Russian River Damnation

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

Sampler at the RR Brewpub (Santa Rosa, CA). Nicely hazed light golden hue with a tiny head. A touch of Belgian yeast and banana in the nose. Interesting. Very mellow estery sweetness coupled with a bite of belgian spiciness and some bitterness up front. Refreshing, but a fairly big beer. I thought this was pretty special. Cheers!

On tap @ Toronado. Pours a cloudy golden color with almost no head. Yeasty, bready aroma, pizza dough and candi sugar. Thin body, spicy, sweet breads. I’m a dubbel guy, this just isn’t my style.

on tap at hopvine
V - clear pale orange/yellow
A - belgian ale spices
T - typical belgian ales. I think best summarized as 3 parts Delirium Tremens, 1 part water
P - well balanced.

From a growler filled about 30 minutes ago. The chalkboard claimed only 7% ABV, also. Slightly hazy yellow golden with a one finger creamy white head, pretty good retention. Belgian yeast is dominant with banana and peach notes up front. Candi sugar and a hint of lemon are in the background with some herbal hops. Flavor has a little bit stronger banana and lemon notes (though the banana is stronger). The hops dry out the light to moderate sweetness down to the semi dry finish. Bitterness peaks around a 2/10. Light to moderate carbonation with a medium body--very smooth (as the commercial description says). A very good Belgian!

tried a couple times while traveling the pacific nw. rating from tap at collins pub seattle. my notes: clear gold w/ small head - aroma of honey orange blossom - good medium texture - prickley carbonation - straightforward wheat taste - yeast and honey - bubblegum - tangy slightly tart finish - K6.5

tap at monks cafe- pours golden cloudy, with a nose of fresh vanilla, and wheat, bubblegum, belgian yeast maybe. banana. lots of banana. taste is very complex showcasing lots of banana, but also biscuit, and vanilla wafer. thick chewy mouthfeel. really good.

A golden blonde pour, just the slightest bit of haze in there. A tall head, like left over dish soap or bubblebath... fairly quick to recede, but leaves behind nice sticky patches. Fruity esters, a breadiness, and some citrus notes. Some spiciness throughout. Not as hot as many American shots at Belgian ales styles. Spiciness, but very subtle and almost even withdrawn so to not be too harsh... fruit/fruit peel elements, and a little twist of citrus. Some hoppy bitterness on the finish, which adds some nice finality. Quite smooth, and easy to take liberal sips of, not being a particularly high ABV. Carbonation is a little lacking, though not really ’flat.’ A nice drink, leaving just a bit of warmth, especially towards the end of the glass.

Golden in color with a thick, foamy cream colored head. Aroma is heavy in spices and also has notes of yeast apple, and orange peel. Flavor is of banana, bubble gum, spices, grains and yeast.