Tag Archives: Russian River

Russian River Sanctification


Posted by Aschwin de Wolf

During the first weekend of February I finally had the opportunity to visit the Russian River brewpub in Santa Rosa, California. As it happened, we arrived there at what must be the most anticipated day of the year; the annual release of Pliny the Younger. As much as I like Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger, it was a strange experience to stand in line for more than one hour with Pliny the Younger fanatics, to be seated, and to order a number of their (barrel-aged) wild ales instead. First we enjoyed a beer called Compunction, which was a sour blond ale with pluots. Then I spotted that Sancitification was on tap as well. Unlike Compunction, Sanctification was for sale in 375 ml bottles, so we took two bottles home after closing the evening with an order of…Pliny the Younger.

Russian River describes Sanctification as a beer that is “fermented with 100% brettanomyces.” A quick glance at Vinnie’s homebrew clone indicates the use of the following strains of Brett and bacteria: 50% Brett Bruxellensis, 10% Brett Claussenii, 10% Brett Lambicus and “30% Russian River Brewing “Funky Bunch” house yeast culture- mix of Brett, Lacto, Pedio, & other wild yeast.” As such, the claim that  the beer is fermented with 100% Brettanomyces does not exclude the use of bacteria but  is intended to convey that the traditional Saccharomyces yeast was not used here. Sanctification is different from Beatification, Temptation, Supplication and Consecration in that this beer is fermented in stainless steel instead of (old) wine barrels.

The beer pours an attractive light hazy orange with little head retention but the carbonation is quite hefty, reminiscent of the “foamy” mouthfeel of (aged) Orval. Its aroma is flowery, tropical fruity with a hint of caramel – the Brett is not dominating here.  The taste is crisp, mildly tart, with notes of orange, ending on a short  bone dry note. Nothing is pushed to extremes, unless one prefers some residual sugar left  instead(I don’t). With a 6.75% alcohol percentage, this is quite a refreshing beer. I do not know what Russian River’s usual final gravity is for their wild ales before bottle refermentation but I do not remember their other beers having as much carbonation and its associated mouthfeel. This aspect was more than offset by many of its other great characteristics though.

Special mention needs to be made of the label, which reads (on Batch 005):

Who’s afraid of the “big bad BRET?” We’ll tell you who: winemakers! Because of our close proximity to several hundred wineries, we often get winemakers visiting our brewery. (After all, it takes a lot of great beer to make great wine!) Because we use 100% Brettanomyces yeast to ferment Sanctification, most winemakers will only smell the glass, and only a very few will venture to taste the beer. They think the Brettanomyces will attach to their clothing and end up in their winery. A simple solution was offered: keep a smudge pot burning at the door of our brewery so they can burn their clothes when exiting, but even that was not enough. After giving it more thought, we concluded that winemakers think Brettanomyces might scar their taste buds and possible even permeate their skin? Sanctification is refermented in this bottle with Brettanomyces to create its fine carbonation. Spent yeast cells form a thin layer of sediment in the bottom of the bottle, adding more complexity and flavor. Pour slowly, allowing the natural yeast sediment to remain in the bottle.

I now have tasted most of Russian River’s publicly available wild ales, but never side by side. Having said this, Beatification and Sanctification may be among my favorites.


A celebration of sour beers


Posted by Aschwin de Wolf

I have been reluctant to write about Belmont Station’s 2010 Puckerfest because there were few local sour beers on tap that I find appealing, and this opinion is not due to a lack of trying! I still am not aware of any Pacific Northwest brewer who can consistently produce a good consistent sour ale. I am inclined to think that this is the result of the tendency to engage in excessive experimentation in the world of microbrewing. Experimentation is great for innovation but the usual order of things is to master the basic style first. One of the sour ales on tap tasted like the soft drink Fanta, another one displayed a rather unsuccessful combination of brett and oak, and one brew could only be classified as “theoretical” because it probably sounded good on paper, but the execution left a lot to be desired. Like last year, I liked the Russian River and New Belgium brews the best. New Belgium has the annoying, but understandable, habit of producing its best beers in tap-only limited quantities, although their more available La Folie is a serious contender for the best sour ale in the United States.

