Supplication - Russian River Brewing Company

ggaughan

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I had been waiting for sometime to try Supplication. I missed it on tap at Monk's a few months back but I got a few bottles in Sonoma, CA at the Sonoma Wine Exchange and also a magnum at the brewpub. The beer I tasted was one of the small bottles. the magnum will sit in the basement waiting for a special occasion.

I poured the beer into a nice tulip glass and admired it for awhile. I got a nice thick bubbly, off white head that lingered for awhile. The fruit aromas you get from there beer are very pleasing. Cheeries and citrus. I really enjoyed the carbonation and tart taste in my Supplication. This definitely takes on some characteristics of wine or champagne which is a nice take on beer. I will surely be back for a few more bottles and hopefully find it on tap in the near future.

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2005 04:19:13 | More by ggaughan

RedDiamond

Oregon

3.53/5  rDev -22.8%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

I think I like this beer more for what it aspires to be rather than for what it actually is. It is worth seeking and experiencing, but it is not easily appreciated. Or categorized.

Supplication is born from a highly complex recipe and ambitious aging regimen. It spends a full year in oak wine barrels with sour cherries, "wild" yeast, and two strains of friendly bacteria. It then undergoes a third fermentation in small corked bottles. With so many ingredients pulling in so many directions, the taste can be cluttered with one element obscuring or conflicting with another. The result achieves more convolution than integration.

Lightly oaken colored with no visual suggestion of cherries, Supplication begins with a powerfully explosive uncorking followed by thready, sustained bubbles and a remotely indifferent head. The pungent sour cherry and white wine elements are easily detected in the nose. The taste harbors core woodenness and a tart acidic twang and leans towards a bubbly wine. It bears some resemblance to a wheatless lambic but none at all to a Belgian kriek. There is no defining malt profile to speak of and the hops are similarly obscured by the medley of microorganisms and their attendant fermentation signatures.

I respect this beer a great deal but in the end there's just too much going on here for a singular identity to emerge and this makes Supplication difficult to approach. I found it not nearly as drinkable as Temptation or Damnation.

Batch 001. Special thanks to Brewbacca for the trade.

Serving type: bottle

12-05-2005 05:10:06 | More by RedDiamond

Brewfan

Connecticut

4.72/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Props to WarriorSoul for the bottle!
Poured into my wide-mouth Duvel tulip.
Poured a very murky orangy-apple cider color. Minimal head with a ton of small bubbles. The very fine lace stayed throughout and re-emerges with gentle encouragement.
There is a galaxy of tiny black specs floating throughtout the beer, but settled to the bottom. Yeast? Cherry pit scrapnel? Not sure what it is. Had no adverse effects on this beer.
Nose of sour cherry and earthy yeast mustyness. Enjoyably tart. Very vinous and smells of a well made hard cider.
Not exactly sure how to catagorize what I'm tasting. It's unlike any beer I've ever tried before. Sour wild cherry and Brett takes presidence, along with musty fruit-cake, minus the nuts. Subdued hoppiness but there is a malty sweetness. Quite dry and woody. My vocabulary cannot express what I'm actually tasting. So much complexity here. Maybe it's not meant to be described.
Very drinkable, smooth dry body. At 7% I wasn't expecting anything too heavy. Mouthfeel reminded me of a nice dry cider.

Awsome beer from Russian River and Vinnie. Like I said before, unlike anything I've previously had. Almost too good for words.

Serving type: bottle

11-29-2005 18:48:17 | More by Brewfan

BitterBrian

Pennsylvania

3.95/5  rDev -13.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I had this as my thanksgiving dinner chaser. Bought it from Blue Dog Tavern Lansdale.
Poured it into a weizen glass. Beer was a copper color and head started at about 2inches and was cream colored.
Taste was a dry mixture of malts, wood and cherries. yes, cherries. The dry texture of this beer is considerably more like a wine to me. But make no mistake, it is all beer. The finish was very woody. Like I just chewed on a wood popsicle stick.
The smell is cherry. I was sitting in a dining chair with the glass near my lap and that was all I could smell.
Not bad, but I wouldn't call it a drinker. Definitely has alot of craftsmanship involved. I would have it again on another special occaision.

Serving type: bottle

11-25-2005 16:03:24 | More by BitterBrian

DogFood11

California

3.58/5  rDev -21.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

off white head, body is tan to copper, massive carbonation to the point I would say this is the most aggressive carb's i've seen to this point, it comes up in waves of dominance.. Yeast chunks float about.

a strong lambic, strawberry, currant type mix hits me up front. Malted sweetness and grape finish the nose. interesting to say the least.

