Mortification
Russian River Brewing Company

Picked up a 330 ml bottle at the Windsor facility cooler on 3-9-26 for $4.99. Bottled 1-12-26; consumed 3-15-26.

Beer poured dark brown with a perfect tan head that is retaining and going the distance as i sip on this.

Nose has notes of dark fruit esters and hints of herbal phenolics.

Taste is a light but large malt base that is toasted caramel. Yeast esters give subtle notes of prunes and currants while the phenols leave a spicy black pepper note.

Mouthfeel is light bodied and smooth.

Overall, the brewing team comes close on the look and nose, but the caramel toast is a bit much and this is definitely not as sweet as the Trappists. This was very fun to try and i look forward to my other two bottles!

Likely to be among my Top 5 North American quads; largely because RRBC knows a lot about Belgians and, in particular, that it is smart not to try to do too much to innovate a complex style.

Mortification opens subtly, with more red tinges than most. Smells tell me immediately this is a sweet fruit cake with a honey/molasses blend. For balance, I detect some hard Fall fruit (call it apples). Further balancing are how these Tastes get pulled together into a fruity/nutty complexity that somehow has just enough hops. Medium-mouthed; knowingly in a style that brewers compete to produce viscous. Like many of RRBC's Belgian-inspireds, their yeasts make Mortification seem easy when it may take generations to learn.

1/2/26 Drank again to see my way into an important New Year for U.S. and stability in the next chapter of my life. The brew did its job.

Bottled on: 2-4-25
Many thx to my son for sharing this!

A - Pours a garnet / dark amber color with thick creamy lacing that doesn't dissipate, carbonation is moderate and steady.

S - Some dark fruity presence with some almost delicate smoky oak character, and a little bit of Belgian candy sugar and spice.

T - Belgian candy sugar, light spiciness, some dark fruit, finishes on the sweeter side with a very delicate bitterness.

M - Silky with definite warming in the back of the throat.

O - Solid but I wouldn't call it a stand-out for the style.

 

At the brewery during our California RV trip

Bottle shared. Ruby red/brown pour, thin head and great lacing. Aroma of dark fruits, figs/dates. Ooh. Flavor is similar, with hints of cinnamon, cocoa and a slight woody ash. The body is slightly lighter than a typical quad, more drinkable. This is world class. Fantastic.

 

 

 

 

Dark brown with reddish-purplish edges under a light khaki head.

Certainly both more roasty and also spiced than a traditional quad, it's almost got a smoked element to it, which amplifies clove or allspice characteristics, exhaling some woodiness and finishing surprisingly chewy dry.

 

On tap at the source in Windsor. Pours a clear ruby/amber/mahogany color with short white head leaving scattered frosty lacing. Nose is sweet and yeasty with hints of banana and clove. Taste follows with hints of stone fruit, candy sugar and malt- fairly mild for the style but quite tasty. Mild alcohol warmth on the finish. Reminds me of Belgium.

Very tasty/winey after a couple of youngers.

was awesome to see a couple of new to me beers on tap at the new windsor location this week. this is a surprising quad, light in color as these go, exceedingly sweet, but flavorful and good, neat yeast, lots of nuance but within a fairly narrowly defined slice of the malt spectrum, kind of a neat take. not even amber in color, more like rich honey toned, with a short but lasting white head from the tap, rather clear, but not as dark as many, none of that chateau type raisin colored sticky rich malt to me, more like granola, honey and grains before they are bready or anything, although there is a deeper note than the color too, almost molasses, not as complex as the best of these, but occupying a neat space in the style i think. the yeast is estery but different than the abbey strains that have come to define these for me, its maybe more reserved, or not as long fermented, this is still really sweet to taste, could maybe benefit from some longer conditioning and drying out, but i also like the freshness this seems to have, not something i really ever think about in a quad, but its present in this. golden raisin, honey, taffy, and pineapple candy, maybe even dried apple, its dynamic even in its lightness. the alcohol is a bit exposed, especially with the residual sugar, but for me both are fully permissible in the style, and i think there is nice balance here. not the most compelling beer we drank at this beer mecca, but cool to see these guys keeping it diverse. this is fun and strong, uniquely different for a quad.

Pours a dark color with a slight head and lacing
Aroma has fruit, bready and spice hints
The taste follows the nose with a fruit, bready and spice flavor
A medium bodied decently carbonated beer
A nice Quad