Russian River Beatification (Batch 001)

Formerly brewed at Russian River Brewing
Style: Sour Ale
Santa Rosa, California USA

From the Columbus tasting , shared by Sliffy! Orange hazy pour with a white head. Aroma was perfumey..lots of brett. Flavor of melon rind, green apple...sour candy-ish at times. Light carbonation with a big sour end.

PH1 bottle enjoyed at Toronado, San Francisco.

Golden peachy, when left alone a few cloudy islands dance around the ring of lacy head, but comes to a good head after a swirl or two.
Whoh nelly, fantastic funk going down on this one! It almost had a waxy, old church candle thing going on. Great yeast presence too.
A kaleidoscope of funky brett, mandarin oranges, perfect amount of balsamic vinegar bittersweet acidity, and balances with pinpoint accuracy with the dry, tart finish.
I’ve said this before about a another American wild ale from the east coast funkmasters at The Alchemist, those Geuzestekerijses (don’t even know if you can put that in plural) better get off their laurels because in a decade or so their American cousins just might muscle in on their racket...

9/24/06. Poured out of 375 mL bottle, purchased online from Russian River Brewing Company 6/14/06. Batch 001-PH1. Orange marmalade color with a voluminous beady head that fades quickly. There’s a constant activity of bubbles cascading up the glass, but the head won’t form. Lacing is almost nonexistent. Aroma is wonderful, very much like La Folie but with a toned-down acidity and juiciness. Woody lacto-pedio action with delicate fruitiness. This seems like it could be the "table beer" or the lighter, more refreshing summer quencher of the same family who made La Folie. Flavor is explosively tart and intoxicatingly funky with lemons, underripe apples, and a sharp cheesy barnyard essence on the roof of the mouth. Mouthwatering and delicious, transitioning wonderfully to the soft finish. Dry and juicy, both. Almost seems like a tart champagne with hints of dusty, musty, bandagey phenols, but the sweet slightness of the vanilla finish displays the elegance of the wood. Fabulously soft and long, haunting trail reminiscent of Petrus Aged Pale, but better. Or should I say "bretter?" Medium-thin body with lively effervescence, bordering on fizzy. After the bubble cascade slows to a crawl and the beer breathes a bit, the body is much softer but also seems a bit more straightforwardly "cheesy." The carbonation almost brings the palate down a notch, but when the finish hits and just lays there like a yellow cashmere blanket on the tongue, I can hardly think of a beer more elegant.

Batch PH1 at columbus gathering. Wow I didnt think a beer could be this sour. It actually made me pucker. Had a little citrusy sour taste. Almost like beer form of funky sour patch kids.

Side by side on the Laid Back Brussels Tasting (Feb 9, 2008) of both Batch 1 and Batch 1 PH1. (Points for PH1)
Batch 001 PH1Clear, orange body with a fizzy white head. Sour aroma of citrus, wood, orange, bit vinegar, aspartame, ... Excellent aroma, very hanssens (geuze) like. Heavily sour, lightly bitter flavour. With the first sips, I noticed some camembert flavours, afterwards more fruit (apple), wood, ... Quite complex flavour. Very nice. 9/4/9/3/18 = 4.3
Batch 001 Clear, orange body. Fizzy, white head. Aroma of citrus, wood, little bit of vinegar. Not as intense as the PH1. Moderately sour, lightly bitter flavour, but not as fruity as the PH1. Very nice, good balance, but the PH1 is better. 8/4/8/3/16 = 3.9

LCRBM2. Thanks to Phil_l for bringing this back from the States. Gorgeous sourness on the aroma. Very sour, but rounded in mouth, some toffee, then great balanced lemon sourness on finish. Good beer. Would like a whole bottle to myself for a better description.

Bottled - LCRBM2 - A very hazy yellow coloured beer with some tan bubbles afloat. The aroma is very funky: sour gueuze notes and lots of fizzy apple. The taste is wonderful. Lovely sourness, lots of lemons. Beautiful tasty acidity. A truly lovely beer which I was very much looking forward to and it didn’t disappoint.

Hazy yellow to amber coloured with an average white head and quiet a lot of carbonation. Very fruity sweet aroma, hints of citrus and oak, even a little dry-fruity white wine touch. Very fruity spankling body. Little accidic. Finish is again fruity and somewhat sourish. But a very good beer.