Beatification
(has 11 batches)
Russian River Brewing Company in Santa Rosa, California, United States 🇺🇸
Lambic Style - Untraditional Rotating|
Score
8.16
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This beer is very unique and inspired by breweries in the Lambic region of Belgium and, especially, our friends at Cantillon. It is 100% spontaneously fermented, meaning yeast is not added. Once the beer is brewed, it is transferred to a cool-ship or “horny” tank located in our barrel room at the pub. There it sits overnight and collects whatever funky wild yeast and bacteria may be living in the room. The next day it is transferred to oak wine barrels where it ferments wildly and ages for a few months. The end result is a wild, spontaneously fermented, sour, and tasty hand-crafted beer!
Although we enjoyed aging Batch #1 in used La Folie barrels from New Belgium Brewery, one of which was the renowned PH1 barrel, Batch #2 is something completely different. After a trip to Belgium in 2006, Vinnie successfully tried his hand at spontaneous fermentation using traditional, and not so traditional, Lambic methods. Out of respect for our Belgian brewing friends, we call this style “Sonambic”, a portmanteau between Sonoma and Lambic.
We stole this term from our friend Brian Hunt at Moonlight, our local farmhouse brewery. In 2007, we executed a second spontaneous fermentation, making yet another batch of Sonambic. This year, we blended those two batches to create our second bottling of Beatification which we are very excited about! Batch #2 has a big grapefruit aroma and grapefruit rind flavor with funky Brettanomyces and a tart finish.
Although we enjoyed aging Batch #1 in used La Folie barrels from New Belgium Brewery, one of which was the renowned PH1 barrel, Batch #2 is something completely different. After a trip to Belgium in 2006, Vinnie successfully tried his hand at spontaneous fermentation using traditional, and not so traditional, Lambic methods. Out of respect for our Belgian brewing friends, we call this style “Sonambic”, a portmanteau between Sonoma and Lambic.
We stole this term from our friend Brian Hunt at Moonlight, our local farmhouse brewery. In 2007, we executed a second spontaneous fermentation, making yet another batch of Sonambic. This year, we blended those two batches to create our second bottling of Beatification which we are very excited about! Batch #2 has a big grapefruit aroma and grapefruit rind flavor with funky Brettanomyces and a tart finish.
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8.5/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 9
375ml bottle thanks to wavers1
Appearance: Cloudy golden with a medium sized white head, light lacing
Aroma: Tart fruit, brett and citrus
Taste: Tart fruit, woody, citrus with a dry finish
Very good and easy drinking.
Appearance: Cloudy golden with a medium sized white head, light lacing
Aroma: Tart fruit, brett and citrus
Taste: Tart fruit, woody, citrus with a dry finish
Very good and easy drinking.
Tried
from Bottle
on 12 Nov 2012
at 15:46
8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Bottle at home - 11/11/12 thanks to Frank (Ramnuts). Batch #5. Lightly hazed pale golden witha small bubbly off white head on pour that soon vanishes without trace. Small bubbles rise from bottom to top. Nose comprises woody tones, sour apples, burnt sugars, light vinegar notes, caramelised pears, browned apple skin, crisp and tarte. Tastes of lemon, bitter stewed pears, apple tones, bitter grapefruit, touch of bretts but not huge, wood, tarte, sour, light vinegar but well balanced. Medium bodied with spritzy carbonation leading to a slightly burnt tarte finish. Excellent.
Tried
from Bottle
on 11 Nov 2012
at 11:12
6.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 5.5
19th October 2012
THE Sour and Saison tasting. Batch 5 - thanks Bruce. Light haze on this gold beer, little white head. Crisp palate - dry. Fairly sharp lemony sourness. A little seltzer minerals. Sharp orange peel. White wine vinegar in the semi dry finish. Okay but could not drink much of it.
THE Sour and Saison tasting. Batch 5 - thanks Bruce. Light haze on this gold beer, little white head. Crisp palate - dry. Fairly sharp lemony sourness. A little seltzer minerals. Sharp orange peel. White wine vinegar in the semi dry finish. Okay but could not drink much of it.
Tried
on 08 Nov 2012
at 09:17
7.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Bottle (batch #5) thanks to deeblo, at THE sour tasting (part 1). It pours cloudy golden yellow, with an orangish hue and a thin white head. The nose is soft, orange, tangerine, sherbet, light creaminess, coconut and almond. The taste is tart lemon, kumquat, sour orange,grapefruit, grape skin, sherbet, spritzy, some barnyard, subtle spice and sour sweets (warheads) and some acidic burn, with a very tart finish. Medium body, moderate acidity and prickly carbonation. Not massively complex , but pretty tasty stuff indeed.
