Funky Foeder
Russian River Brewing Company

Pours a clear, pink-tinged hue, appears clear and cherry red in the glass; excellent carbonation, dense and slow-rising; pinkish head, one and one-half fingers thick, dense, creamy and long-lasting. Beautiful nose; cherry tones galore; sweet and sour. Phenomenal taste; tart and sweet cherries; cranberry; trace of wood below the fruit presence. Medium-heavy body; velvety and nearly creamy feel counterbalancing the tartness; juicy.

This subtle number likely would fool me into thinking I was drinking cranberry juice if offered in a blindfold test. The balance and complexity is amazing in that the ABV is well hidden while the tartness and sourness, while prominent, is kept in check by not being overpowering. A very refreshing change of pace for a beer experience.

ABV: 7.00%; pouring temperature: 44.0 °F; bottling info: 110325
Source: local purchase (Weber Street Liquors)

 

 

 

Poured from 510mL bottle into my 8th Wonder chalice. Bottled 3/3/25.

Appearance: kind of a medium brown-orange hue with a moderate haze and a finger of frothy tan foam atop.

Smell: mildly tart with a little bit of funk and a lovely cherry aroma. I think I'm getting notes of vanillin from the foeder, which blends well with the cherry.

Taste: there's a bit more tartness to the flavor than the aroma hinted at, but the funk level is about the same (low and just enough for a nice earthiness). The cherry flavor is great, though maybe not quite as filled out as in the aroma. Still, a delicious beer.

Mouthfeel: light body with a good carbonation and decent creaminess.

Overall: I love cherry beers, so this one had an advantage going in. I thin maybe a hint more sweetness would help this beer a lot, but it's a darn good beer nevertheless.

 

 

 

2024-06-02
500ml bottle served in a little sample glass.

Pours a hazy pink-tinged amber, little head, not much carbonation. Smell is tart, lots of cherry and oak, some lemon and some hay.

Taste is on the funk side. Strong cherry and oak, lemon has disappeared. Later on, some red wine and grape must character comes out. Has some noticeable bitterness.

Mouthfeel is medium-bodied and somewhat still, some cotton-mouth texture. Overall, it's pretty good.

 

 

I love the Pliny's and enjoy several other of Russian River's solid beers (sts pils, blind pig etc.) But as an old school brewer, their barrel aged sours mostly taste like bad beer to me. Lot's of brewing and judging feedback in competition back in the day have sharpened my "off" beer detection, and I just cant get past that to enjoy that part of that product line so far. So... I was wary of this beer, but I'm glad I gave it a try. I doesn't make much of an impression in appearance and nose. It pours a pink/orange color with a short lived whitish head, with a sour wet cardboard nose. Not great. But the flavor doesn't follow the nose and there is a pleasant tart cherry forward flavor with a lemon/cherry finish. There is a bit of the funk in the finish but not a lot. I enjoyed this more than I anticipated, and I'd have it again.

 

Bottle pour - clear pinkish hue with white bubbly head leaving a ring of bubbles. Nose is a little sour and a little funky with a hint of cherry . Taste follows more or less, not really getting any yeasty esters. Mild tartness lingers on the finish.

I think this was a me score. Pours that familiar yellow beer color, but looks like the cherry influence found its way into the appearance, as there is this ever light pink hue to the edge and in the mostly white head 1/2" deep.

The aroma hits a nice mellow grain meets cherry, meets lemon, meets popsicle stick wood. I don't really gather a huge brett nose, but maybe.

Taste is relatively easy going fare, the sourness is quite restrained and appropriately so. I have a bias against wild ales that call themselves saisons. This is a saison for real. Carmelita, hold me tighter, I think I'm sinking down. It has that light fruity cherry/lemon pez feel, light body two row pale malt. Its like cherry skin and almond toasted up in here. I put that needle on the record. Its mellow in terms of sourness and acidity. Its refreshing and a well made beer cabron.

$5.99 ain't too shabby.

Thanks Neli!
An ever so understated pink tinge to the golden, amber liquid. Fluffy head rises and falls slowly, leaving a thin film. Slight retention, and a delicate curtain of lacing.
Nose is bright yet earthy and funky. The cherry definitely starts off with a tart note. But a nice, wet woodiness comes forward followed by a smooth vinegar note.
Wood and tart cherry, dry white chardonnay tones carry forth the wood again, and the acidity is dialed back more than i anticipated from the nose. Mildly puckering on the finish.
Mouthfeel is light, delicately carbonated, and drying on the finish.
Overall, a really nice one for a long sipping session.

Purchased in a hidden backshelf of a Total Wine beer fridge in the Bay Area. Consumed fresh days later and never taken out of the fridge. True to it's namesake, it is quite funky. Pours a color more akin to orangish-ruby apple cider with a rapidly dissipating white head. There are clear sour cherry notes with the complexity of the barrel aged beer, but also an extra bit of lactic funkiness, most likely from the Brett. A bit of an acquired taste even by barrel aged sour standards. I would liken it somewhat to a gourmet stinky cheese tier of beer, in a positive way. As it warms up you can pick up clear notes of wine and tannins from the barrel. Smooth and easy drinking especially as it warms up with more complexity, with no bitterness save for general funkiness and a somewhat apple cider vinageriness. Overall a good beer, but not without an open mind.

 

 

unreal stuff right here, wood aged funky saison with tart cherries, scored some on tap. its got a reddish look to it, less fruity red to me, less crayon red, more brick red, malt red, amber looking, not much head on it but fizzy enough when i drink it, looks a little messy compared to some of their others, but i immediately appreciate its rustic nature, really evolved brett profile in here popping off in the nose, a brux type, and the acidity seems to me to come more from the cherry than from the ferment, notes of complex fruity wine, old oak, and simple wheat malt round it out, very nuanced and layered, very mature, mouthwatering and interesting. the cherry is natural in the taste, sweet but only for a second with the grain in the front half, then more puckery with horsey brett later on, more of that as it warms too, not a ton of acidity overall but enough for this to seem dry and crisp even, but the wood and the brett and the fruit all together make this incredibly flavorful, i love it. i had a ton of cool russian river beer this week, but this one ranks among my favorites, the maturity and the proportions are interesting, and the quality is insane. after all this time these guys remain one of the best in the game!