Russian River Temptation

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

Bottle courtesy of realale420, thanks again Brian! Cloudy bright yellow pour with a fizzy bone white head. Aroma of light bret, subtle barn yard elements...wood and light vinous notes as well and a bit of yeast and a light sour fruitiness. The flavor certainly has some strong wood and wine character...very dry vinous and light sour fruit elements with an earthy woodiness and light amounts of spice, funk, and yeast. Medium-light body with a sturdy yet not overt carbonation...dry, fruity, and sour throughout and finishes lightly sour and super-dry. Nice brew.

I am tempted....I am TEMPTED!!!! My favorite batch of Vinnie’s tonight. It poured a mildly cloudy golden color...the best way to describe it is uriney colored with absolutely no head. The aroma effervesced a malty sweetness..almost wheat like...but ohhhhhh that caramel malt backbone how i love thee!!! The taste begins with a fruity and malty sweetness based on that caramel base,, and ends with a good sour and yet balanced sweet aftertaste. This is somewhat achieved through a grapefruit-like acidic ending..very nice. And that was just the first sip!!!!! The next few sips led from more of a belgain strong ale sweetness to more of a German Weisbier....heavy wheat taste, very pleasant...good drying ending but not overwhelming..but an excellent body and a nice silky carbonation level that blended well with the sourness. As i drank the aroma of fruit, malt and wheat grew in intensity and so did the Temptation of this whopper. Oh mama was this good!!! What more can i say...?

BEAUTIFUL beer. Pours a slighty hazed burnt orange with a billowy head that settles to nice lace. Can’t stop smelling this one. Sour peach, light funk. Chardonnay dryness ot this flavor, melon, peach, fruity and wonderful.

very acrid aroma, sour apple, bordering on vinegar with traces of wood. pour was a murky gold color, the head went up in a blaze and left pretty much no lacing. the wine barrels really did a number on the flavor, creating a very dry taste that was basically just wood and brett...reminded me of a superdry white wine that was going bad. i have had this before and remembered liking it more, but at this point, i wasnt a big fan

Batch 3 bottle shared by mentor, thanks dude! Poured a cloudy, pale golden-straw color with a moderate off-white head that clung to the glass nicely. Aroma of soft yeastiness with some light citrus including apricot and mango, and a soft wine-like oak funk. Sweet, lightly tart entry leads into a moderate yeastiness with some barnyard funk and undertones of soft citrus fruit, finishing lightly sour with some yeast and oak in the finish. Smooth, soft carbonation.

On tap at Falling Rock. Pours a fizzy hazy yellow. Nose is lemon, lactic sourness, some mild grapes, white wine, sour apple. Flavor is a sharp acidity followed by a woody dry chardonnay flavors and sweet fruits, slight brett. Finishes dry and insanely easy to drink.

Poured a very light color with a white head. Had a sour aroma and flavor. Flavor had a little oakiness. I am always skeptical with sour beers but this wasnt to bad.

Jesus this is good stuff. Aroma is all citrus and funk. Taste is very similar with somewhat vinegary notes, but that is in the end-notes more than anythings. Just a very solid beer and thirst-quenching. To go into more detail, I get a lot of lemon rind out of the beer, a huge bret character, and a slight bitterness from the yeast profile. Very, very good. ---re-rate-- Batch 2 consumed 4/29/09 Vinegar has dropped off. Nice brett and barnyard still. Spritzy, yeasty, bretty, lemony. Finishes dry.