Russian River Salvation

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

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

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Shared a 375 in a couple of snifters. Much darker than expected. Some ruby highlights but otherwise as dark as night. Huge cumulus clouds looking head. Pillowy and brown. Smooth texture with a little fizz bite. Sweet, fruity and malty. On par with many things I had in Belgium. More please.

Bottle. Pours a dark amber color with a small off-white head. Has a fruity malty spicy weak woody aroma. Fruity malty spicy caramel flavor with weak yeasty hints. Has a fruity malty spicy yeasty caramel finish.

Draft @ brewpub. Pours clear mahogany ruby with a smalk beige head. Aroma is fruity malty spicy a bit herbal and yeasty with some phenolic tones. Flavor similar, sweet fruity and medium bitter.

damn this was good...aged about a year, and I think that helped. Pours plum colored with off white head. Super super smooth, taste of dark fruit, fig, yeast. Dry finish. Way too drinkable for 9.5%

375ml bottle. Pours a dark brown color with a big tan head and good lacing. Aroma of caramel, chocolate, dried fruit, and spices. Taste is raisins, caramel, chocolate, malt, and some alcohol coming through.

Pours a slightly translucent mahogany with moderate carbonation apparent. Nose is caramel, some dark fruit, and a metalic note. Flavor is the same, without the metal, and with some sweet molasses notes. Really good mouthfeel for a beer of this style.

Thanks, Santa! Kinda surprised that it took me so long to finally try this one from RR. And though I’m generally not big on the heavy, strong dark ales these days, this one delivered mightily. Deep brown pour with amber hints, loads of carbonation. Strong sweet malts and ripe yeast in the nose, with a full range of fruits. While there’s more banana and so forth in the aroma, there’s a nice citrus component that keeps things balanced and quite flavorful, steering the beer well away from the heavy, chewy quality that often afflicts this style. Good stuff.

The epitome of a fine dark Belgian. Incredibly smooth and incredibly balanced. Fruit in the aroma and in the taste, with just the right hint of spice. ABV says 9, but it drinks like a session beer; not a whiff of astringency. Near-perfect! ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Bottle shared at Ma Che, Roma, 09/02/13, sourced from Beermongers, PDX. Lightly hazed chestnut brown with a thin off white head that clears to a film and the edge of the glass. Nose is dark fruits, light yeast, spice, dates, orange. Taste comprises dark malt, yeast, dates, farmy notes, brett tones, candied sugars. Medium bodied with light spritzy carbonation, a little too much for my liking. Overall a decent Belgian strong but at the lower end of the RR spectrum.

09/02/2013 375ml bottle (thanks Theydon_Bois!). Bellissima color miele di castagno con riflessi mogano, schiuma beige un po’ stentata ma abbastanza persistente. Al naso è una goduria incredibile, prugne secche e datteri, vaniglia, caramello, zucchero di canna, un po’ di tostato e spezie. In bocca è complessa e dannatamente bilanciata, dolce, caramello, frutta matura, ancora spezie, il finale è amarognolo, pulito. Corpo medio, alcol non pervenuto, gran scorrevolezza, eleganza. Una birra sopraffina, sicuramente tra le migliori belgian strong ale mai bevute al di fuori del Belgio.