One real problem for the American sour beer consumer is that even the better producers like Russian River have to release their beers with a price tag that is usually higher than, let’s say, a great traditional Gueuze blender like Hanssens – and that is after import from Belgium to the United States! It is interesting to note that the Pacific Northwest is plagued by a similar curse in the case of wine. Pinot Noir is a notoriously challenging grape to grow and the price reflects this. For a fraction of the price of a decent Oregon Pinot Noir, good organic reds from France are available at local wine retailers like Liner & Elsen. This should not be read as a United States vs. Europe issue. The United States can claim some world class beers (Deschutes’ Green Lakes, Russian River’s Pliny the Elder, Great Divide’s Yeti Imperial Stout) but I am not holding my breath for an affordable year-round top-notch sour ale anytime soon.

At this point in time, Portland’s best local sour drink on tap (!) remains Kombucha.


Russian River Supplication


Posted by Aschwin de Wolf

This review of Supplication marks the fourth Russian River entry on this blog. Our positive experiences with Consecration, Beatification and Temptation created high expectations for this barrel aged Russian River beer as well.

This review is for Supplication 350 ml bottle (Batch 4×2).

Sour cherries were added to this “brown ale” during barrel aging and I expected a bright red color reminiscent of the Kriek lambics of Cantillon and Hanssens. The beer poured a clear amber and left a small creamy, but persistent, head. The smell was equally surprising and not as sharp (acetic acid) as I expected. This batch smelled rather musty with a dominant oaky brettanomyces aroma. Mild notes of banana, cherry and tropical fruit were detected as well. Upon tasting the sourness of this beer was rather moderate. The funk clearly dominated the fruit. Medium bodied with medium carbonation. Slight astringency. The most remarkable aspect of this beer is that the agreeable initial taste gave away to a rather yeasty bitter finish. This rather unpleasant aftertaste substantially decreased my appreciation for this beer.

I am not sure whether Supplication is “supposed” to be this way or that this batch is different from the previous batches. We opened two 350 ml bottles to compare but the experience was the same for both bottles. Since the  yeast sediment was left at the bottom of the bottle I am inclined to rule out that the yeast sediment was poured with the beer (an unfortunate event that can ruin a great lambic). I did not get much of the dry and lingering tartness that many other reviewers have tasted.

This was a rather disappointing beer from Russian River. The “nice cherry flavor and sourness” that the label offers was hardly found in these bottles. I am open to the suggestion that this batch was not representative. To be revisited in the future!

Reviews of the other three Russian River wild ales:

Russian River Temptation

Russian River Beatification

Russian River Consecration


Russian River Temptation


Posted by Aschwin de Wolf

temptationUnless yet another wild ale from Russian River comes my way soon, this will be the last Russian River review for awhile.  Temptation is a blond ale aged in used French Oak chardonnay barrels and is the brewery’s most recent 750 ml bottle release. Prior to tasting this beer I expected that I would enjoy it but that it would not compare to Beatification, the best Russian River beer I have tasted so far, and this turned out to be correct.

I was most concerned about the use of chardonnay barrels. In principle, there is nothing wrong with this grape but, as we all know after watching the comedy-drama Sideways, chardonnay is one of the most  abused grapes in the United States; dulled by secondary malolactic fermentation and the vanilla taste of  oak.  Of course, the use of old oak is one of the essential elements in traditional lambic brewing and contributes to the fermentation of the beer and its complexity. The danger with the use of new oak, however, is that such advantages risk being offset by the oak dominating at the expense of other flavors. In this sense, oak has similar effects  such as leaving too much residual sugar in a beer (or wine). Fortunately, Temptation is barrel aged in old French chardonnay barrels for 9 to 15 months but the oak is certainly present. As in the other Russian River wild ales, souring bacteria and Brettanomyces are used and the resulting brew is refermented in the bottle.

The following notes were taken on Friday, September 11, 2009:

Batch 004X1. Poured into a Cantillon Geuze glass.

Appearance: Pours a very fizzy head (2-3 fingers) with lots of carbonation. Blond. More head retention than expected.

Smell: Soft barnyard smell. Brettanomyces. Some citrus and a little sweet and spicy.

Taste:  Brettanomyces. Slightly sour. Round “numbing” taste, ending on a neutral note. Yeasty. Light in flavor. Grapefruit. Soft tannins.

Mouthfeel: Medium. Fizzy. Light on the tongue and buttery.

Drinkability: Less drinkable than some of their other wild ales. Perhaps the fuller and fizzy mouthfeel contributes to this.

“Is it beer, or is it wine?” asks the label on the bottle. After drinking Temptation I am inclined to answer that the similarities with wine are more than countered by the surprisingly dominant note of the brettanomyces yeast. I do not recall having tasted a beer from Russian River where the brett contributed so much to the smell and flavor. This combination of brett and chardonnay  is certainly unique, if not provocative.

