 jarspag (593), Los Angeles, California, USA
Sep 17, 2007 Updated: Feb 20, 2009Big J-Nizz pulled in this batch 002 goodie for the d-metal Saturday (9-15) afternoon haze. This was the starter - not bad eh? One of my fav. sours to date. The brett influence was elegant and subtle - as was the barrel. All around - a great contemplative, complex, "beg for the next sip" type of brew. MMMMMMMM!
hapjydeuce (763), Del Mar, California, USA
Sep 16, 2007 Updated: Jul 31, 2008375mL bottle, Batch 002 from the cellar list at Toronado in San Francisco. Hazy, opaque orange color with a fine head that fades into a light film. Lace subsides towards the end of the glass. Sour cherries and brett yeast funk are dominant in the aroma, backed by malt and a wine nose imparted by the Pinot barrels. Very smooth brown ale presence that slides right into a near-perfect balance of cherry tart and sour brett yeast finish. The oak wood and earthy tones linger on the palate behind the sourness. Great brew...this must age beautifully!
Ughsmash (3978), Waukesha, Wisconsin, USA
Sep 15, 2007 Bottled, Batch 002. Poured medium caramelly-orange with a short cap of off-white head and a light ring. The aroma picked up lots of extra-tart cherries and vinous notes with a substantial toasted oak presence.. sour with very intricate (yet full) barrel influence. The flavor was all over the sour cherry and oak flavors... skins and pits with plenty of Brett and white wine influence.. sour oak and cherries still through the finish. Mouth-puckering tartness on the palate and grainy at times with a wonderful tart cherry finish. Great beer!
beastiefan2k (1590), Lawrence (formely NYC), Kansas, USA
Sep 5, 2007 Updated: Jul 27, 2008Batch 2 from Schroppfy. Such a thick looking red, lightly orange, color with a small but strong head, No clarity whatsoever. Aroma is a thick cocoa sourness, very sour, and strong brett. Taste is sweet cherries with sourness, orange, and a good acidity. Leaves a long dry aftertaste. 9/5/8/4/17
Batch 3, a little different, I am also consuming it younger. A lot more straight up brett and sour. Taste has aceto but I miss the "cherry" and "cocoa" that I have gotten in the other batch. 8/4/8/4/17.
DarkMagus (433), San Jose, California, USA
Sep 3, 2007 Pours a somewhat fizzy orange/reddish/brownish/amber color with a slightly pink foamy head on top (that fades away very quickly). Sour cherries are predominant in the aroma along with some oaky woodiness, some slight citrus, some very funky brettanomyces/lactobacillus character, a strange musty shoe-leatheriness, and a very slight hint of vinegar. Very pungent and intense sour cherry flavors with a lot of the promised oak character. No trace of the vinegar that I detected in the aroma. Seriously just overwhelmingly SOUR and funky with a huge sour cherry candy flavor. I drank this so fast just because it was so damn GOOD. Lots of carbonation--prickly and fizzy and champagne-like on the tongue Pleasantly syrupy mouthfeel that completely dried up in a super tart/acidic finish. Pretty much perfect. Hugely complex, yet all of the elements were well-balanced. Couldn’t really take my time and savor this one, just too addictive and mouthwateringly tasty. Completely amazing stuff.
Floback (333), Naples, Florida, USA
Sep 2, 2007 Muchos gracias to SoLan for sharing this brew that is currently unavailable here in Florida. Poured an orange-ish maroon with hefty lace. WHOOO---can smell this beer a mile away!! Impressions from the nose trick me into thinking this is a lambic. Huge, I mean HUGE tonsil-biting sour yeast here. This is the Brettanomacron of beer, cuz this kills! Yes, that’s Brettanomyces mixed with Necronomacon. Look it up on Wikipedia. Tastes, besides the sourload, are incredibly tart cherry, small malt, yogurt, bagel n’ cream cheese, and wood. High carbonation, full-bodied. The cherry is long-lasting on the palate. I love Russian River brews and look forward to when we can get them in FL again. Amazing and sinister.
kp (8400), Woodstock, Georgia, USA
Sep 1, 2007 Updated: Mar 8, 2009
Date: January 27, 2006
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting, Cask Eve, 2006
Appearance: opaque orange, thin whispy head
Aroma: sweet cherry aroma with a nice touch of funk
Flavor: huge tart cherry pit flavor approaching on sour, lots of nice funk
Date: December 25, 2007
Mode: bottle
Vintage: batch 002
Appearance: opaque burnt orange, big dense beige head, bits of lace
Aroma: big tart cherry aroma with lots of woody character
Flavor: lots of tart cherry flavor, balanced with strong oak, dry and tart, underlying chocolate malt provides a good base for the wood and tart fruit
Date: February 20, 2009
Mode: bottle
Source: tasting
Vintage: batch 003
Aroma: woody tart aroma, developing musty funk
Flavor: big tart flavor, puckering tartness, light sweet fruityness adds some balance to the big tartness, oak adds a touch of balancing bitterness
Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.3/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **+/4
mikey (336), farmington, Utah, USA
Aug 31, 2007 Poured a pale ruby color with a thin but sturty pinkish cap. The nose was complex with cherry, oak, vanilla and notes of vino. The taste starts with a sour cherry bite. The oak from the nose is next, but bearly noticableon the tongue. The end had a tart and slight merengue taste along with a musty pinot smack. The red wine influence and woody dryness really comes across in the finish. The feel was medium/light in body, quite dry and tart. This was a really nice, easy drinking Ameri-lambic. It’s a little pricy at $11, but well worth checking out. A gem of an ale from Russian River.
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