Carbonation is sizzling and overpowering but when its finished the overall taste is of young fruit. Imagine picking up an unripe pack of strawberries and grapes, mashing them together and you've got the general idea. Finishes with a touch of malt sweetness and clean.

Notes: Ehhh

Serving type: bottle

11-20-2005 23:32:21 | More by DogFood11

ommegangpbr

New York

4.68/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

The Blind Tiger had bottles of these for their Very Special Keg night; cost me $17 for 12 ounces and I don't regret it (well, not that much). I'm not likely to pull such a feat again anytime soon but:
If you don't like authentic lambics, saisons or flanders red ales then I'd suggest you stay away from this one.
If you, however, do like those styles then belly up to the bar.
Pours a pretty, hazy, burnt orange color with a bit of head; not stunning to the eye but reasonabley inviting.
Smells quite delicious. One of the more fragrant beers I've encountered in quite some time. You get a hint of the tart and tangyness to come (a little like freshly squeezed and squozen lemonade), a hint of cherries...
The taste really assaults the palate. Lambic meets saison meets flanders red. San Francisco sour dough. This is the most elegant use of wood aging I have yet to encounter in a beer; the wood is there but it is harmonious with the other elements.
Hard not to guzzle.
A pretty classy ho.

Serving type: bottle

11-18-2005 01:04:15 | More by ommegangpbr

NolanGTI

Pennsylvania

4.78/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

WOW. Beer, meet cherries. Cherries meet champagne. this is quite simply an astounding beer and I hate fruit in my beer typcially.

A small head coats the sides as you drink this bad boy down. Cherries are front and center followed by the taste of a nice champagne yeast, unlike anything I have ever tasted in a beer before. This was followed by the nice flavors of a mild brown ale. Tart, but not overly slow with a tangy middle and a nice ale finish. Just a real gem.

Serving type: bottle

11-14-2005 20:25:18 | More by NolanGTI

connecticutpoet

Connecticut

4.97/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Received in an excellent trade with GClarkage. I can't wait until they get some of this in this area.

This one poured into my chalice a hazy orange-amber with a half-finger head. It subsided to a thin layer, but remained throughout the experience.

Aroma was vinous, some sweet fruit (I know there's cherries, but it wasn't distinctive),and hints of oak. I noticed a little vanilla and a bit of a medicinal tang that was not unpleasant. Excellent

The taste was tart, a little sour, and vinous, with some cherry sweetness and some oaken notes. Extraordinary. Even the aftertaste was great.

Mouthfeel was tart and a little puckering, but not too much. Not as thin as I would have expected, very very good for the style.

Drinkability was wonderful. I saved this for an extra-special occasion, and this was well worth it.

DAMN, this was good.

Serving type: bottle

11-12-2005 03:28:42 | More by connecticutpoet

PatYoda

Colorado

4.3/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Batch 001.

Hazy peach with a large fluffy head that dies down pretty quickly. Smell is very strong - floral and herbal characters along with a vinegary smell dominate. There is definitely some sour cherry in there, and a woody smell. Taste is more of the same. The taste is a tad muted, but well done. A tiny bit of spicy alcohol shows through but other than that it is well hidden. The sourness is mild in this brew compared to most of the Belgian lambics I've had, but the cherry taste seems to come out more, along with a vinous character. Finish is very clean with some lingering oak. Mouthfeel is spot on for the style, pretty thin. Could use a bit more carbonation. Drinks very easily. Very interesting brew.

Serving type: bottle

11-08-2005 00:26:08 | More by PatYoda

lackenhauser

Maryland

4.63/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Pours a beautiful, cloudy, amber/pink color with a fluffy white head. A good 1/4" of head lasts the whole way down. Lovely aroma of earth with a slight mustiness, behind it all a bright "sense" of cherries. Great cherry sourness in the flavor. Spiciness abounds-somewhat peppery though NOWHERE near as "hot" spice-wise as Catillion's Rose d Gambrinus, which I liken this to. The tart/sweet combo is amazing. Great body. Quite amazing. This is a lot more my speed then the similar Catillion products. A damn fine beer and a great product by American brewers for sure.

Serving type: bottle

11-05-2005 23:37:01 | More by lackenhauser

watermelonman

California

4.68/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

This poured to a nice deep red orange with a head that faded quickly. There isn't much lace.

