Russian River Temptation

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

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.

Small white head, good retention, thin lace is lasting in a thin sheet around my tasting glass. Hazy, gold hued brew light orange glow. Nose if fruity, woody with notes of apple and lime, spicey baby. Light bodied with a prickly carbonation, quenching. Wood notes up front, lightly acidic and groovily Bretty. Notes of caramel hidden in the background, pleasently barnyardy and fruity. Alot going on here. Finish is dry, tart. Neat brew. Props to awaisanen for the trade! You rock man! I,d also like to thanks SDbruboy for the bottle he recently sent me. I plan on aging this one a little. Thanks Cliff!

batch 001 by way of enniskillen.poured a clear yellow with a nice head.aroma of apples,cider,and oak.taste is a mix of sourness,oak,and sprit wine.(BATCH 002)murky yellow with a small white head.aroma is brett,oak,and vanilla.flavor is a mix of the aroma.very nice indeed

Bottle A Pale golden color. Pours out a with a white head there is a bit of fiz. A very nice beer. Thanks Buck Dich

Temptation - yeah thats what its been for me as I constantly vowed to wait "a bit longer" to try this. The color is a hazy orange-gold with a lively white head (gushed just a bit). Aroma has a pleasant funky sourness that can only come from my pal Brett. Some wood, wine, and citrus detectable as well. Flavor is a pleasant woody, citrus, sour blend that is really tasty. Citrus is more dominant than with Supplication, but I really like it and want more. Mouthfeel is nice with a pleasant finish - the use of wine barrels is wonderful here. The work of a genius!

This was Batch 2 and when the cork came out with a satisfying pop a cloud of steam rose from the bottle, followed about five seconds later by a pillar of foam. Split with my brother into two Duvel glasses, this poured a rich cloudy golden color that was unique in its creamyness. Nose is quite sour, but full of very complex aromas, that seems like apple, pear, grapes, apricot, and citrus. Mouthfeel very rich and smooth, and your tastebuds just dance. Flavors are much like the nose, and is more citrus than the aroma, and the finish is wonderfully sour. Almost as good as Duvel, there is nothing quite like this and you simply have to love what this brewer can do.

Bottle courtesy of BuckNaked. Pours slightly hazy golden with wispy film for head. Coats the glass quite nicely though. Aroma full of lemon zestiness, pear or sour grape, and musty woodiness. Flavor is all over the place, again lemon and pear sourness up front. Lots of musty/farmhouse yeast flavors through the middle. Fades back to sour/tart mouth puckering finish. Just the right amount of carbonation. Lots of apple cider belches right now, sorry. Aroma hurts the score a litle but this is a fine treat nonetheless. Thanks again Matt!!

God this is good. This is just friggin incredible. Beautiful to look at and to drink, and that my friends is a wonderful thing. Aroma floats around with notes of cherries, sourness, some chardonnay. Mouthfeel is soft. Flavors are just off the chart with some oak, the obvious chardonnay, with a tart finish I love.