Russian River Supplication

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

Thanks mj! batch 002. Pours a nice clean red with a thin fizzy red head. The aroma is tart, acidic, acetic, cherry, spice, vinous, grapes. very nice complex nose and flavor, spicy in the mouth, very tart and acidic, cherry. Lovely barrel aged beer. Wonderful mouthfeel. Love to try this again.

On tap at Falling Rock Denver. Pours out a cloudy brown topped with a small head. Aroma was sweet candy, light berry notes, plenty of the funk and some wood. Taste more of the funk, tart, sweet cherries, some oak, and a little spice. Very nice.

Bottle, "Batch 001". Poured deep murky amber with a thin light-tan head and a few flecks of yeast floating around. Impressive aroma reminiscent more of red wine than beer: somewhat floral, obvious cherry and pinot influences, slightly nutty. Initially tasted in tiny sips to disappointing effect: cherries cherries cherries and confused other flavors. Happily, though, the flavor profile seems to open up much more with larger sips. Again, the pinot noir and cherry influences are readily apparent and highly enjoyable (if quite surprising in a beer). I do not detect any vinegar sourness unlike some other tasters. There is definitely some tartness, but I attribute it to the wine and cherries. Other flavors drift in and out as I move toward the bottom of the glass: spices, prune, nuts, pear, faint licorice and fainter wood. Initially the finish was farily dry (reminiscent of wine again) but has rather strangely become buttery(!) and a little sweet toward the bottom of the glass--another pleasant surprise. Smooth, vaguely creamy mouthfeel with less carbonation than expected. An intriguing and very different experience overall.

bottle. dark copper pour with thin white head. sour apple, oak, pear aroma. sour. rounding mouth. dark fruit, apple. a delicious sour. it would be hard for me to pass on this in the future.

37,5cl bottle. Thanks Chris. Pours clear amber with a creamy white head. Sour, tart, oak, sweet matured, sugar, cherries, complex. Bites the cheek. Fresh - vinegar & berries! Ends dry! Very nice!

June 2007 - Batch 01 - This beer might have the most beautiful red amber body I have ever seen, with a big and small bubbled some what lasting head; Maybe I expect to much from these BA sour RR’s, but I get slightly disappointed evey time I have one. The nose is great it has everything, it just gives it self up way to easy, it lacks the Belgium (sour Belgium’s) toughness, roughness, the "you wont get me that easy" attitude, they need more MALE attitude. You can feel the lactic sourness in the nose but it is hidden by the sweet cherry cinnamon perfumed to easy aromas that is also way to present in the NB Enigma; The body is good and a little more complex then the nose, a wooden barrel like tannin harshness is a little to present otherwise it is balanced with a very little sourness, a little bitterness and to much to big bubbled carbonation; It finishes a bit to short, aromas and feel grows big right when the beer is swallowed, but fades to fast, a very small lactic touch, again lots of barrel tannins, some barrel aroma but also tons of this sweet cinnamon cherry aroma that is much better fitting in a cake then in a beer. It is very strange that the cherry aromas in US beers are so very, very much different from the cherry aromas in Belgium beers, uhh there are some good Belgium sours!

12.7 oz bottle, batch 002. Foggy garnet and gold, light froth. Nose of cherry sourdough, funky orange peel and toffee. Tongue-twisting sour but balanced by fruits, malts. Sour cherry, caramel dipped slices of Granny Smith and lime sherbet. Oaky drying with cherry skins. Juicy with a tingle. Beauty.

Tasted @ beer school Tria, hosted by Tom Peters. Poured a hazy golden color with a good amount of head. Nice tart flavor with a lingering finish.