The smell is intoxicating, with cherry, oak, and wild yeast very apparent. The taste starts with a bit of malt up front with cherry on top of oak taking over quickly. Sourness remains in the mouth. The mouthfeel is tart while the drinkability is amazing.

Very tasty.

Serving type: bottle

10-26-2005 22:40:25 | More by watermelonman

MuddyFeet

North Carolina

4.68/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Love goes out to BigLove for this beer.

Poured an incredibly murky brown. Really like thinned out muddy water. Thin head that dissolved almost completely but for a ring of thin bubbles around the edges.

Nose is full of cherries with some woodiness coming out towards the back of the nose.

Flavor is really nice. I got some nice flavors from the yeast. But the cherries nearly overpowered everything else and did a great job concealing the alcohol. Cherries are both sweet and sour. Slight wood flavors come out at the end.

Mouthfeel has a very dry finish. The cherries linger throughout and afterwards. Makes me think of a light red wine.

Found myself holding the bottle over my glass trying to milk out any remaining drips or drops of beer in there.

Serving type: bottle

10-21-2005 01:37:54 | More by MuddyFeet

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

4.38/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Hazed, tawny, deep amber/orange, under a fizzy slab of off-whitish foam...

Oooo...sow-wer aroma, wild and funky, citrus and spice at play in the great outdoors...oooo...aaahhh!

A most unusual taste. Full bodied, and utterly weird. Bold fruit, forward and beautifully blended. Cherries are on top, but don't dominate, there's a greater complexity, made more confounding by the tartness that abounds.
Gets mellower as we sip, and wider, too...more open, spacious, ...with incessant bursts of cherry-licious flavor...me, oh, my...

This beer requires a larger bottle, and a momentous occasion, to share with special someones...drinks down deliciously...

A most stupendous creation.

Serving type: bottle

10-19-2005 07:28:25 | More by feloniousmonk

WesWes

New York

4.47/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

The beer pours a cloudy burnt orange color with a 1/2" white head that fades to lacing. The aroma is great. It has a nice sour cherry scent laid over a mild malt base comprised of pale and crystal malts. The taste is awesome. It has a smooth Belgian brown ale flavor with loads of sour cherries in the taste. It goes down like candy and finishes sour and slightly warm. The mouthfeel is good. It is a medium/full bodied beer with adequate/good carbonation. This is a fantastic brew. I love everything about it. I only wish it came in bigger bottles.

Serving type: bottle

10-08-2005 00:27:22 | More by WesWes

mntlover

Tennessee

4.43/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Want to thank RedwoodGeorge for this bottle he sent me because he said I sent him too many beers in our P to the Y trade, but thats not possible, George is a hell of a guy. Anyway...

Pours a hazy deep amber color with some red hints smaller kaki head that falls to a ring pretty fast hints of lace is it.

Aroma is musty funky wet horses brett mixed with tart fruit cherries, peaches some light vinager dry wood aromas hints of vanilla. As is warms cherries come out more also a yogurt aroma noted.

Taste is well very nice tart cherries moving right into the funky flavors puckering your mouth vinager and red wine like qualities appear and fade to dry wood flavors and hints of vanilla and a lingering tartness. So far this is the only wild ale that reminds me of a Flanders Red must be the cherries. Overall a nice beer Vinnie has here.

Mouthfeel is little lighter then medium nice dry adds to the tartness.

Drinkability is good only thing hurting this one is price I think about 10 at the Vintage Cellar when they have it. Thanks to George I now have one in my cellar :)

Serving type: bottle

10-05-2005 20:00:23 | More by mntlover

Boilermaker88

California

4.65/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Presented in an oddly shaped 375ml bottle with a blizzard of info about the beer on the label. Turns out this was batch #001. Cost: $9.99 at Hollingshead Deli in Orange, CA.
Poured into a goblet, Supplication showed off a faintly maroon coloration, a long-lasting pink-tinged head, and lots of gummy lace. The head was easily re-formed with a quick swirl of the glass.
The nose was quite complex with a sharply sour lambic-like aroma. Cherry notes were evident as were aromas of Brett-created wet animal hides, oak wood, and the vinous notes of red wine. Very faint note of vanilla also.
Complexity doesn't let up at the nose, that's for sure! Immediate tannic acid bite infused with sour cherries. Woody mid-palate, but only briefly. Tart and slightly soured milk taste along with vino and musty funk. Red wine influence and dryness really comes across in the finish. The feel was medium/light in body, quite dry and tartly acidic.
Man, this was really good; so easily drinkable. At $10 I wanted to savor it yet had a tough time pacing myself to get the fullest enjoyment possible from the all-too-small bottle. Another gem from the creative minds at Russian River.

