Russian River Temptation

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

I drank this one by myself and loved every second of it. Perfect for me. Lots of nice white wine, grapes, and citrus and nice bubbles. Almost champagne like. Nice and smooth and wet with a crisp dry finish.

375 ml bottle courtesy of bvc and after4ever. Batch 003. Cork comes off easily with a loud pop. Pour is hazed golden with tons of fine carbonation and a pretty one inch white head. Very noisy beer, crackles as it falls. Carbonation bubbles just keep going and going. Unique looking beer. Aroma of soft vinegar sour, ripe apples, oak and farmyard funk. Nice integrated, gentle nose. Taste is sharp acidity initially, followed by the fruit from the nose (apples) plus wine grape notes. The oak barrel takes over midway through, with lemon citrus sour kicking up at the finish. Wow, the sour tartness at the start really evolved at the finish. The sour is never overpowering, just a nice amount of prickliness to the beer. The Brett notes are there, but pretty subdued. As this warms, the Chardonnay notes really kick in giving it interesting depth of flavor. Palate is highly carbonated, thin to medium, full flavored, extremely easy to drink. Thanks Tom for supplying this and Brandon for shipping it.

Crushed with Jakebra and co. Big thanks to the dude who bought it. This one is just plain awesome. Another sour from Russian River that I could sit and sip on all day and all night. Just beautiful.

Graciously poured a hazy yellow from the bottle by nubutler11. Color is a deep golden yellow. Aroma is big and thick - tart apple, champagne, citrus, faint apricot; very fruity overall. Flavor is what I expect a sour to be - heavy with fruit, dry notes of champagne, big carbonation. Not super-complex, just an overwhelming and pleasing impression of tart tangerine champagne.

Wow. I usually am not much on sours but this takes the cake. Easily on of my best in a long time! Poured in a wine glass. Had to share the bottle with the missus. Cloudy yellow pour with a fizzy head. Funky aroma. Tastes like a funky sour white wine with some citrus. I want more!

Bottle shared with MatSciGuy - Pours a cloudy light amber - a lively beer with lots of carbonation behind it. The head itself does not last but the lacing hangs on for dear life. Sour apple, chardonnay lemon mixed and some sweaty aroma. Tastes like it smells-a complex blend. Light and spritsy on the tongue with a dry finish.

[Bottle] The second I loosened the cork, the pressure forced it out, and the bottle gushed just a little, but no beer lost. Pours a hazy gold with a large, effervescent white head. Aroma is lots of lactic tartness, earthy brett, maybe a touch of white wine character, horsey, lemony, and funky. Flavor is lactic tartness, lemon and other citrus, funky brett, and nice dry chardonnay. Very light, crisp mouthfeel and a very dry finish with lingering tartness.

Rating #500. Bottle acquired via trade with WeeHeavySD. Pours a hazy apricot color with a frothy white head that leaves plenty of sugary lacing. Looks gorgeous. Smells of chardonnay and underripe fruit. Agressive with the flavors of tangerines and yellow cherries in the taste. Finishes like a dry champagne. Worth celebrating in its own right.