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Russian River Damnation

Russian River Damnation - Belgian Strong Ale

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 Percentile 
96
overall
Brewed by Russian River Brewing
Style: Belgian Strong Ale

Santa Rosa, California USA

bottled
common

on tap
common

Regional Distribution
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 Ratings  Average  Score  ABV  Style Pctl  Serve in 
7403.75/5.03.74/5.07.75%90.2Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler
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Commercial Description:
In the great beer producing country of Belgium, some brewers have made it a tradition to give their beers an unusual name. Sometimes the name is curious, now and then it is diabolical and other times it is just plain silly. Damnation is our brewmaster’s interpretation of a Belgian style Strong Golden Ale. It has extraordinary aromas of banana and pear with mouth filling flavors of sweet malt and earthy hops. The lingering finish is dry and slightly bitter but very, very smooth.

Editor’s Note: this entry is for all batches EXCEPT batches 23 and 46 <a href=/beer/russian-river-damnation-batch-23-(oak-aged)/74510/>see separate entry.
 Most Recent Top Raters Highest Ratings Who's Rated This?  
 stegosaurus (1882), Levittown, Pennsylvania, USA
3.7 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/58/103/515/20
Mar 16, 2007  
Bottle sampled with Beerded one. Pours golden with a large fluffy white head. Aroma is floral, fruit, belgian style spices, and citrus. The flavor is sweet, fruit, spices are present, and citrusy. Decent body, good brew.


 robertsreality (2460), Minnesota, USA
4.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/517/20
Mar 16, 2007  
Syrapy Yellow Color with Thick White Head. Fruity Notes....notably Banana...Cloves/Spices and Alc on the Nose. Damnation has a Thick Dry Mouthfeel....with a Bready Taste to It...with Notes of Pepper, Cloves, Spices, Banana..and a Dry Aftertaste...Bready, Yeasty and Wholly Wonderful.


 JDUB (170), Beautiful Venice Beach, California, USA
3.7 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/57/103/515/20
Mar 16, 2007  
750 ml, Pasadena, CA. Brilliantly golden color and faintly cloudy. Awesome lacing. The aroma of this brew is predominately that of alcohol, yeast and lemons. Flavor is consistent. This beer is very much like a Duvel. Another delicious Cali brew!


 drewbeerme (2224), Chicago, Illinois, USA
4.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/105/58/104/516/20
Mar 15, 2007    Updated: Dec 14, 2007
750ml batch #14 (9/06, using abbey ale yeast). thanks to goldtwins for this. pours clear golden with fluffy white head. nose has some banana, pear, coriander, hay, slight funk to it, aged cheddar, very yeasty. the flavor of this batch seems odd to me, strange red apples and plums mixed with a very earthy and medicinal flavor. mouthfeel is smooth and silky, carbonation is low-medium. alcohol is well hidden. i recall enjoying the batch #16 i had several months ago much more, i’d probably give that a 4. I see why RR said this batch didn’t turn out liked they’d hope. i’ll have to re-rate a different batch soon.7/4/5/4/10=3.0

batch 16, aged 6months. pours sparkling semi-clear straw with frothy white head. nose is chalk full of barnyard, hay, banana, flowers, musty, yeasty, soft toffee, and coriander. flavor is light, crisp, lemon, coriander, banana, coriander, flowers, yeast, and sweet caramel malts. mouthfeel is full and crisp. very sessionable summer ale. the best US example of a belgian golden ale i’ve ever had. batch 16 is also the best batch of damnation and i prefered this aged bottle over when it was fresh. 8/5/8/4/16=4.1.

12/14/07, batch 16, 750ml bottle. I’m not sure how I feel about aging damnation. the hops play a key role in this beer and in this bottle they have faded leaving a lemony, yeasty, and grainy taste. i think the hops freshness is needed to balance things a bit more. its still a solid beer i think i just prefer it fresh. as this warmed up the herbal hop notes came out a lot more and this started tasting much better. 3.9.


 tronraner (1905), Maryville, Tennessee, USA
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/103/58/104/516/20
Mar 12, 2007  
Entered from old notes. Bottle, split with muenster and NachlamSie. Pours a hazy golden yellow with persistent, lacy white head. The aroma is fresh banana, corriander, and a little bit of bread, maybe even muffins. The flavor is very smooth, with subtle banana, clove, and corriander. It leaves a toasty finish with a bit of floral hops. It’s all rounded off by a mellow sweetness, maybe some zest and amaranth. The aftertaste is slightly woody. The balance of flavors in this is amazing, they’re all there, but nothing dominates anything else. Pretty good beer here.


billism (42), Missouri City, Texas, USA
3.7 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/104/57/104/516/20
Mar 6, 2007  
750ml bottle. Pours a slightly hazy light golden color. Solft light colored head that diminishes somewhat quickly into a thin film.Not a strong aroma of fresh fruit/yeast. Bitter sweet flavor, citrusy, fresh fruit. Flavor not powerful, but nice. Medium body.


 ogglethorp (882), Ohio, USA
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/103/57/104/517/20
Mar 1, 2007  
Bottle courtesy of irishboy!!! Pours a hazy golden color, with a medium pillowy off white head. Aroma is yeast, citrus, straw, slight banana. Flavor is pale malts, yeast, fruit, pepper. Palate is medium bodied, highly crabonated, smooth, bitter finish. Nice one for sure.


 swoopjones (1862), Buffalo, New York, USA
4.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/517/20
Feb 28, 2007  
750ml corked bottle. Bananas & citrus in the nose. Medium golden in color with tons of carbonation.Little head. Yeasty & citrus on the tongue. Lively & active on your palate. Lingers on your tongue like a chubby in fourth grade math glass. One of the best belgian blonds to date . loved it



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