very impressive start. S: Caramel and brown bread, new leather, earth, wine soaked wood, a light herb spiciness, and, of course, tart, acidic sour cherries, I am really enjoying the nose on this. Everything comes through, the brown ale, the brett yeast, the barrel it was stored in, and incredibly fresh smelling sour cherries. F&T: Lightly creamy, pleasant rounded feeling in the mouth, smoothly tart and dry. Sorta of lambic like, but not really, the backbone of the brown ale is noticeable, tastes of brown bread and a pinch of caramelized sugar. Mildly tart sour cherries with a sharp, but balanced acidity. Just after the middle, tastes of carambola, oak nutty woodiness, earth and a soft spiciness emerges, giving some bite to the overall taste. Finishes with a nice tart arid dryness with lingering tastes of sour cherries and wood. Everything about this is a testament to how extremely well crafted it is, when I reach the end of the bottle, I long for more.

i wish i had bought more of thise when it was around. next time i wont make the same mistake. nice reddish pour...nice bit of funkiness in the nose with a soft oak flavor underneath of the bretty kick and some tart cherriness. this was my first sour ale months ago...and it may have ruined me for other beer styles forever.

Batch 002. Sampled 7-6-07. Pours a clouded reddish amber. Nose is a beautiful antiseptic funk. Flavor is outstanding. Crisp woody cahracter with wild, barrel aged goodness. Outstanding. Feel is smooth on liquid. Great level of carbonation. for f**ks sake is this drinkable. Obviously a work of art.

Batch 002 bottle gracefully shared by Crosling. This beer was even better than I expected. Poured a nice golden-caramel color with a thin tan head that diminished. Rising bubbles and some suspended yeast. Tart, cherry-apple aroma with undertones of oak. Wonderfully complex flavor. Sweet, smooth entry leads into a tart, semi-funky cherry and sweet apple. Oak and yeast flavors become apparent on the finish that continues changing even minutes after you swallow. Drying and semi-puckering. Spectacular, thanks again Nick.

Poured into a goblet. Orangish amber color, off-white head. Carbonation is champagney, effervescent and lively. Smells beautifully sour. Oak and cherries come out in the background but overall this smells very acidic and tart. Sweet red fruit fights for its life but the tartness takes over. Notes of cherry, wood, wine grapes, vanilla, brett. Bone dry finish. Great complexity here and a great combination of flavors. Delicate body, carbonation like champagne, very smooth and bubbly. Clearly a beer to sip but it’s very rewarding as it evolves with warmth.