Russian River Temptation

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

courtesy of Greg Gaughan - pours a hazy orange colour with a little persistent white foam; aroma of almonds, vanilla and apple, slightly woody; some acidity, creamy mouthfeel and with a good malt body; fair carbonation; some residual sugars with more notes of vanilla and almonds - a superb beer

(draught) Pale golden, clear; no head. Nose is clear Brettanomyces, dried mouldy lemon, lime. Taste is citrussy and mouldy, mushrooms, oaky and woody all at the same time. very refreshing mouthfeel, slightly adstringent. This is quite interesting. It is NOT lambic however, but remarkable enought.

Cloudy deep golden colour with a small white head. Sweet, light tart fresh apple fruity aroma with a yeasty note. Malty and fruity flavor with a light acidic finish. Thanx to sk8viking for sharing this one.

The Lure:
Lone raindrops delicately falling into a puddle. That is how the tintinnabulation of single piano notes sound in me, as percipient pears nobly take the hand of recipient honey. Their first step forward is the epitome of togetherness. White wine and bread are handed to them, and the violin trembles in, supported by long cello murmurs. A spiritual communion to the eternity of their fraternity. The surrounding wilderness blends into the scenery admirably, eyes close, unable to cope with the depth of the rising melody. The courting begins.

The Festivities:
Eyelids open gradually to the elevating orchestra punctuations. White grapes and honey plot the course of the bretty polyglot. Piano chords intelligently ring in the fully-developed musicality, and lambic tartness soars like soundscapes. Drums resonate quickly, to stop immediately, as silence and wooden dryness gently hover. The single piano notes reappear like haphazard raindrops, a citrus fruit amorously squeezed for some of its precious juice. Eyes close once again, softly, in total serenity.

Transcendence:
Worlds reside in silences.

Bottled, courtesy of sk8viking: Light yellow coloured. Unclear. Dense off white head. Sweet, fruity and light tarty aroma. Flavour is light acidic. Is quite grapish and light fruity. Quite complex. Medium body. Is sour and acidic in the end. Delicious beer.

Batch 001 bottle marked ’05 on the cage by ?. Pours a cloudy orange with a white head. Smells of funky sourness with peaches and sugary undertones. Taste is peachy and lambicey with some strong lemony undertones. Hay and straw reveal themselves as the beer warms. Light lemongrass and bitterness is present on the finish with a subtle but persistent sourness.

375 ml bottle. Batch 002. Rating #3000. Very pale straw/golden colour topped by a huge white head. Aroma is quite funky with lots of soft wood, leather and a very vineous flemish sour sort of aroma. A touch of earthy/woody character. Lightly acetic with a soft vanilla and oaky flavour. Complex and quite intoxicating. There is a great pear/apple/melon fruitiness underlying the dominant funk and oak. Velvety soft texture with lots of funk and tartness, but the acidity is quite soft. Quite different from other Russian River sour beers (with the possible exception of Depuration). Soft vanilla and oak. Great balance. Man, I wish these guys were still shipping outside of California. A great beer for #3000.

Batch 2. Soft golden yellow colored body underneath a soft, billowy white head that dies rather quickly into a nice thin film. Just a wonderful aroma of white grapes, soft honey and lavender, the brettonomyces are smooth and pungent, soft and prickly on the nose, everything about this beer smells divine, and the oak blends so perfectly with the light fruit and wine scents it’s almost too much to handle. There’s a soft doughiness and medicinal quality that I think adds to the experience, it’s better than if it were strictly all oak, like La Folie. The aroma alone absolutely rivals some of the best Belgian made sour ales around. Prickly and sharp up front, fizzy, vinuous, oily and sour. Over the middle it turns sour with a distinct bandaid (medicinal) smell mingling with grapes and pears. Frothy and full on the back of the palate, it leaves the mouth slightly numb, tingling with fruit (lemon) and sourdough. Awesome beer. Batch 1 on draft on Jan 31, 2008, had faded a little bit, but was still wonderously complex. Smooth, silky, but with a stale paper flavor from the mellowing. Batch 2 bumped by score up to 4.7 last year, and I think this Batch 1 on draft would garner a 4.1-4.4.