Russian River Supplication

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

Oak aged, that said enough for me. Pours out a wonderful cloudy reddish hued brown with a medium sized head. The aroma was sweet and fruity predomiantly of sour cherries. The mouthfeel was very good and it went down smooth. The taste was hauntly complex with malt, sour cherries and a bit of vanilla and maybe, just maybe a hint of some of the properties of a fine Pinot Noir. Excellent beer, just wish I had more and a bigger bottle.

TAP---ohhhhh man .....this is a beauty..... very similar to cuvee de tomme without the alcohol. Very similar flavors. I was drinking a few stronger ales before and thought this was a little light, but as it warmed up, it was very nice. The yeast wasn’t as dominant as say a geueze, with a light funk funk lingering, and more of a brown Belgian than an experimental brew like cuvee. still......a treat.

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!

Batch 1 - fresh, at 6 months and 1 year. After 1 year Batch 1 started to lose its lustre, and batch 2 never was anywhere nearly as exciting. Deep amber pour with varying red highlighting and a cloudy swirling center. A bold, frothy head is beige and recedes quickly. The nose is spectacular! Grapes, brown sugar, twisted funkiness, vinous qualities everywhere, tart cherries, light must, vibrant yeast including loads of brettanomyces, horseblanket, ginger and a formidable blast of old oak. Alcohol is almost undetected. The flavor is astonishing! This completely destroys just about all of its sour brethren, concerning taste, drinkability and mouthfeel. Sparkling carbonation evenly disperses malts and sourness to the farthest reaches of the mouth. Tart fruits and brazen acidity battle funk like it’s the last chance either will have to propagate their future. Sweetness is mild and soothing, cooling the fiery spice and complimenting the funk that gives this beer the feeling that it’s been brewed by dozens of dedicated generations. The finish is very tart and highly acidic, breaching into a refreshing sourness and leaving cherry and oak notes to dry out the tongue. I dream of the day a fresh batch of this is re-released that shares the assertiveness and glory of the first bottles of this I sampled. A profound, startling experience. Russian River is the best brewery in the United States.

Bottle thanks to kramer17801. It opened to a snap of carbonation and then a rush of foam coming out of the bottle. The brew is a nice hazy orange with a tint of brown and white head, while pleantiful, went away quick enough. Aroma smells of the cherries and oak, similar to DFH’s Festina Lente. Flavor, thankfully, is much nicer than the previosuly mentioned beer. There is very little souring bitterness for the conditions this beer went through. Malty, rich, smooth, complex, this beer is confusing my senses. There is a slight spicyness at first, like cinnamon and ginger, then a yeast flavor, all while being backed by a subtle oak and cherry flavor. Once the usual alcohol and strong ale sweetness subside in my mouth, then the cherry flavor comes out in a fine fashion. This beer is tremendous. Many more thanks to kramer17801 for this amazing beer.

ruby-orange-copper-gold colors from center to edges. foamy off-white head that goes quickly. medium sized yeast chunks at the bottom of the glass. sweet cherry malt aroma, some yeast and leather/sweat too. very fizzy carbonation, sour & tart start. lightly acidic but not too much. dryish tart finish like a pinot. medium mouthfeel goes foamy from the carbonation. faint unripe/ranier cherry flavor is in the background. thanks DarkElf!

GABF 2006-Tart cherries & oak aroma. Taste is tart at first with sour cherries followed by brett (horseblanket), finishes dry. 7/3/7/3/17

#002 Bottle. Thanks John. Wonderful tart cherry, wood, lacto, all in perfect harmony and just beautiful. Cherry, wood, vanilla, nice tartness and fruitiness. The flavor is well integrated, no flavors overpower any other. Score went up quite a bit.

Rating #600

bottle courtesy of Saarlander from a trade several months ago, thanks Aaron.
a reddish orange amber in color with a tan head. lace is awesome all the way to the bottom of my snifter. aroma of tart cherries and some yeasty bread. served at cellar temp. the flavors were of predominantly the citrus variety: cherry, some rhubarband some dry brett qualities on the tail end. as it warmed to near room temp. flavors of oak and musty leather became apparent. even though the style is not one of my favorites, this was still a good choice for #600.