Russian River Temptation

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

375mL bottle. Beautiful looking beer; creamy white head like a baby’s ass. Aroma is incredibly strong-mainly just very sour smelling, lemony, with detectable oak, some earthy funk. The flavor is where it gets really interesting. It’s two-toned, in that there is the main tart, sour, fruitiness that I expected. And then, upon the middle of my tongue, there falls a tantalizing, yet dull/flat/smooth maltiness, similar to a BSA in a way. Then in the finish this malt character is very drying, bitter, oaky, apple, and actually pungent and dirt-like, and I mean that in the best possible way. Meanwhile the sour lemon teases the sides and front of the tongue.

Rating #200. Spectacular amber pour with an undying silky white head. Great lacing as the beer goes down. Very nice aroma of oak, white wine, leather, lemon and pear. The flavor is strikingly bitter at first (green apple, wood, white wine, grapefruit), but the bitterness quickly fades leaving a mild, slightly funky/bready sweetness on the tongue. Mouthfeel is clean and dry, with some very nice almost champagne like carbonation. Incredibly crisp and refreshing. This a fantastic beer, and one of the first sours I have truly enjoyed.

Trade with BOLTZ7555. Thanks for this one. Batch 3. Looks great with a hazy orange body and smooth head. Woody aroma with with some sweet apple funkiness. Wonderfully done. Flavor is nice and subtle with just enough sour to make you salivate and keep on drinking with a nice dry fruit taste. Very nice bubbly carbonation and wonderful dry finish. Very, very nice beer.

Bright pale amber with no head. Nice fruity, peaches perhaps mingle with a beautiful oak aged refreshing funkiness. Fantastic sourness, perfect drinkability. Superb.

375 ml bottle. batch 3. from kmwever. a huge thanks to you ken, i owe you. pour hazy golden with a big fluffy white head that stays the whole way down the glass. by the time i reach the bottom my snifter is covered in lace and the head is with you to the last sip. i never thought a golden beer could look so pretty. the aromas make me salivate every time i indulge. wonderful woody, sour ale, white wine, apple, green fruit, citrus, aromas. flavours are sour up front with apple and wood. remeniscent of white wine but increibly soft and palatable. citrusy and grapey. no trace of the abv and full in the mouth in a playful way. wonderfully crafted and a joy to drink. i almost cant bring myslef to finish it because then it will be gone. thanks again ken this was a true gem.

Batch 1 bottle, sampled at RBSG 08, with thanks to WeeHeavySD. Pours a hazy amber-gold, with a big, foamy, white head. Tart / sour fruit aroma. Taste is very clean, of sour, under-ripe fruit. Lingering tartness. Very tasty sour beer.

Bottle courtesy Taverner - thanks. Cracked this one open earlier than I planned on, in hopes that it will help break my disappointment from the Beatification. Pours an apricot color with a pretty solid white head that settles into a blotchy film. Aroma is absolutely beautiful...very lactic, but also loaded with woody accents, and very strong notes of white grapes...maybe some citrus notes as well. Flavor is also nicely done and melds well with the aroma. Lots of white grape/wine flavors, heavy on the sourness, some old apple flavors and a lot of lemony citrus going on here...all cloaked with a nice soft wood flavor. Again, a sipping beer, but this one isn’t a chore like the last RR sour I tried. Palate is well crafted...extremely dry, but there’s enough residual sweetness at the beginning of each sip to keep you clamoring for more. This was one fine beer...nice job RR

Zeeland 08’ tasting. Poured golden with a nice white head. Aroma is sour grapes. Taste is nice funk, dry champagne type feel, some fruity white wine characteristics. Doesn’t really wow me at the end, but I would drink more of this stuff anytime (you don’t believe me? just try me!)