Russian River Temptation

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..................................................................................6/15/07, 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.

thanks zeswaft. opaque, pretty pastel orange color. limited head. pretty much anything with bret smells and tastes of little more than bret. tyler said it’s just like bam biere and in a lot of ways i agree. super carbonated, pretty sour. a little one dimensional but balanced. very drinkable.

From a caged corked 375 ml. olive green bottle with a blurb on the back label with serving instructions, batch number 002, glassware suggestion on the cork, sampled at a cooler cellar temperature in a Russian River wild ale snifter. Poured as suggested, a clear orangey golden with foamy, bubbly topped white head that settled into a thin lacing, minimal amount of laced sticking. Aromas of wild barnyard yeastiness, chardonnay wine-like, sour cherries, a light hayish hoppiness and whiffs of alcohol. Good airy carbonation and a crisp, dry, velvety smooth light bodied mouthfeel. Delicious wild ale taste, tart, sour cherries with lemons and limes squeezed over them, dry grain bready, a subtle oak barrel woodiness, a soft spicy hoppiness, the alcohol is well masked, but warming in the palate, and a dry, sour and sweet maltiness with a little lingering leafy hoppiness. Purchased from the Russian River website, just an excellent wild ale, one of the best I’ve had, tasty and balanced, a must try.

375 ml Bottle - Batch 002 very energetic pour from the bottle, big fizzy off white which dissipates super quickly hazy straw yellow pour Oak, pineapple some alcohol an unmistakable funk and leather as the beer warms up Flavor: barnyard flavors Chalky, oak, some leather and fruits with restrained yet complex sourness palate: astringent , dry and slightly thin in body.. finish being dry and long lasting Overall: Yet another incredible creation from RR (I think i like batch 002 better than 001) the oak is more muted allowing the brett, sour and fruit flavors to show thry better. Definitely open when cold but savor as the beer warms up. I am planning on laying down a few bottles to taste in the years to come

375mL bottle, batch 001, courtesy of gears81. Thanks, Jake!! Hazy and cloudy grapefruit appearance; brilliant white head with nice retention and lacing at the edges. I’ve had this once before, when it first came out, and this definitely has significantly more brett character that I remember. Full, complex aroma: a strong helping of brett coupled with an oaky chardonnay underneath: buttery, toasty, with warm vanilla notes. Plenty of tartness upfront in the mouthfeel; mild acidity. Medium-to-full mouthfeel, showing citrus, somewhat reserved (surprisingly) chardonnay qualities - butter, toasty oak - and a chewy, belgian sugar backdrop. Nicely layered, though the aroma suggests a warmer mouthfeel than one actually receives. The oaky chardonnay quality returns at the finish: plenty of butter and vanilla in a lengthy departure. I’ve got a few bottles of Batch 002 that I haven’t yet picked up from a friend’s house, and I’m curious to see how the increased brett character changes things.