Tried
from Bottle
on 21 Oct 2012
at 10:08
8.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
June 11, 2023 review: 375mL bottle, pours a clear pale golden with a medium white head. Nose is quite funky, with lots of white pepper, barnyard funk, a touch of white wine, and a hint of citrus. Flavour is gently tart, with white wine tang, light citrus, barnyard funk, and white pepper. Tangy, funky, fairly dry finish. Pretty much as close as you can get to a gueuze outside Belgium. Complex and elegant. Very nice. Sept 30, 2012 review: 375mL bottle, sent from javit (thanks a lot, Adam), pours a cloudy golden blond with a medium white head. Nose is intensely funky and moderately acidic, with lots of the oak barrels showing off, lots of bretty funk, and some lambic-like tartness. Flavour is massively tart, probably more tart than any sour I've had, with loads of tart rotting fruits (somehow, in a good way), loads of bretty funk, and a moderate oak barrel presence. I would've thought such extreme tartness would make it undrinkable, but coupled with the oak barrels and the brett funk, the complexity is very high and the drinkability is quite high for a sour. It's got a lot in common with a lambic. Excellent stuff.
Tried
from Bottle
on 30 Sep 2012
at 16:54
7.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Bottle, batch 4, shared at Wood Shop 7, 2012. Cloudy salmon-orange color, funky citrus nose, acidic. Flavor is big citrus: grapefruit and lemon, nice funk. More citrus coming through than lambic-like funk. Very nice.
Tried
from Bottle
on 01 Aug 2012
at 05:49
8.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 9
1800th rating. Bottle. Pours a cloudy yellow orange with small off white head leaving spotty lacing. The aroma is Funk and grapefruit. Thin mouthfeel with a Strong tart flavor and sour finish. Easy to drink, refreshing. A very impressive sour ale from Russian River.
Tried
from Bottle
on 30 Jul 2012
at 13:58
8.5/10
—
Appearance 4
Aroma 10
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 9
375 ml bottle courtesy of Marsiblursi. Batch 002. Pours hazy bright pale golden (yellow) with a small bubbly white head that quickly dissipates without leaving much trace. Smell is sour with gooseberries, unripe currants, grass, barnyard, crackers, dry soil, lemon juice, leather, dried apricots, cape gooseberries, wild strawberries, wood, green grapes, rhubarb, dried basil and hints of blue cheese, oxidation and horse blanket. Taste is very sour with lemon juice, grapefruit juice, hay, gooseberries, red currants, minerals, barnyard, very unripe peaches, raspberries, unripe wild strawberries, cloudberries, green apples and hints of cape gooseberries and dry soil, horse blanket, leather, rhubarb and hints of cape gooseberries. Mouthfeel is very dry, very tart and medium bodied. Finish is sour and tart with grapefruit juice, lemon zest, red currants, gooseberries, hay, dry soil, barnyard and hints of apple cider vinegar. Simply amazing! Haven’t tried a fresh bottle but considering this bottle I’d very much recommend aging.
Tried
from Bottle
on 08 Jun 2012
at 13:07
8.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8
Bottle. Batch 2. Pours yellow gold with white head. Nose of old wood, aged cheese, funk, lemon rind and wild yeast. Taste is mostly funky citrus, wild yeast, old dry wood and tart lemon. Finishes with tart lemon and dry wood. Well balanced not over powering tartness. Medium body.
Tried
from Bottle
on 13 May 2012
at 20:40
8.1/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Had a friend in Santa Rosa send me 6 of these for $30 a bottle (2x markup but I’m alright with it). Poured at Cellar temp into a Duvel Tulip. Batch 5.
A - Half-Finger head. Lacing is solid but dissipated to a very thin ring of carbonation almost instantly. Dark golden color, nice haziness, looks like a standard farmhouse style saison.
S - Apricot sour tartness. Very wild and very hot on the nose. Intense spiciness as well that’s typical with a Saison but hard to pinpoint what spices exactly.
T - Very sweet. Extremely tart. Lots of wild fruits like apricot, grapes and persimmons. It’s hard to really give this rating a fair one since I’ve had 5 Russian River beers tonight all sours and corked so I’ll probably re-rate it. Very sweet and tart but hard to pinpoint any exact flavor.
M - 50/50 carbonation. Ultra dry finish, lingering sour taste.
O - Fantastic. This is a great beer but I’m finding it hard to really pinpoint. solid A.
A - Half-Finger head. Lacing is solid but dissipated to a very thin ring of carbonation almost instantly. Dark golden color, nice haziness, looks like a standard farmhouse style saison.
S - Apricot sour tartness. Very wild and very hot on the nose. Intense spiciness as well that’s typical with a Saison but hard to pinpoint what spices exactly.
T - Very sweet. Extremely tart. Lots of wild fruits like apricot, grapes and persimmons. It’s hard to really give this rating a fair one since I’ve had 5 Russian River beers tonight all sours and corked so I’ll probably re-rate it. Very sweet and tart but hard to pinpoint any exact flavor.
M - 50/50 carbonation. Ultra dry finish, lingering sour taste.
O - Fantastic. This is a great beer but I’m finding it hard to really pinpoint. solid A.
Tried
from Bottle
on 14 Apr 2012
at 19:35