Temptation
Russian River Brewing Company

Got a bottle of this when I was in northern California about 3 /12 months ago visiting my best friend and we went to Russian River's new location. This has a bottle date of 5/22/2019. Poured out of a 12/68 oz. bottle into one of my tulip glasses, this beer pours a pretty clear, fairly light/pale golden color with lots of streams of little bubbles rapidly and continually rising to the beer's surface. Has a very carbonated looking, white head that's about an inch thick when first poured that eventually settles to a thick, creamy looking, layer of surface foam along with a very thick ring of foam surrounding the inside of the glass. Good lacing here too. Aromas of some bready malts, yeasty esters, and Chardonnay oak along with some Brettanomyces funk notes that's all rounded out with just a hint of lactose. Flavor wise, this starts out with some bready malt that gives way to oaked Chardonnay white wine grape that has a nice tartness upfront that gives way to some yeasty funk and sourness, both from the grape and also from what seems to be some lactose as well as far as my tastebuds are concerned. All the flavors are balanced and compliment each other superbly. WOW!!! Has fairly crisp, also smooth, dry mouthfeel with moderate carbonation. Also has a dry finish and aftertaste, and the sour funk really coats the inside of my mouth and my tongue nicely after each sip and lingers for quite awhile after each sip. Another outstanding American Wild Ale beer from the fine folks at Russian River!

Eric

 

 

Pours golden with a bit of opacity and a thin, active head. The nose is very dynamic with notes of hay, brett, grapes, and a bit of oceanic salinity. The taste is very classic sour - lemon zest, bright white grapes & green apple, barnyard funk, light hay. Super solid, super refreshing.

 

This is the most Gueze-like of all the Russian River sour ales, in my opinion. Much better than Beatification, I think. Truly a great funky ale. Hate the new bottle design, though.

 

Golden color. Big white head. Fruits, oak, and light funky notes in the aroma. Moderately sour with a dry finish. Extremely drinkable. A legendary beer at this point.

 

 

 

 

 

Bottled on: 032823
Found this one at County Line in Erie, CO while visiting family.
Pours luminously golden with lovely white lace that sticks around for amazingly long. Most wild ales have non-existent or tragically ephemeral head retention.
Smell is complex with notes of oak and soft cheese as well as tart fruit.
Flavor is tart fruit as well with some white wine notes. Very tasty but not terribly complex.
Mouthfeel is tart with an astringent finish
Overall this is another great wild ale from Russian River.

2023 bottling date

 

 

From Untappd 2019