Russian River Supplication

11 0z Bottle via RR bonus (thanks Vinnie!). Pours a clear reddish amber with an average sized beige head. Nose is sour apples & cherries. Wow this is one sour beer, the sourest i have yet had from RR or anyone for that matter. It starts tart, with some sour apples, and ends tart with some sour cherries that have oak overtones. High carbonation. Medium body. This is one funkadelic beer!

Draft, at Monk’s cafe RR dinner 1/23/07. I’ve had this a few times before, so i was excited to get a chance to try it again last night. Wow! Ruby colored, barely any head (sample was poured into my glass from a pitcher). Beautiful funky sour aroma, with cherries fairly evident. I could smell this beer all day. Tart cherrry flavor. Delicious beer; I’d love to have a few cases in my cellar. Matched beautifully with an apple glazed duck breast.

375 ml bottle batch 01 poured a clear reddish copper with a small lasting creamy amber head. Aromas of sour cherry, vanilla, oak, leather and a hint of carmel. Palate was light to medium bodied and smooth. Flavors of light soup cherry, vanilla, oak and hints of carmel and coconut with a lingering tart finish.

Roughly 12 oz bottle: Medium amberish brown w/a short lived off white head. Immediate light sour and "brett" nose. Lightly catty and barnyardy nose w/ a leathery and oaky wood aromas. Sour cherry is very light and also has a little "band aid" plasticy yeast character similar to Jolly Pumpkin. Malt character is a little bready & lightly grainy. Cherry aromas get a little stronger as it warms, and also develops some nutty malt, and do I detect a hint of chocolate? Flavor is well balanced, cherry and toasted malt flavors, not overly sour but more like mildly tart to help cut malty sweetness. Lightly dry finish w/ a bit of caramel and nutty malts. Cherry flavor is light compared to aroma, and has some dry woody flavors into the finish and lingering aftertaste, which is also a bit sugary flavored, but not sweet. Bready malts and an earthy and spicy yeast character. Lively carbonation w/ well hidden alcohol, smooth, medium body. A lot less sour than I’d imagined it would be. Very nice balance and flavor throughout; The nose is a bit plasticky, but I’ll get over it!

Light ruby-gold body with a light head. Sweet oaking in the aroma. Some earthy tones, apple and citrus with a nice ending.

Bottle on 11/30/2008 at the 3rd Annual Richmond Industry Gathering. Cloudy orange body with a medium frothy off-white head. Sour fruity aroma, with some funkiness. Big sour flavor, light fruit and more funk. Medium light body with high carbonation. 8/3/9/4/17 - 4.1 11/29/2006: Sampled at the Richmond Beer Industry Gathering 2006. Batch 001. Hazy amber body with a small white head. Pungent sour aroma. Sweet oaked flavor with some sour kick, and some gentle caramel notes. 9/4/9/4/18 - 4.4

375 ml bottle, batch 001. Pours a clear orangish dark copper colored body under a small very fizzy beige head that receded to a thin ring. Aroma is quite sharply acidic with some tart sour cherries, oak, and a moderate bretty funkiness. Flavor is quite dry with lots of crisp cherry up front, light acidity, light green apple. Finishes very dry with a lingering but restrained bretty funk combined with oak tannins. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, very dry, with active efforvescent carbonation. The carbonation is extremely fine, like pinpoint fireworks bursting on my tongue. Pretty frickin awesome. This beer had it all. I didn’t like this quite as much as the Beatification, but still very good.

Batch 2 Re-Rate. Purchased at the Holiday Wine Cellar in Escondido, CA. Pours amber with a think chunky white head. The aroma is devine, very guezey and lambic lke with a lots of sour notes. The cherry flavor comes through yet is somewhat hidden at the same time. This is a stellar beer, really damn amazing. bottle batch 001. Happily consumed at the Brickskeller in Washington DC on 11/25/06, first brew of the night. Pours cloudy straw with a small head. The scent is robust and fully of cherry and oak. The taste is much more like the description then the type, more like a dark ale heavily infused with cherries. The taste is wonderful it flows over the tongue and leaves a nice sweat aftertaste. My brother commented that it tasted sort of like a lambic, its certainly different from other flemish sours I have had, it was damn good I’ll say that much.