Russian River Supplication

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

Clear amber with a medium off white head. Aroma was sour with sour berries and cherries, barnyard and wood. Flavour was sour with plenty of sour cherries, banryard, brett, wood and leather notes. Fucking awesome!8

(375ml bottle) Clear brown-red body with small beige head. Aroma is medium sweet, cherry, light cheese, oak. Taste is medium sweet, cherry, some sourness, cheese, light astringency. Medium body, lightly acidic.

Bottled batch 003. Deep amber red color, small beige head. Sour bretta aroma with red wineish notes, quite similar to some Panil beers. Fruity, average tartness, grapefruit, lemon ... very balanced and puckering-fruity "lambic". Red wine barrel ageing is evident.

Bottle from Solan, thanks! Orange pinkish color. Cherries, marzipan, leather, oak and grapefruit in the aroma. Sour flavor with oak, hint of cherries and leather. Dry out effect in the aftertaste with leather, caramel, plastic and grapefruit. Astonishing complex, great beer.

Bottle. Orange colour with a off-white head. Sour cherry, grape aroma and a acid sour taste. Medium to full body and a dry light sour finish.

A Mes rate: Bottle opened to celebrate Manchester United winning the Premiership, City getting battered 8-1 and Bolton sticking the knife in with an injury time equalizer. What a day!
Apologies in advance to anyone who has to scroll past the ensuing gushing drivel but this was insanely good. This is going to be a long one.
Looks: Stunning amber colour with a thin beige rim and superb condition.
Sniff and sniff and sniff and sniff: Oh my GOD what a smell. An incredible combination of bretty sourness, lovely lovely hoppage, utterly amazing cherry and strawberry fruity notes, barnyardy and barrelly (such gorgeous Russian River wooden notes), red wine vinegar, candi sugar and slightly balsamic. Damn I could go on for days. Such complexity but all in 100% perfect balance. An utterly outstanding smell.
Well spank my arse and call me Gertrude if this isn’t one of the best tasting beers of all time: F**KING HELL this is special. All that is glorious about the aroma is present in equal abundance but the cherry comes right to the front. The bretty notes are huge. The sandalwood / sourness mix is beyond description. There are sherbert sweets being catapulted at you at high velocity giving it a show stopping blend of dry and juicy. My whole palate is covered initially with audacious sourness which is washed away with wave upon wave of cherry, wood and citrus. This is one of those beers that sends you on a journey with each sip and you just don’t want it to end. i really don’t think I have had a better balanced beer. There is such an astonishing amount happening but it’s all in perfect harmony. The finish is nothing short of sublime. The immediate tart sourness almost stings and as it departs it leaves gobsmacking cherry, strawberry and just a hint of vanilla in its wake. It lingers for a considerable time and I’m very thankful of that. I just don’t want it to be over.
Dancing all over my palate: This is up there with the very best. Dry, juicy and such width to the flavour with a glorious sting at the sides. Two minutes after writing I can lick around at my gums and still more magnificently tart cherries appear. Absobloodylutely fanfunkingtastic.
Final gushings: One of the best beers I have ever or will ever have. Each sip leaves me shaking my head in amazement. As high as it’s average score is, I still think it is under-rated. You know those moments where you are in a stonkingly good mood and the beer you choose just hits the spot in a magnificent way? It was like that but better. The ridiculousness of all this is, while drinking it we had a look at the RR website. Apparently at the very moment I was supping this goddess of a beer it was possible to get a pint of it during happy hour for $2.75. That’s beyond crazy. I’d be doing cartwheels! Mike you SERIOUSLY rock, once again, I can’t thank you enough. A very worthy celebration beer for Man U winning the title. WOO HOOOO!!!

Bottle. [thank you, skortila]
Pours deep orange, fine, staying, frothy, off-white head. Aroma is tart, oranges, some caramel. Low carbonation, fine dryness. Flavour is oaky, some citric malts, a bit of tart green apples. a bit too much alcohol. oranges. Very sour, but it still is a bit too centred on the citric acids. No balance from lactic acid or brett. Still, this is very nice.

(Bottle, Batch 1) Pours a cloudy brown body with a small off-white head. Aroma of cherries, oak, and vinous. Has a tart cherry flavor subdued by an oak barrel finish. Another excellent beer from Russian River!.