Russian River Damnation

A very pale, golden color. Active carbonation, nice head retention. Peppery, spicy aroma and flavor with vanilla notes as well. A bit tart, very refreshing and flavorful. I’d like a bit more body to it, but it’s a nice beer.

On tap at Stone 12th. Very light odor, really had to swirl and work to get the flavors to become clear. Also hard to do in the crowd sometimes. The light scent and bright color gave me little indication of how much flavor was packed into this one. Sharp, crisp, and yummy. This could make for a good sessioon beer, is what I wrote at the tasting. I’ll have to test that theory...

very excited to taste the first style of Russian River brews to arrive in bottles in Portland. pours a deep golden color with a huge off white head. aroma is filled with honey and earthy spices. there is some fruit on the nose as well, banana and light citrus. flavor is delightful and complex. yeasty, caramely, spicy, and satisfyingly crisp.

Special thanks to can8ianben for my first Russian River brew! Having just had Westvleteren Extra 8 the day before, this had some tough company from the start. Nose and body were very appealing spice, sweet malt, yeast, slightly viscous body. Overall a very, very solid brew it is just missing a few small unique characteristics that set beers of this style apart from others.

750ml bottles. Tried batch 11(thanks Paul) and batch 32 next to each other at Ebenezer’s. Poured copper in color with a medium size white head. Aroma of spices, Belgian yeast, and a bit earthy. Tastes of caramel, cloves, Belgian yeast, straw, earthy and moderately sweet.

~Lemony pear scent with light spicy phenols. Clove and pepper. ~Pours a cloudy yellow color with creamy white head. ~Peppery taste with pear like fruits and other spices. ~Medium carbonation, medium body, smooth, some alcohol warmth. ~Excellent Belgian brew!

Ho-hum golden color with faded head. Aroma of honey sweetness, grain, Belgian yeast and pepper. Flavor is again sweet, but quite balanced, pleasant, and not at all cloying. Pepper and yeast round out the profile. A BSA/Trippel hybrid. Don’t be fooled by the uninspiring appearance---this is a quality Belgian Strong Ale.

Copper colored with a ince foamy off white head. Smell is banana, bubble gum, spices, other fruits going on. Taste is sweet with fruit. Alcohol is well hidden. Good beer.