Russian River Damnation

bottle. hazy apricot pour with thick foamy white head. yeasty wheat aroma with hints of spice, fruit and musk. lively, smooth, fresh and crisp. mildspice, earthy and organic. yeast rounds. nice fruit. great brew.

Smells wit-like and has a ligh golden yellow color. Full palate with medium carbonation. Very light sour flavor with spices, yeast, and lemon zest. Slightly funky aftertaste.

Pours a lightly hazed straw amber color with an inch of white head. Nice webby lacing and solid head retention. Lightly tart and fruity aroma, not as tart smelling as Sanctification however, and not really funky at all. Again, the flavor is not as tart as Sanctification, but the tartness is definately there. So is a floral hop presence and a mild cheesy-yeastiness in the finish. Nice bready malt profile with some alcoholic heat in the finish.

Sampled a few times recently, including on draft at Capone’s and bottled at the Monk’s cafe RR dinner 1/23/07. Hazy yellow-orange. Earthy aroma, with notes of hops, citrus and clove. Interesting flavor, with yeast, wheat and spice. Interesting interpretation of the style.

Got some light oak in the aroma.Pours a light copper with a huge white head.Flavors are of light sourness and a hint of spices.Alittle thin with some spice in the finish.

Poured a light gold; very opaque, with visible sediment. Earthy-hoppy aroma; citrus; malt; fruity; floral. Flavors were subtle, but complex. Somewhat creamy mouthfeel. Yeast, some fruit, sweet malt, some ending bitterness. Not overly impressed, but was enjoyable.

Batch 16 - 750 mL bottle. For an exceptional and accurate appreciation I point you, the reader, to the review presented by ClarkVV on 01/17/2007. There is nothing I can add to the ClarkVV review. This is an amazingly well developed Belgian style ale and the yeasts are strongly present in aroma and taste.

Batch 16 750mL bottle consumed on 1/5/2007
Goldenrod and marigold meet in this luminous, tightly carbonated liquid. Clarity is quite high, though there is, of course, a light bottle conditioned haziness. However, trying my hardest to leave the sediment behind, it is minimal. Stark white head is every bit as voloptuous as any bottle of Duvel I’ve encountered. Full, rocky, dense and showing strong retention, it also laces magnificently. Not much to fault on appearance here, but then, this is Russian River after all.
Deeply expressive fruity esters congregate on the nose. Strong and sniffable, you almost expect they’ve brewed this thing with peaches, nectarines, golden raisins and apricots. Instead of slowing up or lightening, the aroma actually sweetens and grows more rich. Wonderfully extracted malts are bursting with a honey-meets-light-caramel sweetness. A gentle caress of cinnamon and dry almonds adds complexity/intrigue on the finish, while there is a gentle, soft doughiness apparent as well. Clean and elegant, it’s perfectly at ease portraying the notes it intends without want of more. Unlike some Belgian goldens, it’s not sharp and alcoholic in the least. The most sharpness seen is a light, unripened nectarine rind-like note up front that carries suggestions of light alcohol warmth (and balancing dryness, importantly), but nothing more. Well lagered and quite refined.
Sweet on the palate, decidedly so, without as much of the more dry esters seen at the start of the nose. Robust peach flavors quickly meld with thick, fantastically extracted malt sugars to provide a pillowy blanket about the palate. A bit of hay-like hops, pleasant and lightly herbal as well run through the middle, as the malt character picks up some crusty baguette-like dryness. The finish is alive with fresh yeast notes of dough and light minerals. It ends less sweet than it starts, but still on the sweet side overall. Very light notes of fruitiness and alcohol warmth lend a peach liqueur-like effect to the finish. Mouthfeel is always tightly carbonated and extremely malt-supple.
I always hear how "boring/regular" tasting this beer is and it’s pretty ridiculous. Not only does Vinnie show here that he does not need to rely on brett/lacto/pedio and/or barrels to concoct outstanding beer, but this beer is intended to be relatively simple, so the only ones who should be complaining about this being overly "simple or boring" are the ones who can’t recognize wonderfully executed beer when they taste it.