Russian River Temptation

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

Delicious in it’s individuality. The wine comes through as an odd dryness on the palate. I’m not sure if I would have said "winey" if I did not know it was aged in wine barrels. Brett comes through as it warms, adding a nice light sourness on the finish. Interesting beer overall and a testament to craft brewing in general.

My favorite R.R. to date. Poured a hazy golden yellow color with a lively white head. Aroma was green apples, sweet champagne, and mild, salt-free crackers. Flavors were very well blended with the perfect amount of carbination. Absolutely lovely!!

Rating #500. 375 ml bottle, Batch 1, served in a Duvel glass. After I poured this, the only thing I could say when I looked at it was "here lies a beautiful beer". Pours a bright, virtually clear, deep golden yellow body under a nice fluffy white head. The head settled to a thin and creamy mass after a few minutes and retained for the duration due to fairly active visible carbonation. I could have just looked at and smelled this for a half hour and been happy. First a slightly sugary sweet yet lightly sour aroma rises up to meet you, followed by some citrus fruitiness and oak with noticable chardonnay characteristics. Lastly that oh so beautiful bretty yeasty bouquet. I want to use that buzzword "funky" to describe it, yet it’s really much more refined than your average saison funkiness. Flavor is soft and delicate with just the most gentle acidic tartness up front with oak tannins, pepper, apricot, and just a hint of Grannie Smith apples. The amazingly subdued brett flavor is a testament to this brewers skill and knowledge to not let these little critters take over and muddle the flavor. This is just as clean of a flavor as you can get with these yeasties. The mouthfeel is just as perfect as can be with very fine carbonation that gives a lively feel without becoming foamy. Nicely drying on the finish. Overall, this is as close to a perfect beer for me as I have rated yet, and one of the best examples of a barrel aged beer available. A nice way to celebrate my 500th beer here, as this is one of the many treasues that I would have never known about were it not for this site.

Batch 001. After a lively pop of the cork, this pours a slightly hazy golden color. A bubbly, thin head. A truly different taste is encountered - yeast, citrus, some oak, other fruitiness. Sour but also a little sweet. Very unique and very, very good.

Good stuff. Creamy, fruity flavors, slight cream cheese aroma and flavor. Really smooth and flavorful.

Batch #1. Hazy gold. Small, dense white head settles to a thin layer. Aroma: sour yeast, oak, piney citrus, crisp malt, wheat?, and vinegared fruit. Same flavor with some white wine notes as it warms. Medium/full, banaced body. Dry finish. Excellent. Have to try more from this brewery.

375 ml bottle from batch 001. Hazy orange with a nice head that faded to a decent ring. Aromas were bret from the beginning. Sour Cherry pie filling, with just a hint of sweet around the edges. Flavor just about loses the sweet part complely. Starts off sour and very vinous. Wood is apparent in the middle. Then a grapefruitti bitterness toward the end that fades rapidly into a very dry finish. Pretty tasty.

12.7 oz bottle. Batch 001. My 50th rating! Hazy golden pear with a thin white head. Incredible aroma of pear and banana. Starts with a high carb mouthfeel that melts into sour apple and fresh lemon juice. Oak keeps it from getting too tart. Now I’m starting to regret having this for my 50th. Hoping I can find another to age for a few years.