Russian River Beatification (Batch 001)

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

Wowo, thanks for sharing this rare gem Yaniv! Lightly hazed light orange with a thin film for a head. Subtle herbal sour nose. Light lemon to citrus, with perhaps Brett dominant over the bacteria. Light body with average carbonation. Astringent! Light wheaty sort of esters and grain flavors. Very oaky with something distinctly peppery. Lemongrass perhaps? Rather different than my memories of batch 2, and not in a bad way!

Doing this one from memory, about a week after I had it. Thanks Jeff for the bottle!!! I had this side by side with a La Folie, and this was sooo much better. Similar characteristics to the La Folie but much more subtle and much more complex. Very appreciated the level of detail and time that went into this beer. Not the over powering sour that I have had in other flemish sours, while having a very nice carbonation with the cleanest and driest finish of almost any beer I have had. This was very interesting beer, and highly enjoyable. Thanks again for the chance to try this brew Jeff!

Thanks to Brad, we tasted the PH1 and 001 side-by-side. Both offered an almost lambic-like funky nose, with gorgeous notes of cider-must and flowers. Oaky, lemony, unripe oranges. I could have smelled this beer all night. The nose on the PH1 was softer, less rough and intense than the 001. Both tasted very tart and juicy, but the PH-1 was much smoother, with just a hint of bitterness. In the 001 the bitterness was higher, and discordant, muting the juiciness a bit. An odd chemical touch there too. The 001 was just rougher around the edges. Both were outstanding. My rating is a composite of both.

Bottled, LCRBM. Strong astringent, oak and loads of fruit aroma. Cloudy, dark yellow color, white head, good lace. Very sour, tart, light bitter, sweet fruitiness, banana, grapefruit. Soft mouthfeel.

Bottled, thanks cquiroga! Cloudy deep golden, brief head. Citric nose. Very dry with lively spritzy mouthfeel. Citric acidity mixes with wood and strawberry. Fairly light bodied with near Cantillon-like acidity. Fresh and flavourful. Really good, but yet not my favourite from this excellent brewer.

Sampled on 8/2/06, comparison of Batch 001 and 001-PH1 bottles: Both pour a slightly hazy golden bronze with a thin coating of wispy white head. Aromas are very similar, bretty, funky, yeasty and complex, but the PH1 has more of a drier, earthier, and acetic character while the regular is a little sweeter and has some fruity light tartness. The Batch 001 starts with nice sweetness and lively carbonation, nicely balanced with good tartness and mild, bretty funk. Finishes semi-dry and lightly warming with good complexity. PH1 starts drier than the regular with a more viscous woody, oaky and Flemish sour tart cherry flavor. Very complex and more authentic than the regular Batch 001. Not really sure which one I prefer, but both are very tasty and unique.

From a bottle that hey_kevin shared at a tasting. The body was dark orange with a slightly off white head. The aroma was beautiful balsamic vinegar with some grass and hay. There was also a nice floral note. The taste is fairly tart with some floral notes and definite medicinal or band aid phenols. The finish was very dry and clean. The mouthfeel was soft and that made this refreshing. I have only had a few from RR, but all have depely impressed me with originality and quality.

A great quenching aperitif beer. The oak imparts characteristic vanilla. The used wood also imparts cherry, sour vinous character and wood. Mouthfeel is surprisingly soft. Very late breadiness. excellent. Also at the Monks tasting.