Russian River Supplication

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

June 2007. Batch 002. Impenetrable pour, rusty red in color. A thin layer of foam stays the course. Nose of pears, cherries, old leather, some honey. Rose blossoms and almonds. Cayenne pepper and Italian dressing are first on the tongue; taut and precise. Powerfully tart cherries, white grapes, vinous oaky notes, lactic acid. Many shades of pepper, finishing on a brilliant, firey kick. A bretty lemon juice pulse, with a salty flourish of attic-kept cured meats. The wild character of the yeast is flawlessly integrated, gnawing at the rinds of the sweet cherries with the right rub of sawdust bite. Wrought fully with strange intrigue. An unpolished diamond, and rightly so. Thanks Keith! 9/4/9/4/19 4.5

July 2008. Batch 003. Pours a bloody gold. Aroma is tangy and tart with a soft sweetness of wildflower honey and feathery rose essence laying as a blanket over sour cherries, musty pinot wood, and white and black pepper. The soft nuttiness of its sweetness gives it an angel food-pistachio creme cake feeling. Yeast is cooling, gravelly and rustic.

Flavor hasn’t yet settled into the biting crunch of apple cider vinegar that I remember. It’s more a soft champagne vinegar and caramelized pear concoction, erudite and relaxed, and smartly balanced between sweet and tart; at this point of youth it really strikes a calm and comforting pose balancing sharp cherry tartness, leathery wild yeasts, and the soft sunny sweetness of jammy pinot flavors.

Yeast poured. The gravelly character that keeps recurring is so musty and dry that it recalls the sharp edge of a dry white cheese aged in basement cobwebs. White pepper spice lends a searing quality reminiscent of a gorgeous gueuze. And this opens up in the aroma as well.

Medium palate is sprightly with carbonation and highly acidic. Youth shows again in the finish, which is gorgeously soft and only lightly leathery, with a pomegranate aril and lemon juice flavor eventually yielding that punchy cheesiness that showed up mid-palate. I love how this is dominantly quiet and calm in semisweet tartness, while also offering a glimmer of visceral lambic-like sour violence throughout. The rustic and refined happily together. Thanks Steve! 9/4/9/5/19 4.6

Pourts an attractive clear copper color with surprisingly, a two finger bubbly head. Nose is tart fruits and telltale brett funk. The flavor is really complex, with the funk leading the way along with a very tart influence, but as it mellows, a smooth sweetness takes over and continues to evolve. A very unique ale that’s lively on the palate. Very nice and mellow finish and aftertaste.

Bottle thanks to Sick_boy. Hazy ruby brown color. Frothy off-white head. Funky cherry aroma, sweet grape skin tannins. The funky Brettanomyces definitely comes through with the barnyard. It smells similar to a gueuze, but boy the flavor isn’t the same. Its very smooth and well melded. Its hard to tell where the sweet starts and the sour ends. Some lactic character and Grenadine in there. Also cork-soaked grapefruit hops. Finishes with a light malt sweet caramel character and seven grain crackers, combined with grape skins. It does seem like it is missing something though... its a great beer, but could be a bit bigger. Still, it is incredibly balanced and fullfilling. Yeah, I lied... though I still think it could be "bigger", its still something great and something I could enjoy a lot of.

Bottle, shared with CaryTheDude and JakeBra, who hooked me up big time with this one. Pours a dark orange with a fizzy head. Aroma is dusty, funky, with wood, cherries, citrus. Flavor is a rush of sour cherries, deep sourness, citrus. Incredible flavor. JakeBra says its like "a really good warhead" and I agree. Mouthfeel is wonderful, bringing a rush of saliva. Incredible experience. Thanks, Dude and JakeBra!.

bottle (batch 002)....lost my notes on this one but i know i enjoyed this one immensely. overall impression: awesome cherry tartness and the brett added a favorable sourness funk that added more to the character of this ale. level of acidity and carbonation was perfectly matching to the aforermentioned qualities of this brew.

Bottle, at cgarvieuk’s, with Stella, the kids, and Traci. Big thanks to kmweaver for the bottle. Slightly hazy orange, translucent white head. Dry wine grapes, apples growing dark and wrinkled on the tree, mind rose petals, old barn boards. Lovely fruit sourness, grapeskin, pepper and wool. Well-balanced and refreshing. Kept wishing for more cherry contribution, but still really enjoyed this.

Tried this at the 09 Stone Sour Fest, Woot! Pours a slightly cloudy orange color. Cherries, sourness, vinegar, lemon zest, berries, and sweet malt. Excellent beer, tasty.

Supplication (also known as petitioning) is the most common form of prayer, wherein a person asks a supernatural deity to provide something, either for that person who is praying or for someone else on whose behalf a prayer of supplication is being made. And I would ask for a beer such as this and BEHOLD! It flows unto me! Subtle and nuanced more than I had expected. Sour, slightly acidic and pure pleasure.