Russian River Supplication

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

Rerate: Batch 002. This is one of the most balanced, finest examples of an American wild ale there can be. Masterful in the bod, the balanced sourness and sweetness, the amount of brett is just right (makes you sweat a little bit on the brow). Unbelievable beer. Let it settle before drinking and get a clear pour first! Then mix in the dregs of the bottle later. Wow. A masterpiece. Rerate - Batch 001: Had a bottle all to myself, with a very clear initial pour. The fruitiness here, earthy and wet and fresh, is undeniable. The leathery tannin quality is superb, and balanced by just the right acidity. This beer is a masterpiece, as is Temptation. Total score rises from 4.3 to this, mostly on the strength of the aroma. Original - Batch 001: The sourness was subdued and wonderful soft wood (not harshly oak) flavors compete here for your attention. Very smooth, and it is absolutely true that there is no easily distinguishable sweet/sour border. Lush in the mouth. Peppery flavors too. Aroma more subtle than expected. Great, great beer. Thanks to JSturm for opening this up a b-day beer (my own are on the way!).

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!!!

I so love flemish sours...Aroma is of sour mixed berries and comes wafting from a glass that contains an extremely murky copper colored brew. The palate is full and carbonated perfectly for the style. Taste=Wow. Woody, sour cherries (not overpoweringly sour), and vinuous flavors combine to create a really wonderful brew. This is my favorite from Russian River. Cheers to Vinnie!

cloudy amber color. Sour and spicy nose. Thick bodied and sour. Can’t read the rest of my note (long night of tasting at JK’s Gathering) 9/4/7/3/16

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A cloudy brown body with foamy off-white head. Sweet sour cherries on the aroma with some brett funk. An over the top sour flavor greets my tongue then smoothly runs into a cherry midbody and then a tart finish.

Sampled compliments of Pepsican. I’ve wanted to try this for so long, thanks Andy. This pours a real hazy orange color with some floaties and not much carbonation. I love the oaky, barnyard funky and vinous character of the aroma. The flavor is intensely sour, one of the sourest beers I have ever tasted. Along with that is a remarkable acidic character the combination with that sourness makes my tongue think lemon. But oh there is so much more than lemons here, the cherry character is wonderful very tart lend some sanity to the flavor. The funkiness is notched up pretty high here and although the beer has a good woodiness earthiness and vinous character I do not taste much character from the pinot noir, either way it is just absolutely wonderful. Complex, dry and absolutely enjoyable

Batch 002 bottle gracefully shared by Crosling. This beer was even better than I expected. Poured a nice golden-caramel color with a thin tan head that diminished. Rising bubbles and some suspended yeast. Tart, cherry-apple aroma with undertones of oak. Wonderfully complex flavor. Sweet, smooth entry leads into a tart, semi-funky cherry and sweet apple. Oak and yeast flavors become apparent on the finish that continues changing even minutes after you swallow. Drying and semi-puckering. Spectacular, thanks again Nick.

My favorite sour beer at the moment. Batch 003. Sour aroma, funky, but slightly sweet as well. Taste is not quite as sour as Beatification but slightly more so than Temptation. Pucker-up at the front, slightly sweet at the finish with the sour cherries. My favorite of the three.

Hazy orange-yellow pour with a white head. Sour aroma with lots of fruit - grape, cherry citrus as well as the usual sour funk. Sour funky flavor with a touch of sweetness. Lots of cherries and other fruit. Perfect amount of sourness. Slight creamy oakiness to finish. Very winelike and a nice full bodied flavor. Amazing!