Serving type: bottle

09-29-2005 21:14:44 | More by Boilermaker88

czechsaaz

Washington

4.8/5  rDev +5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Batch 001. Poured at cellar Temp.

Aroma is very complex, Brett initially, some estery yeast character, malt and just a hint of fruit. Color is somewhere between amber and red. A little cloudy. Small but persistant head.

Initial flavor is fine sour cherry juice. Mid-palate, Brett takes over giving a tart and refreshing impression. There's a substantial caramel malt aftertaste. Further tasting includes nice oak and red-wine like flavors. No one of these flavors is dominant. They all combine to make-up an incredibly complex mixture.

Medium to full bodied. Fine evervescent carbonation. Creamy, not warming. Very pleasant to drink.

Really nice beer. Picked up a few extras to cellar. Wondering how the fruit will change as it's pretty subtle now. May fade entirely.

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2005 21:33:54 | More by czechsaaz

weeare138

Pennsylvania

4.05/5  rDev -11.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Thanks to PWalk...
Appears an amber/orange with a small white head and streaky lacing.
Smell is of brett, wildness of tart fruit, slight oak barrel aging.
Taste is slightly vinous, wild, and sweet but sour. Maybe some cherries in the mix. Pretty complex.
Mouthfeel is smooth, wine-like, chewy but pleasant, sweet & sour.

Serving type: bottle

09-23-2005 17:38:55 | More by weeare138

IceAce

California

4.93/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

375ml bottle labeled 'Batch 001'

Immediately upon uncorking, the nose became most evident. Chardonnay tone from a distance, saison/gueze-like up close with a formidable Bret presence as well as sour cherries and Belgian yeast. Simply exceptional.

Reddish/orange body capped with a full finger of tiny-bubbled white foam with decent clarity for an unfiltered offering.

Silky carbonation tickles the underside of the tongue upon entryand the sour cherries are the first impression...quickly overtaken by the funky Bret and an unmistakable dryness on the center/rear of the tongue. Layer after layer of funky Bret, sweet fruits, and oak inspired dryness constitute the midtaste.

Mouthfeel is light and airey and the finish champagne dry with the funk of Bret and other bacilli lingering long after the swallow.

As this brew warms it becomes even funkier...simply out of this world!!!

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2005 06:59:47 | More by IceAce

merlin48

Kentucky

4.38/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Oddly shaped, olive brown hued bottle is corked and caged, 12.7 oz, batch 001.
Appearance-Pours into a chalice a hazed apricot body awash with carbonation. Small offwhite head is shortlived, but leaves a shimmering chain of sheet lace to grace the rim of the chalice.
Aroma-Very Kriek-like, with tart cherries and acidic lemon. More complex than a lambic, with accents of red wine, clean yeasty funk, vinegar, and a powerful note of woody oak.
Mouthfeel- Light medium body with moderated carbonation. Tingly and tannic.
Taste- Very complex and highly detailed. Immediately tannic, sour, and acidic. Sour cherry blends with red and white grapes, atop a very oaky and woodsy character. Yeasty funk is clean, airy, and outdoorsy. Some hints of caramel malt try to balance the tartness, but without success. Lemon and tangerine notes linger on the palate.
Drinkability- This one reminds me of an oaky, Flanders Red Ale blended with a geuze. Very satisfying sipper that is quite tasty and refreshing. Complexities abound. Very expensive stuff here. I could have purchased a Rochefort 10 for the price of this one. I'm going to lay down my other bottle for a few months and see what happens.

Serving type: bottle

09-17-2005 11:12:29 | More by merlin48

Rastacouere

Quebec (Canada)

4.2/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Muddy amber-orange. Surprisingly buttery nose takes a minute to get accustomed to. Good oaky, cherry, dusty and woody flavours underneath, but the diacetyl is a wall you have to filter your way through. Spicy pineapple juice soaked in oak casks, nutty and lactic flavours.. Once again a territory owned by rancid butter, but the lactic aspects are gentle. Popcorn reminiscent finish in its burnt buttery feel. Nice thin bubbled carbonation, lightly oily medium body. Alright, it seems like we were unlucky and I’m excited enough about Russian River to re-sample that again for sure, at GABF in the worst case, but may this rating serve as a warming. This was a batch #1 bottle and I can only push the lucky souls holding onto bottles of this to be very patient and let it ferment well because it seems the bottles are still quite variable.

