Russian River Beatification (Batch 002 +)

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

750mL courtesy of joeneugs. This beer froze in the mail, nearly exploded and now trying it, somehow it hasn’t lost one bit of its spectacularity. The cork pops with good pressure, pours with good, spritzy carbonation leaving a small, white head that dissipates quickly. Looks cloudy, beautiful grapefruit juice in color like a top notch geuze. Aroma is similar to the best geuzes I’ve tried: lemon sorbet, fresh grapefruit juice, grapefruit rind, white pepper. Taste is bright, fresh grapefruit and lemon with quenching tartness. Not very funky or horsey- more fresh citrus. Some oak, sour peaches, and Granny Smith apples shine through. The definite hit of our tasting. Thanks Joe!

Batch 3, 750 ml bottle courtesy of GT, the results of a great trade. Clear to cloudy golden with a medium white head. Aroma of lemon and grapefruit with a background of white pepper. Very full bodied. Flavor starts with citrus and progresses to a complex sourness, with a dry finish. Very interesting. Not funky. Great example of the style, although you can;t say the style out loud.

375mL bottle Thanks to Brad! This beer was awesome. I opened it up with a few friends at my local bottle shop and it was just spectacular. It poured a somewhat murky light golden with a thin white head. Aroma of serious barnyard funk, horse blanket, citrus (peaches and grapefruit mainly). Taste came through smoother than I expected with a huge Brett profile, fruity citrus on the palate, and a pleasing amount of tart bitterness on the end. Very smooth going down. Funky sour is an understatement. I loved it!

First off, I do not like sour beers. I know, I know, why should i rate a beer style I don’t like. Well, this is a purely subjective site, and given the price point of this beer, I think the voice of the opposition should be heard. Many thanks to thedm and hotstuff for sharing this bottle, but damn it was awful. Pale yellow in color with a thin nothing of a head. An evil cloud of rotten hay, citrus compost and deer urine floated off the beer after I poured it. This is a huge sour beer that physically caused me pain as my cheeks sucked into my head. It is just bugs and rotten lemons and sour stuff. Wow, this was tough. Just awful. I can see the artistic qualities that went into creating this, but damn it tastes bad.

Bottle. Dark yellow and slightly hazy pour with very little carbonation and a buttery and sweet peach aroma. Flavor starts with stong sour apple, then mellows out into peach and slightly sugary(and of course, very sour again) on the finish. I will trying to find this one again, really enjoyed this one!

750 bottle. Pours a hazy gold with nice head. Nose is of citrus, mild funk, and if sour was a smell it would be that too. Taste is big on citrus and sour. Very sour, very clean sour. I only wish this beer could be stronger in alcohol.

Bottle:   Murky straw, thin white sudsy head, spotty lacing.   Nice farmhouse, musty, barnish nose.   Bright, tart, and clean on the tongue.   Not too sour, very delicate.   Just an overall solid beer.

75cl bottle shared by photomike. Just another animal entirely from the rest of the Russian River family. The sourest beer that I have ever had, but somehow remained smooth and drinkable. I’m not even sure that I understand. Ever since hearing Vinnie describe how they were brewing this beer while we were at the brewery for RBSG this past summer, I’ve been dying to try it. This truly is a Sonambic. The funk, the acidity, the wood. So intense from start to finish. The pour is a relatively unassuming hazy yellow with a small fine head that leaves patchy lace behind. The aroma is where things get interesting. It’s just the funkiest, sourest, most oaky thing to ever hit my nostrils. Straight oaked lemon juice with brett. The flavor is super dry, super sour, with yoghurt and lemons coming through, and quite oaky, though relatively clean tasting as well, without the the sharper cheesy funk flavors found in some Belgian lambics. Light bodied with acid coasting the tongue. I had burned my tongue the day before on some tea, and Beatification started to bring back the hurt with all that acid. Pain for pleasure. Honestly, this borders on too acidic, and I have a very high threshold for sour. Though it is very well blended and smooth overall for how acidic it is. This might not have been the most pleasurable beer of the tasting, but it was the most heavy of an impact. Lacks the depth of Supplication, but the awesome sourness is unrivaled. Killer shit.