Russian River Temptation

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

MilkmanDan’s MN Welcome Night: Hazy yellow color with a medium head. Sour aroma with some hints of nutmeg. Dry lemon taste with a sour finish. Some wheat lingering near the end. The is not nearly as up front as many gueuzes will be, instead it drags it out. Awfully nice!

375mL Batch 1 bottle, from The_Beer_God, thanks so much, Mike! Consumed all to myself on 7/15/2005. Served in a lambic flute (why the hell not!) starting at about 48 degrees and progressively warmer from there.

How about a top 10 reasons why I love this beer so much?
1. American but not Americanized
2. A beautiful and tempting sourness can be sensed from the nose.
3. Warm, light fruity tones, and very soft, approachable barrel character, with a delicate yet vibrant yeastiness. Not to mention a wonderful, permeating strength to the aroma.
4. No foaming when opened, unfiltered, unpasteurized, moderate head, with perfect retention and tons of lacing. Brilliant, tiny bubbles.
5. Another one of those beers you don’t want to stop sniffing. Funky and charming, it takes a mountain to remove the glass from your nose.
6. Such a deliciously seductive acidity.
7. Though I don’t even care much for Chardonnay, and am generally skeptical of barrel-aging, this is superbly done and most importantly, nowhere near overdone.
8. Perfect mouthfeel, to my taste, with delicate, tiny bubbles, tingly and bursting all over the palate to provide wood, apricots, peaches, nectarines, white pepper and light apples.
9. The brettanomyces are noticeable but do not dominate the beer, an awesome accomplishment for American brewing.
10. A 375mL bottle goes down WAY too fast. At my last sip, it seems like I just took my first.

Great stuff, Vinnie! Cant’ wait to see how this ages, and if it ages anything like I think it will, I’ve got to get me some more.

BCTC 2005. Pours a medium hazy gold with an ok head that fades a bit. Aroma is moslty yeasty with lots of traditional brett notes like horseblanket cobwebs and the like. There is also an oaky buttery aroma and flavor wich goes pretty well in this beer. Very complex flavor of bready malts, along with oak, a wierd wine-like sweetness followed by a dry and slightly sour aftertaste. Very easy drinking and smooth.

(Draught) Sampled at the Belgium Comes To Cooperstown 2005 in Cooperstown, NY. Grape, white wine and sweet. Thin, dissipating head with a clear gold body. Peppery and sour. Excellent! (8/3/8/4/17). Re-Rate (750ml bottle) Sampled at the post-GCBF party hosted by Oakes, "Big Beer Sampling". White wine, gueze, raspberry and lemon nose. Red rose pedals on a ginger ale and white wine mixture. (7/4/8/3/14).

375 ml bottle Batch #1 poured a clear golden yellow with a large creamy lasting white head. Aromas of sour citrus, straw, some vinous notes and a hint of oak. Palate was light bodied and crisp. Flavors of straw, lemon, a hint of white grapes and oak with a lingering dry bitter finish.

Bottle provided via trade with fordest. Pours cloudy yellow with an average fizzy white head, mostly lasting, fair lacing. Aroma is average malt (bread, hay), average hops (citrus, lemon), average yeast (dough) with notes of grape and wine. Light bodied, slick texture, average carbonation and a bitter finish. Long duration, light sweetness, heavy acidity and bitterness, vinegar notes.

375 ml bottle. Gold color with a nice, frothy head. You can really smell the chardonay in the aroma as well as barnyard and lemon. The taste is nicely tart, acidic and dry. The flavors are complex, bouncing between themselves like lottery balls. Totally refreshing.

Bottle shared with HogTownHarry, biegaman, mds, Radek Kliber, tupalev & the rest of the gang. Pours a very cloudy yellow with a small diminishing creamy white head. Nice and subtle sour aroma with sweet malt, fruit, yeast and some faint oak. Flavour follows the aroma and is quite pleasant -- it’s complex, well balanced and really easy to drink. Medium bodied, dry mouthfeel. Like the other Russian River beers I’ve had, this is really good stuff.