Russian River Deviation (Bottleworks IX)

Formerly brewed at Russian River Brewing
Style: Sour Ale/Wild Ale
Santa Rosa, California USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip, Tumbler

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UPDATED: APR 20, 2008 22 oz bottle. Shared this with a bunch of people. Some people liked this, most didn’t. Nice amber/orange color. Aroma is vinegar. Flavor is pure vinegar. Sour like all get out. This stuff gave me heartburn. Like sucking on a lemon. Like vinegar? You’ll love this stuff.

UPDATED: SEP 4, 2009 draft @ brouwer’s - hazy orange with big white head; aromas are crisp and tart and mix of citrus and sour apples; i haven’t had many brett beers, but so far i’d say it has quite the zing to it, both on the nose and on the lips; medium body and becomes creamy mid-way through the glass; rich flavor mix that is almost different from sip to sip; brett and sourness is never overpowering

draft @ Brouwer’s Big Wood - dark gold with minor carbonation; texture is very light and there is still some zing from the brett, but this is certainly not very sour; not as good as it was fresh; wish I had some bottles to see how it’s aging there b/c in the keg it’s pretty tame and I’ll get some hate from folks not in Seattle, but I’ll be passing on this from now on when on draft

Rating #999. Bottle, thanks to 5000. Hazt brown/amber, with a fast disappearing white head. Aroma is sour, with peaches, funk, lemons, and oak. Flavor is sour fruit, peaches, lemons, and cherries. Also some funk, oak, and a tart finish. Another interesting sour ale, which I am slowly appreciating.

750mL bottle, courtesy of after4ever. Thanks, Tom! Pours a murky, brownish-straw color; off-white head with patchy, mixed-bubbled lacing. Very pleasant, tart aroma, showing citrus (lemon, grapefruit), a reasonable degree of funk, toasted oak, and some red wine notes (nothing overtly tannic; mostly soft red fruits); nicely tart, developed, funky and dry. As with most Russian Rivers that I’ve had (and opposite to Pizza Ports / Lost Abbeys), things improve with the bottling yeast added. Swirl and dump; the nose, etc. is a bit duller without the dregs. Medium-to-full, puckering mouthfeel: good, prominent levels of tart citrus and cherries and funk; not overly tart, not jaw-clenching, but refined and focused and bretty; without the dregs, the core seems a little hollow, but adding them in provides an even clearer picture (please please please pour the dregs): toasted oak and wood, dark red fruits, a touch of peppery red wine; perfectly dry, dense, with just the right amount of tartness, viscosity and horseblanket. A very nice balance between a solid fruit character and bretty / funky / dry goodness, which means I will likely enjoy this a touch bit more than artusory, who is hopefully getting laid right now. Medium tart finish, showing residual citrus, funk, and a bit of lightly toasted oak. Tasty tasty stuff.

Bottle. The case box is stamped Bottled Nov 7 2007. Hazy amber with an off white head. Good nose is barnyard, tart cherries, lemon and wood. Medium body and smooth. Taste mirrors the aroma with cherries, lemon, wood and funky brett. A lingering finish is nicely sour and stings your tongue. This brew is/will be an American classic. I’m thankful now that i picked up extra bottles to age. Fantastic.

UPDATED: FEB 26, 2009 On draft at Brouwers. Unlike any beer I’ve ever had. Tart fruit - apricot, for sure - taste is incredibly complex, with notes of cider and a tart citrus. It’s lacking in depth, though, and after being mesmerized for the first few sips, I got tired of the flavor. RERATE 12/04/08: On tap at Big Wood 08. After developing a taste for sours, this was far more impressive. Aroma of tart mandarin and other orange fruit, a great barnyard funk and lots of oak. Very tart, but not too acidic - it pushes bounds without crossing any. I thought for a while it lacked a bit of a sweet balance, but this now seems like a simply wonderful ale.

On tap at Brouwer’s. Big off white head and thick, hazy dark burnt orange. Tart peach and apricot in the aroma and taste. Brett flavors dominate throughout, but never overwhelm. Very nice blend. Gives you plenty of what you want in the sourness and brett, but stays drinkable and never gets to be too much. I could drink a whole bottle....and I just might.

UPDATED: APR 3, 2008 Bottle.

Before I begin: when I saw the 6.83% ABV printed on the label I thought "wow, all this for a low alcohol beer." If 6.83% is low alcohol, I don’t know what that says about the state of American craft brewing.

In any case: The beer pours a hazy maize with a small head of microbubbles. Before I even pour I can smell beautiful ripe peaches in the air, enough to make laugh aloud. I pour the beer, and inhaling get all those peaches along with a lovely tart aroma, lime peel and brett, not a richly funky beer so much as a bretty one. Considerable spiciness as well, like a pumpkin pie doused in lime juice. Glorious flavor. Richly sour, tons of brett, spice, all of that peach, plenty of lemon, not too aggressively sour just splendidly drinkable. A lovely smoothness on the mouth, lactic, melted sorbet. Beautiful beer, plenty of brett character, enjoyable and rich through the full 22oz.

Draft at Brouwer’s. Pours a murky orange-ish dark amber with virtually no head or lace, just a few stray bubbles. Enormous tart and sharp nose of lemon, green apples, and a bit of peach. Nice firm medium-sized body with just a bit of soft carb. Jammin’, slammin’ lemon, green apple, peach, and mineral acetic notes on the mid-palate. Refreshing and bracing. Makes your eyelids flutter a bit. Decent finish of lemon and mineral.
Those in the know say the bottles got the brett later, so won’t have this pucker and mineral yet. Once the brett softens (later in the bottles than the kegs, of course), this will be a seriously fantastic sour. Right now it’s hovering ready to break through the "very, very good" ceiling.

Guess I am the first to rate this huh? I had it on tap at Brouwers a couple of hours ago. Pours a hazy orange brown with a nice head and great lacing. Aroma of sour fruits candy, like peach and lemons, wet wool, bretty funk. Good stuff. The flavor consists of a mouth puckering tartness like liquid warhead candy, peach, lemon, nice funky barnyard notes, a little oak and wine going on in here too. Finish dry and acidic. Great stuff. Glad I have some more laying around here.