It is not hard to “reverse-engineer” why I enjoyed this beer less than Consecration and Beatification. There is the royal presence of brettanomyces without enough sourness or hops to balance it.  And as far as the wine barrel of choice is concerned, chardonnay does not rank among my favorite wines (perhaps next time, Russian River can pick a Savennières barrel from the Loire Valley in France). I found this beer just a little too soft and buttery for a wild ale and the finish was remarkably short and neutral. I would not hesitate to drink Temptation over most American ales but I do not care as much about this beer as  I do about the other Russian River sour ales.


Russian River Beatification


Posted by Aschwin de Wolf

beatificationIs this possible to make a lambic in the United States? This depends on the definition of what constitutes a lambic (brewing process or location) but the ongoing attempt by Allagash to use the usual ingredients, a cool ship, and  real spontaneous fermentation could do it. In the meantime,  some of the beers made by Russian River are coming closer in terms of brewing process and taste.  Few, if any, American wild ales have come as close to the smell and taste of an actual Belgian Geuze as Russian River’s Beatification.

Beatification is a blend of two vintages of a base beer called “Sonambic,” which are further blended with “a couple of other orphan beers” to change the mouthfeel of barrel aged beers or enhance its acidity. Beatification was aged for 8 to 15 months in old Oak Barrels (at least 5 years according to Russian River’s website) which impart little wine or oak notes to the beer. Its “spontaneous” character lies in the wild yeasts and bacteria which inhabit the barrels.  This method comes a lot closer to traditional lambic brewing than just adding a lambic or Flanders Red culture to the beer. Like traditional Geuze, Beatification undergoes a secondary fermentation in the bottle, which, as all the Russian River wild ale bottles, feature restrained and beautiful labels.

Because we did not have an opportunity to try this until a family member from California visited us, the beer that we tasted may have benefited from further aging after it was purchased in 2008.

The following notes were taken on Thursday, August 27, 2009:

Batch 003. 750 ml. Poured into a Cantillon Geuze glass.

Upon uncorking — lots of carbonation, foam came over the lip of the bottle.

Appearance: When pouring, half a finger of head which dissipated quickly. Blond / yellow beer, opaque.

Smell: Smells like a traditional Geuze. Cannot recall any American beer that smells so much like a lambic/Geuze. Brett, citrus (lemon), wheat.

Taste: Very tart, with a smooth finish. One of the strongest lemon notes I have ever tasted in a beer. Wheat. Alcohol is not very noticeable. A slight grapefruit note develops as it gets warmer.

Mouthfeel: Light. Moderate carbonation (just the right amount). Some astringency.

Drinkability: Extremely drinkable. Perhaps it is a good thing that the price prevents excessive consumption! A perfect beer to drink outside in warm weather.

One difference between Beatification and Geuze lambic that I detected is the reduced complexity in taste. In this case I am wondering whether this should be considered a defect because the bone dry and lemon-like taste is exceptional.   There are more complex Russian River wild ales but Beatification simply blows them away.  There is something to be said for alcoholic beverages that simply feature flawless execution of a specific flavor. More than one reviewer has compared Beatification to a very dry, tart white wine. In light of my preference for the dry and concentrated white wines from the Alsace region in France, this characterization does not surprise me.

Since this beer was so close in taste to a traditional Geuze it would be interesting to  use an analytical chemistry technique like chromatography on this beer to determine its chemical profile and compare it to traditional lambics and other wild ales.

After tasting Beatification there is no doubt in my mind that Americans can compete with the best traditional Lambic brewers if  instant gratification is suppressed and the temptation to sweeten the beer, the use of new oak , and excessive carbonation is discouraged. All these pitfalls have been avoided in Beatification.

Of all the wild ales that are currently available in the United States, Beatification ranks among the best.

Upon uncorking — lots of carbonation, foam came over the lip of the bottle

Appearance: When pouring, half a finger of head which dissapated quickly. Blond / yellow beer (rich in color), but opaque. Looks a little carbonated.

Smell: Smells like a gueze! Cannot recall any American beer that smells so much like a lambic/gueze. Bretts, citrus (lemon), wheat.

Taste: Tart, with a smooth finish. One of the strongest lemon notes ever tasted in a beer. Less complex than Belgian lambics, but it’s not a bad thing. Alcohol is not very noticeable. Gets more bitter as it gets warmer

Mouthfeel: Light/medium (medium on the light side). Moderate carbonation (just the right amount). Somewhat astringent.