Consecration
Russian River Brewing Company

Received via NBS BIF #13 from @Jayorear.
Poured brown with tints of red, the beige head grew to about 1 cm and settled to a thin film leaving no lacing.
Aroma had red wine vinegar and, oddly, red wine (I mean, how do they get both of those aromas to come through?)
The taste, wow. Oak, funky red wine vinegar and, at the edges, dry red wine. Faint but unmistakable. The flavors play off each other in every sip.
The feel is medium with very active carbonation. Fits well with the flavors.
Thanks Jay, this was amazing!

Re-reviewing this one (7/1/2022) now that I have an additional decade of beer tasting experience (and, consequently, several additional pounds) under my belt.

375mL (bottled 7/12/2021) into a tulip. Pours a clear amber/mahogany with almost zero head, lazy carbonation rising from the bottom.

Aroma is acidic and vinous, tart and bright. Bready caramel malt, oak, apple cider vinegar. The yeast is clearly doing the heavy lifting here.

Taste is likewise sour and fruity with lots of red wine character. Oak barrel, wild yeast, clean malt, tannins. Complex and delicious.

Mouthfeel is crisp and light, hiding the relatively high ABV. Finishes clean and dry, super refreshing.

Overall an excellent, well constructed wild/sour ale. Seems pretty straightforward but it’s one of those beers that is deceptively simple. Clearly a great deal of skill and artistry went into producing this. It’s reputation is well deserved.
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Previous review (10/22/2011) for posterity:

4.35/5 rDev -3.1%
look: 4.0| smell: 4.0 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5| overall: 4.5

750mL bottle (batch 003X3) poured into a snifter. Pours a clear mahogany with minimal head, champagne carbonation. A ring of bubbles forms around the edge of the glass.

Aroma is tart cidery funk w/ bright notes of sour fruit and oak. A slight solvent aroma lingers.

Taste is tart, sour, oaky and fruity. Lots of wine notes, really dry on the palate. Almost a combination of a lambic, cabernet, and champagne. Really interesting beer to pick apart; complex.

This is not a beer I would drink every day, but definitely worth revisiting once in a while.

 

 

375ml bottle, tulip, bottled 2/26/20.

There’s a little fizz as I pour, but my attention quickly shifts to the eye catching dark amber liquid. It has a viscose appearance, bubbles move slower, like a hardening piece of amber, and there’s a notable lack of foam.

It’s funky, naturally. Lacto sourness, copper, and the currants come through with their gamey, deep fruitiness.

Moderate tartness before moving on to a schmorgasbord of funk, leather, barrel, dry red wine, and those delicious little berries.

Light body, practically no carbonation, and just a little slick.

When I picked this bottle up last year I was surprised I hadn’t had Consecration. It’s just a super well done beer.

Brief Review:

O: So this is my first time with any of the RR sours. Right away, I don't see too much as to why this is so special or a top 250 beer. I've had many sours and Cab-aged sours that are similar to this. Don't get me wrong, it's a fine beer. Very complex and deep and the barrel is done really nice. I can be maybe this being very pioneering back in the day, so maybe it's reputation precedes it. Just don't think in 2022 this can hold a candle to some of the wild ales from HF or SARA or even Bellwoods.

Recommendation: I mean, yeah, it's an RR sour from the -ation series, you gotta try it. Just don't go in expecting to get your mind blown. Hopefully the next two I have are better.

A friend of mine visited Colorado for a family Christmas and he brought back a bunch of RR goodies 12-31-21 including this 375ml bottle for $14.99. Bottled 7-12-21; consumed 5-3-22.

Beer poured a red wine color with a fizzy carbonated head that dissipated quickly.

Nose is cherry and strawberry forward and red wine barrel that gives a touch of leather.

Taste is a wonderful balance of leather, red wine vinegar, cherries and strawberries, finishing very clean with each sip.

Mouthfeel is light and delightfully smooth.

Overall a really well executed beer!

 

Bottled 7/12/21

I’m back with my next Russian River Wild. I had Temptation last week, and while I thought it was pretty good, it didn’t completely wow me. This one sounds like it’ll be more up my alley anyhow, so I have higher hopes here. This one currently sits at the 15th highest rated Wild Ale and 209th highest rated beer overall on BA. Let’s pop the cork and get to it

Pours a murky light brown with a finger of off white head that quickly fades to a thin ring and leaves no lacing

Perhaps unsurprisingly, this gives off a huge Flanders Red/Brown vibe in the nose, and it’s quite nice. I’m picking up on aromas of tart cherry, black currant, brown bread, red wine vinegar, sharp oak, toffee, raisin, and light leather