A few weeks after, I finally got to try this on tap at BCTC 2005 and there was no diacetyl component at all which left us with beautiful vinous, nutty sweet and sour flavors of cherries, vanilla and a miraculous drying finish. Generous earthiness with a funky soily apple skin yeastiness. This goes from a 2.8 to a 4.1 in my book and is a piece of art.

Serving type: on-tap

09-12-2005 01:13:38 | More by Rastacouere

hyuga

North Carolina

4.38/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Hazy peach-amber color with a light tan froth.

Sweet and sour vinous aroma, tart cherries and hints of yeast spiciness. Bubblegum is present as well, possibly some candi sugar character. "Candy floral" comes to mind. Maybe honey? Kind of mysterious, very good.

Vinous and sour start with a sweet candi sugar-like side that shows up nearer the middle. Super tart cherries with a subtle hop twang. Wild yeast funk lends a bit of a chewed bubblegum flavor. Bitterness in the finish from that subtle hopping, which is almost a surprise. Subdued piney character at the very end. Leaves an almost leafy presence under the sourness. Hops show up more as it warms a bit.

Very nice! A strange and wonderful creation. This is certainly a thinking beer. I'm very impressed with the hopping and the overall complexity. I can't wait to have more from Russian River, this is my first experience.

Serving type: bottle

09-04-2005 00:23:48 | More by hyuga

warriorsoul

Pennsylvania

4.4/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Ordered online from their website and shipped to my bro's place in NC...one more reason to anticipate the visit.
I was fortunate to sample this a couple times at the ABF...finally have a full 12oz. to enjoy to myself.
Pours a cloudy rust color w/ less than 1/4 finger of head...hardly no lacing forms on the sides of the snifter glass.
Aroma is very inviting...subtle sour cherries w/ hints of the pinot noir barrels this offering was aged in.
The taste is quite tart...cherries are not overbearing and a definite vinous quality. Finishes slightly bitter...more tart IMO.
The mouthfeel and carbonation are perfect for the style...both very quenching/refreshing, even served at room temperature.
At 7%, I could enjoy this one all afternoon...gets better w/ each sip.
I have one more to age for a year and am hoping it will sour even more...cheers to Vinnie at RR for this one.

Serving type: bottle

09-02-2005 20:41:00 | More by warriorsoul

GeoffFromSJ

New Jersey

4.68/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

I think the only thing you can truly say is that Russian River's brewer, Vinnie, is an artist. There are many fine brewers, and many less artists. This beer is a work of art.

Looks like wood, in a good way, wood. Like a backyard porch. Cloudy due to yeast. Some head, not much. Not much lacing.

Smell. Oddly enough, the best feature of this beer. When first opened, the smell was a dead-ringer for a cabernet sauvignon. Then, you could pick out the cherries.

Torn about the taste. Taste is very, very good. The brett and the sour cherries interact with a lot of complexity. Nice and tart, but not so intense that it is unbearable. If I had more discrete points, I would give this a 4.75. I will definitely be revisiting this beer at a later date to see how the bottle I have left from my stop at the brewery matures. This one, picked up from Tria, is much more mature and much better then the fresh bottle I got from the brewery itself.

Drinkable? All day long, baby. All day long.

Serving type: bottle

08-31-2005 22:53:15 | More by GeoffFromSJ

GCBrewingCo

North Carolina

4.63/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

The beer poured into the chalice clear deep amber light brown with a medium off-white head which lasted well to lace the glass.

The aroma was low levels of acidity coupled with a light fruitiness when first poured. After warming a bit the aromatic changed to light tannins of oak and vanilla coupled with a nice fruit complexity of cherries which would have been almost indistinguishable had the thought not been placed in my head from the label.

The flavor was light with a definite cherry flavor that was not forced nor artificial. The oak presence was powerful and refined with a brett flavor that led to a complex character of cherries and slightly sour breadiness. The flavors were full and rounded with the cherries notable when the beer first contacts the palate and then the flavors change with a bready citric and acidic sourness that was mildly presented and never overdone. A complex presentation that contained oranges, lemons and limes on a level that resides just below and behind the other characteristics of the flavor.

The finish was almost dry with a lasting bready and citrus coupled with cherry impression into the aftertaste. The body was just below medium and well done. The beer was extremely interesting and complex, though not one I would place extremely high on the drinkability chart.

12 ounce corked and bailed bottle, Batch 001, $9.29 at Wine Warehouse in Charlottesville, Va.

Serving type: bottle

08-28-2005 22:09:48 | More by GCBrewingCo