Russian River Supplication

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

375mL 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!

Batch 003. Bottle courtesy of my Secret Santa. Pours a hazy amber color, which I was not expecting from a brown. Also has a notable tan head, which suprised me for the amount of time this has been in a barrel. Mild in aroma and flavor for a sour. Features the unique taste of Rainier cherries. The acid content in this made my teeth feel like they were about to fall out, though.

Pours a slightly cloudy golden amber with thin fizzy white foam head. Wonderful aroma of tart oakiness and dark fruit. Puckering but not too acidic with lots of oak sourness and dark fruit flavor especially sour cherries. Nice balance of sweet and tart with dry finish.

On tap at RR & in bottle. Poured an amber color with a small white head, light lacing. Aroma is acetic with lots of cherries and oak. Taste is tart fruit and lots of warm oak. In addition to the cherries, there’s grapes and plenty of funk. Very enjoyable standout sour ale.

Very nice orange-amber color with deep orange glow. This original beer has a nice airy head with an off white faint pinkish color. The aroma is one of the finest i ever had in this type of beer. it is elegant and complex. It begins with a fine boost of ripe cherry’s and has touches vanilla and ripe Renette apples. In the second fase there is a lactic freshness with hints of wood and some rubarbe jam. In the nose you can notice a sharp fruity acidity and the roundness of ripe red summer-berry’s. The aroma of a big Bourgudy wine is not far away. The taste has a perfect balans. It is sweet and sour without being to sharp or to sweet. It is super complex and exposes a rim-ram of different accents on the pallet. First the ripe cherry’s and the sour apples, some vanilla and greek yoghurt. The mouthfeel is light lively and has touches of bergamots. This beer is sharp and smooth at the same time. It is very wine-like and has some well hidden earthy tone. Tarte tattin without the cinnamon, some cedar wood, oak, rasped renette apples and again touche of a very ripe pinot noir wine. This one is indeed exelent and the balans is out of this world. Thanks Joris for charing this one with me.

Tap. Well I am still not totally into this style. This one pours with a brown color. Aromas of cherry and citrus. Flavors are tart, not too sour but quite intense. Probably as sour as I can handle.

bottle batch 002 courtesy of boboski. pours an orange cooper colour with a thin head. aroma of brett sourness, some oak and cherry and crabapple. flavour is fantastic of sourness and oak, wondeful cherry and apple.

Far far better than the chardonnay barrel "temptation", this pinot noir barrel approach has left you with a beer, not a question mark. The PN imparts a spiciness that goes well with the sour cherries. Still, I’m not won over by the wine barrel approach.