Russian River Damnation

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

Bottle. 22oz. Pours a clear golden with large diminishing white head. This is a true golden though and looks better than most. Aroma is yeasty with light malt and a hint of banana and spice...not a lot there really and none of the fruits described on the label....it definitely doesn’t let you know about the flavors that will hit the tongue soon. Lightly carbonated and has some of the lively character it needs to sport the style, giving it a soft body. Flavors come in lightly sweet and with a spiciness not evident in the aroma with notes of clove and pepper. Then some light fruit and orange rind tartness then honey, and that same spicy peppery finish that came through in the front. Holy crap, every sip gets better. This is a fantastic brew.

Draft at the brewpub a few times. Poured a hazy golden-light orange color. Head was white with decent retention and lacing. Aroma was of clove, distinct orange, flower blossom, and subdued banana. Effervescent and slightly sweet on the tongue with clove, fleshy fruit, citrus, and subdued pale malt flavors. Great beer.

Slightly hazy yellow-orange color with a persistent white head. Leaves some lacing. Light spice and pepper atop a mild floral sweetness. Nice palate, sometimes Belgian Goldens can seem undercarbonated. Taste has an apple-like sweetness with some mild pepper. The finish is dry and satisfying.

Thanks MikeTD. Golden copper pour, medium white head. Aroma is candi sugar, yeast, spice and fruitness. Flavor is banana, wheat, sugar, spicy belgian yeast, with more sugary notes and pear and a good leafy fresh hop finish. Flavor is sweet and sugary yet complex with spices, fruits, and hops and very carbonated which accentuates it all. Sweet, spicy, yet smooth. Good example of this style.

Batch 22. Appropriately named, this brew pours a golden copper color w/ a huge frothy expanion. Head retention is good and reduces to a full downy canopy w/ a lasting creamy lace. Tiny Champagne streamers persist. Aroma is a little mild for this genre but does have scents of creamy tropical malts. Medium full nectar w/ ample residual effers that feel like cotton on the palate. Flavors are fairly dry, green, and on the bitter side. A decent malt profile holds flavors of banana, vanilla, and some other tropicals. The finish is bittered better than well w/ flavors lingerng. Overall: this brew is bittered so much I couldn’t enjoy it. Tastes like green stems and seeds. The name says it all.

750 ml bottle. Batch 024(28-Apr-07 / 23-May-07) Something of that sweet Tripel aroma. Citrus and spice. Color of ripe peach with a heavy fine white head. Medium bodied; very mild carbonation. The flavor is caramel malt and arguably light stone fruits. It is something earthy. The finish is lightly astringent, pretty dry and has that earthy note. After a really long time pear skin came to my mouth. The fruits do pick up as it warms. Along with a slightly sour note. It’s not the same as it was ten minutes ago. It was bottled only 2.5 months ago, so perhaps it should have been aged a bit? However, it is a good, mild drink.

Pale gold with active fizzy head. Aroma is faint and a bit grassy with sweet and spicy notes. Taste is same, and rather milquetoast. A boring beer from a fantastic brewer. Perhaps the bottle was mishandled, because I smelled neither pear nor bananas. 22oz/13

Batch 13. Light golden color with a big white head. Aroma is lightly sweet with some light peach, citrus, lighter bread, and yeast. Flavor is bready, yeasty and sweet. Some gentle citrus with a nice hint of hop bitterness. Really nice the way everything blends together. This batch was better than the "20" I shared with some guests a few months ago. Nice "everyday" Belgian from Vinnie the Great.