Russian River Damnation

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

Bottle courtesy of ericandersnavy. Clouded gold pour. Smell has sweet citrus with apple. Some tart aromas. Taste is a nice roasted malt profile with Belgian fruits in the mix.

Draught at Henry’s 12th Street Tavern. Bright funky golden color. Fruity aroma, lemon and honey, funky Belgian yeast, with some weird sweaty apple. Yeasty flavor with honey and fruits, sloppy and uneven with the yeast far too prominent. A big disappointment. What’s with the strange yeast character?

750 mL bottle (thanks to Pawola). This is quite a mellow beer overall, especially for its abv, but there is also a good amount of subtle complexities that make it nice. In the aroma, some mellow fruits, apricots, melons, pears, apples, mild sour, slight olive funk, and butter cookie. Lighter oily foam head on the pour, some cloudiness, hazy tangerine in color. As mentioned, this is much more mellow tasting than the abv would suggest with a oily yet nicely crisp feel to it. The aroma compliments the flavor fairly well, but some other sublties come through on the palate. The sweet fruits have a slight tartness, there’s a bit more spice flavors, and some herbal wood bitter in the finish. I find this beer very pleasant, drinkable, and overall well crafted.

Bottled, pours bright clear golden with medium white head, aroma of fruit/banana, wonderful full bodied sweet flavor with crisp dry finish, much more balanced then most Belgians

Aroma of peaches, apricots and dates. Cloudy rust-orange with a thick, dense, white head and slow-rising bubbles. Flavour gives me sweet dates, alcohol, citrus and hops. Dry, medium-heavy bodied. Begs for another sip. Not much alcohol or yeast flavour.

750ml bottle, Batch 022, with thanks to FlssmrBrewAlum for a bottle as well (a Batch 041 to age), included as a great bonus. Pours a clear bright golden yellow with a large fluffy white head that lingers. Aroma is lemon zest, light spice, pale malts and hints of banana and some island fruits. Flavor is more lemon peel, light spice and fruits. Quite drinkable, tasty and interesting without being overly complex; thanks again Adam!

Murky straw colored pour with a massive ivory head that left spotty lacing. Aroma is extremely yeasty, with banana, clove, and lemongrass. Flavor exhibits tremendous earthiness, pepper, and caramel. Just not my favorite style.

750mL bottle at our KW group tasting, Matt7215’s bottle, thanks Matt! Pours a straw gold with a large white head. The aroma was nice and sharp, very hoppy, American hops of some major variety, pale malts, minor funk. Flavour is very tasty, very hop-forward, I get some tums, pale malts, simple spice, earthyness, definitely a well done American interpretation of a Belgian style. The hops really make this beer what it is. Simple and elegant. Thanks for the share Matt.