Russian River Supplication

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

003. Bottle. Red bronze pour. Very hazy, and carbonated with a small tan head. Nose is tart, sour, citrusy, a bit of cherries, and some chocolate. Taste is sharp, puckery, sour, tart, cherry flavor is evident but not overwhelming. Tangy all the way down Alcohol is not evident. Great fluffy full body. Great beer.

Bottle (courtesy of cquiroga, as always) into Duvel tulip glass (the best tasting glass ever). Dope beer. Uniformally hazy ruby grapefruit color with yeast floaties in suspension. Medium to small off-white head diminishes to a thick ring and surface dusting. Brittle sudsy lace crumbles and slides leaving a ring around the glass; racing is deep, slow and plentiful. Ripe cherry smell is wonderfull, enhanced by a crisp lemony acidity and spiderweb brett aroma, with a little ginger. Crisp and lively up front, medium body fills the mouth with flavor, becomes light and spacious right before the swallow. Lots going on in the flavor: sour apple and cherry predominate at first with a biting woodsy/alcoholic tang (from the barrel, I guess) that dries the beer out just a bit but retaining the mouthwatering acidity. The flavors in the finish take on a lighter, melony quality, like honeydew and watermelon, without the sweetness. An acrid bitterness in the finish seems a bit untutored, and detracts from the overall impression; it comes on a couple seconds after the swallow, lies on top of the soft melony flavors, and then gets drowned in a resurgent acidity which is nice, so it’s not really a big deal. Also, I wish the cherry were a bit fuller, but I like the balance of fruity and earthy qualities. A sour, balanced beauty.

This poured an orangish copper in color with tinges of red and brown. It had a fluffy head of beige bubbles with faded to leave some island lacing from the constant bubbles. The nose showed off the sour cherries along with other red fruits, "brown" wood and an herbal funkiness. In the mouth this is extremely sour and acidic with the tart cherries being the domminate flavor and a tannic grip on the finish. While acidic, the midpalate does come off as balanced with a nice combination of carbonation and supple edges.

Bottle, Batch 002: Courtesy of cmr1517...big thanks Chris. A bit of a gusher yielded a murky amber-brown with a medium tan head. Wow...this could be the most intense sour brew I’ve had thus far, massive sour cherry aroma with some oak, spiced malts, and granny smith apple notes showing themselves. First taste just annihilated my palate with its brett-infused goodness. Sour as hell with the cherries in the forefront, oak and some underlying malt notes come through as well...dry, lingering finish.

Thanks to cloudskipper for this beaute! Pours a gorgeous translucent orange/copper elixir with a puffy yellow tinted off-white head with medium retention. The nose is delicately funky and cheesey with sour cherries and barnyard. The flavour is immediately WAY more acetic than the nose suggests, with ultra-sharp acetic acid, lemon zest, puckering tart red cherry, oak, lactic acid and a whisper of vinous malty notes. It is plenty tart, as I can feel the burn in my chest, and I’m not one to get heartburn. I love the lacto that is ever-present in this brew. The aftertaste is oaky, more citric than tart, and bone dry with medium duration. I think the prickly, drying mouthfeel exaggerates the tartness of the beer, but the bretty funk is there in full.

375 ml corked bottle. A cloudy dark golden/orange beer with a quite big and persistent white head. The nose is complex and attractive, acidic and maltier than expected, surely yeasty with notes of wood, earth, cherries, some lemon. Like in beatification the oak is perfectly integrated. The flavour has a medium sweetness and a high acidity. Some wine like feelings. Citric but less than Beatification and with a more round and consistent body. Cherries sre detectable in mouth too. Medium body, lively carbonation, long finish with light to medium bitterness. Again a great beer, amazing aroma and great flavours balance. I’m happy to have tasted such a rare beer. Complex and complete.

Thanks to TheCheeseMan for this! Batch 003, poured in a Lambic Flute Pours a gold-amber color with a large pillowy white head that leaves large amount of white sticky lacing. Aroma is beautiful - acidic, sour, oak, and bits of cherry. Taste is sour and slightly cherry tart, which is balanced by the oak.

This was a good sour,i am new to this style and only have had a couple but i am starting to really enjoy this style.Had in FL. as a gift from SoLan and was grateful for him trying with me.Taste was of sour cherries but not overpouring and it was very drinkable and aged in wood barrels.Batch 002 CHEERS!