Oh man, this is rather unique in taste. It's so easy to lean too far into either funk or fruit with the style, but this one strikes an incredible balance and provides a dark wine character which hardly ever comes through this much. On the front end of the sip I'm tasting black currant, buttery oak, tobacco, leather, light lemon zest, red wine vinegar, and a touch of bready malt. The swallow brings notes of old leather, black currant, tobacco, brown bread, tart cherry, black pepper, red wine vinegar, toffee, sharp oak, and light vanilla

A medium body pairs with moderate carbonation, resulting in a sharp yet gentle beer. Finishes a bit sticky but dries over time with a wonderful complexity. Drinks well under 10%

Well this was just awesome. I can see why this is considered a classic. I could have a cellar full of this and be happy. Cheers yall

 

 

Reddish brown liquid, off-white, slightly pinkish head that diminishes quickly. Dark fruit and oak fills the flavor profile, derivative of the Cabernet aging. A slight tartness like red wine vinegar, but also currants and berries. Delicious and complex, as the flavors unfold from first taste to finish.

 

 

 

I've had this beer since 2011 and it's from when they were still doing batch numbers rather than bottling dates.

A: Poured into a Russian River tion glass to a deep reddish brown beer which is topped by a dense bit of pinkish white head which fades to a collar around the edge of the glass
S: Smells of a really nice amount of tartness with some red wine vinegar notes, currants, and oak along with a touch of caramel.
T: Taste is red berries and currants with some nice acidity. Oak and red wine with some more berry fruitiness. On the swallow there's more red berries, currants, red wine, acidity and some lingering oak.
M: This beer has a body which is on the heavier side of medium. Carbonation is on the low end with a somewhat syrupy feel while the beer has a drying finish due to the acidity.
O: Overall this is an outstanding dark sour. Really nice flavors and complexity with a really nice amount of acidity to really round things out. I wasn't sure how well this one would have held up but it's an incredible drinking experience.

 

 

Review 1598
Consecration
Russian River Brewing
Date: 05 November 2020
Another sour today, but this one is aged in wine barrels with currants. Pulling the cork carefully, then a loud pop, followed by mist. The beer is 48 degrees, and I served it my Stone RIS tulip. The pour created a fizzy and airy off-white head with poor retention. No lacing on the glass after the quick dissipation. The color is a combination between maroon and mahogany with brownish hues. This beer is translucent, with a few carbonation bubbles present.

The aromas in the beer are vinous, fruity, sour apples, oaky, funkiness, earthy, horse blankets, biscuit, bready, and a slight hint of pharmaceutical.

The flavors are oaky, earthy, funky, lightly toasted malt, brett, sour apple vinegar, bready, a hint of floral esters, vinous, stone fruit, tart cherries, and danky.

The mouthfeel is dry, tannic, and puckering

The body of the beer is medium, medium-plus carbonation, and lingering finish.

This sour is wonderful all the flavors in the beer create this harmonious blend of flavors. The wine barrel aging gave the beer depth and complexity. Stellar beer!

 

Pours a deep amber with a cream colored head.

Sour and sharp with notes of leather and tobacco rounded by floral and wood.

Sour, leather, tobacco, up front with notes of citrus & lime. A sharp sour punch, finishes dry and woody

 

 

 

 

 

 

What else can you say about this? Lively, funky, bright, full flavored, complex, refreshing... This is a great sour ale with a beautiful amber russet color. Carbonation is moderate and provides nice effervescence. The taste follows the nose perfectly with currant and bretty funkiness. So easy to drink at 10% abv. No real rough edges here. An excellent beer that few would find controversial.

Shared bottle, RBNAG 2011. Barrel aged 6 months, with currants added. Reddish brown colour. Intense farmhouse aroma, sour fruit, oak and spices. Sour flavour, good but not impressive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is an excellent A+++ premium Beer all the way!
*Aroma- Oak, Red Wine, Sour Ale/Yeast
*Looks: Dark Sour Ale, good head
*Taste: BEST. Oaky, leather, sour, black current, subtle cabernet wine notes, malty but super light/refreshing. Not heavy by any means. Super super easy to drink! Be careful with this since the drinkability is out of the charts and hides 10% alcohol so well. This is the best American Sour/Wild Ale that gives the world-class Belgian Sour Ales a run for their money! Although expensive at $15.99 a bottle, this Beer is not to be missed by any Beer lover. The alcohol at 10% is so damn well hidden. As the great JR from the erstwhile WWF would put” By God! This is the best American Beer. The taste, the alcohol goes from your mouth to your brain to the spine and gets you the best buzz on God’s Green Earth. Consecration 3:16...”
*Overall*: 5/5 for me. This beer along side Pliny The Younger and Stone Enjoy By series should be declared National Treasures!