Russian River Temptation

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

Bottle shared with the crew in late November. Cloudy yellow, foamy white head. Sour, funky, yeast aroma - strong and good. Taste is simply amazing - yeast, soft malt, funky organic characteristic, bread - wow, good stuff, complex. Soft mouthfeel. Wonderful stuff here, as advertised.

375ml bottle, Batch 002. Hazy golden with lacy white head. Aroma of sour apple, oak, and brett. Sweet at first with some oaky notes; sourness is somewhat restrained compared to other brett beers. complex yet very drinkable. One of my new favorites.

Poured an orange-peach, little to no head. Aroma similar to a lambic; earthy qualities to it. Somewhat sweet, fruity, sour with hints of some oak, alcohol and yeast. Not overly sour compared to others, but still too sour for me. Don’t look for that in a beer. Nonetheless, this was still pretty good. Would have liked more of an oak taste, but flavor was still very complex. Alchohol was very mellow. Dry finish. Recommended for those who like sour beers.

never again. $14 for a 14 oz bottle of this. I hate bret and sour beers. This accomplishes both. sour and vinous. reminds a lot of stille nacht reserve 2005. though that threw in a lot of alcohol too.

Courtesy boboski. Deep orange in color, slightly hazy, sparse thin white head. Aroma is fantastic - reminiscent of a lambic, but has a sweet, less aggressive edge to it. Palate is medium to thin which makes this very drinkable. The sourness is present in the taste, but is not overpowering. The sourness combines with oak flavors and finishes dry. A unique, drinkable beer.

375ml bottle, batch 2, thanks to Ty5592 for this bottle. pours a hazy golden with big head. wonderful brett in the nose, very geuze like and barnyardy, i love it. the first sip is very complex, smooth, and easy to drink. notes of oak, brett, chardonnay, peach, lemon, vanilla, sour cherries. a perfect mild sourness balanced with some sweet and oaky notes. the extremely crisp and smooth mouthfeel make this beer really drinkable. finishes oaky and very dry. perhaps i’d prefer a little more brett and less oak in the finish.8/5/8/4/17................................. batch 1 (5/05) vs. batch 2 (11/06). B1 is darker, more orange and B2 is cloudy straw color. B1 nose is very white winey, oaky, and slight funk in the background. B2 nose brings the funk upfront with oak and white wine in the back ground. the nose on B2 is much better. flavor for B1 is oak, funk, very earthy, dry with white wine finish, acidity and sourness are present but not over whelming. B2 flavor is very funky, tart, and oaky, sorta earthy, very dry, with a white wine finish. B1 just isn’t as dry and it’s more sweet wine than B2. B2 has a much more lively carbonation. B2 notes are more concise, tart, tighter, drier, vibrant, and lively. IMO, B2 is a much better beer....B1: 8/5/8/4/16 equals 4.1 B2: 8/5/8/5/17 equals 4.3 brbr 6/21/08, batch 2 (11/06). dag yo wonderful aroma coming from this beauty. although it seemed to lack some life that it had when fresher. perhaps some more time or less would be prefered...? 4.1.

375 ml brown, longneck Belgian-style bottle. Corked & caged. Batch #002. Poured out a hazy yellow / orangish color, with a huge white head. Aromas are of slight lambic qualities, Brett is noticeable. Fruity, estery, but definitely a Belgian style beer. Decent body, slick mouthfeel. Wish I had bought a few of these to drink. Goes down too easily. Decent beer overall.

Batch 002 bottle purchased from Ledger’s Liquors in Berkeley, CA. Opens as a moderate gusher. An ounce or two spilled over my counter. Woody, oaky, sour-ish aroma. Not nearly as sour or acidity in the aroma as the Jolly Pumpkin Oro that I just had. Some slight metallic aromas also come through. Barnyardy. Moderately hazy golden-orange body with a smallish white head and generous lacing. Mildly sour, acidic start which turns bready, biscuity, and malty later on. This beer has some light bitterness to finish. Some butter is present later on as well. Quite drinkable. Much moreso than the JP that I just rated. A very good beer. I’d like to try this side by side with beatification.