Supplication - Russian River Brewing Company

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

pentathlete

Virginia

4.55/5  rDev -0.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Dark dirty peach with a monster head. Huge nose that assaults the nose with Brett, cherries and other alcohol-bathed fruits. I did not find the tartness to be a bully at all, in fact it complemented the cherry flavors and produced a complex, immensely satisfying quaff. Bottle was too damned small, though. Finish is long, the beer sticks with you without damaging any tastebuds.

About $15.50 for a 375ml at Capital Ale, Innsbrook.

Serving type: bottle

08-26-2005 02:42:04 | More by pentathlete

sublimesipping

Pennsylvania

5/5  rDev +9.4%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

I was sunday schooled today @ Tria in Philly. Can you believe it this was the beer offering- bottles at cost, and people drinking this as common as yuengling or ___! Now this place is a beer as well as wine and cheese counesouers trifecta- but come on! Amazing offering of an amazing beer. I 've had Pliny the elder and Dammnation and have enjoyed those- but I have to honestly say, and I've drunk enough beer and reviewed a scant number here(though generally only those that really stand out)- this may have been the best I've had yet.
Color- a honied amber- beautiful. Creamy subtle head poured silkily into a a tapered wine glass...
Aroma- of port and cherries and an aluring sweetness
First tast-incredible balanced depth. good warming alchohol and cherries- di I say cherries- wonderful nuancied cherries, but better than any Kriek- Rodenbach/New Glarus souped up wth La Fin du Monde. Wonderful, wonderful special occasion beer. Paired well with the French terriorfamhouse cheese and gargonzola/fig brushetta...
There has been much love, sweat, detail, patence, and time put forth into this brew. This is truly exceptional offering from what I am experiencing to be atrul exceptional, creative daring brewery. TRY IT and SAVOR! Wonderful!!

Serving type: bottle

08-22-2005 01:51:45 | More by sublimesipping

silenius

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev -7%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

As I was drinking this beer I kept thinking to myself what restraint the brewer used in all the components added to the mix. This led me to realize that some remarkable craftsmanship went into the making of this beer.

Another brewer might have tried to make this into a big taste salad by upping the flavor profile. That would be a mistake in my opinion. This beer has many interlocking smells and flavors that each stand on their own and interplay with each other. An incredible job.

It pours slightly hazed orange red with no discernable solids in the body, but it was not clear. The head on the pour was nice and solid and lowered to a skim after a minute or so.

I think I dipped my nose in the glass more than I sipped. The smell is quite incredible. It starts with more of a slightly sour smell with some cherry pits, but as it warms it takes on a more winey character with a definite cedar smell. I really enjoyed the smell of this beer. It had many distinct but subtle smells - light balsamic vinegar, cherry pits, cedar, brown sugar, red wine, and a damp sweet earthiness. Truly amazing.

Taste was quite good as well, but not as complex as the nose. It had a light sour character that interplayed with some sweetness and a dry woodiness.

Mouthfeel was spot on - moderately thick, creamy carbonation and a slight drying.

What a great sipper.

Serving type: bottle

08-20-2005 02:11:41 | More by silenius

WetCoaster

California

4.28/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

*Corked and caged 375 ml
*Batch 001

Appearance: Opened my very unsettled bottle -- basically exploded when opened despite having sit still and upright for 45 minutes -- to find a slightly cloudy cherrywood with honey undertones. Fine champagne carbonation. No real head to speak of, although a thin layer of rose foam was present throughout.

Smell: The scent is wild indeed. Woody, vinous, tartly fruity, but also a bit musty and rich. Probably a good many things I don't know to look for happening as well. Becomes sweet and slightly malty as it warms, a bit more akin to its brown ale heritage.

Taste/Mouthfeel: The mouthfeel is thin and again quite champagne-like. The taste is a real joy; tart, dry and fruity, yet wonderfully earthy as well. The aftertaste is literally woody, not vanilla oak, but rather like sucking on a wood chip. Yeast spice and fruit sourness lingers.

Drinkability: Well, let's be frank: if this were available in conventional six-packs, they'd run you about $50, so to say this is "drinkable" might be a stretch. Still, as an occasional treat, it's a unique and tasty example of the craft to be sure. Made me smile. I have another sitting in the cellar -- we'll see what a year does to it.

Serving type: bottle

08-18-2005 19:54:59 | More by WetCoaster

ejquin

Illinois

4.75/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

A: Copper with a thin white frothy head.

S: Very nice aroma and pungent. Sour with a touch of phenols. Apples and spice with some sweetness and an underlying woody / mushroomy note.

T: Sweet and sour up front fading to a spiciness and finishing dry and woodsy. Alcohol starts to come through at the finish. There's definitely a tanin note from the wine barrell againg.

M: Thick and smooth with perfect carbonation.

D: Great

O: This is unique and delicious. Proof that if you take the care in brewing a beer you would in creating a fine wine, the results can be just as mind blowing.

Serving type: bottle

08-13-2005 18:36:13 | More by ejquin

egajdzis

Pennsylvania

4.33/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

RBSG 2005... Poured a hazy orange gold color with a light, off white head, that left spotty lacing on the glass. Aroma of diactyl, herbs, tart grapes, and a touch of caramel. Taste of sweet malts, oak, coconuts, yeast, tart, and sour grapes. Thanks Eyedrinkale

Serving type: bottle

08-05-2005 18:03:33 | More by egajdzis

meathookjones

Virginia

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

Small corked and caged 375ml. from batch #1. The cork comes out with quite a loud pop. Appears a murky deep orange with good sized off white head. Pretty good amount of sticky scattered lace covering the glass. The tart aroma hits you as soon as you pour this. As it warms funky yeast and woody scents come out more. Lighter notes of cherries and other lighter fruits appear at times as well. Flavor is equally complex with a big tartness and a smaller balancing sweetness coming on strongest. Plenty of interesting yeast things going on including the brett funkiness. Oak notes and sour cherries play into it as well. Some vinous notes at times. Dry sourness on the aftertaste. About a medium body with a dry, tart and tangy feel to it. I found it also quite refreshing. Very interesting stuff it keeps you coming back for more trying to figure out every thing that is going on. By the end of the glass though my palette seemed a bit wore out from all the flavors but I would have gladly drank a 750 of this. Excellent all around brew a must try.

Serving type: bottle

08-03-2005 12:54:52 | More by meathookjones

Dukeofearl

California

4.88/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

I have had 2 opportunities to try this beer in the last week (once in a great beach bar, and the other in the comfort of my home), and so this review is a mix of both opportunities. In the bar, it was served at perfect temperature, at home I was too impatient and it was too cold when I served it.

Pours a slightly hazy orange-red with minimal head when cold, but a nice off-white head when poured in a Damnation chalice.

Aroma is full, slightly sour, with a wonderful cherry-dark berry overtones. Wood. Complex.

Flavor takes the aroma and runs with it. Tart cherries. Sharp and overly sour when cold, but balances nicely when closer to cellar temperature. It becomes more mellow, cherries more fruity, edges removed from sourness, wood notes more pleasant. Oh, my this is wonderful.

Mouthfeel is rich, but not in the Tripel/Quadrupel way, but just because it sits in the mouth so happy. Dry but more complex than that. And it is so drinkable I thought there was a hole in the bottom of my glass.

One of the best I've had in a long time.

Serving type: bottle

08-03-2005 00:09:48 | More by Dukeofearl