Damnation Batch 23 (Oak Aged) - Russian River Brewing Company

Onenote81

North Carolina

3.9/5  rDev -8.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Had this one on-tap at Tony's Darts Away in Burbank.

Bartender poured into this into a tall tulip glass, revealing a slightly hazy golden hue. A finger-width's worth of creamy foam capped it off. The nose is sharp with Belgian yeast, lemon zest, faint tangerine. The mouthfeel was much smoother than anticipated, aided by the oak chips, no doubt. Light bubbly finish. Light hoppy flavors meld well with the yeast character, and then finishes with a mildly-tart citrus snap. Spicy lemons come to mind with this beer. I liked it quite a bit. RR has made another standout brew here. Glad I had the opportunity.

Serving type: on-tap

03-12-2012 16:25:23 | More by Onenote81

claaark13

Indiana

4.15/5  rDev -3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Thanks Mihir. Poured into a Founders snifter.

A - Very carbonated. Froth doesn't fade for some time. Nice, light orange color. Too much foam. Way too much foam.

S - Belgian yeast, corriander, light lemon, yet somewhat muted.

T - Similar to smell. A slightly, almost tart lemon in the middle. The oak is very mild. It comes out towards the end. Slight citric tartness within the flavor. Dryness is subdued by carbonation and some sweetness. Oak does stick to the tongue after a few sips. 10.75%? No way.

M - Very prickly and carbonated, but easy to drink. So easy to drink.

O - Good beer. Oak is right on target, finish is smooth. It is overcarbonated as hell, but the flavor is just great. Without a massive head, the beer looks great. Great overall and I would happily drink this again.

Serving type: bottle

03-12-2012 01:40:01 | More by claaark13

abrethanson

California

4.8/5  rDev +12.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Had this on tap at Pizza Port in Solana Beach. Fantastic complement to their tasty pizza.

Look - pours a clear copper with a 1 finger head.

Smell - belgium breadiness, with a hint of pine sneaking through.

Taste - The nose is a light apple sour balanced with bread and vanilla. The body is very complex with maltiness, strong floral notes, and cherry cough syrup. The citrus hops provide the beer's backbone and pull through at the end and do a nice job of masking the booziness. Also a little funkiness hiding around.

Mouth feel - tart and lightly carbonated.

Overall - loved it. The complexity and balanced between Belgium yeast, hops, tartness, and richness was splendid.

Serving type: on-tap

03-11-2012 16:10:30 | More by abrethanson

dcloeren

Texas

4.35/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a hazy orange with a finger of bright white foamy head. Decent retention, no lacing.

Hit immediately with Belgian yeast, some vanilla, apples, pears and maybe a touch of peach. Nice spicy aromas are roused off with a semi tart finish.

Taste is very similar to the nose. The Belgian yeast is a little more in the back ground with the apples, pears and lemon taking the lead. Smooth vanilla notes in the middle (I'm assuming this was lifted from the oak). Great taste with a spice filled finish.

Medium body with a ton of carbonation.

Overall, I thought this was exactly how I anticipated a Russian River Tripel to taste like. Very nice and complex. I highly recommend.

Serving type: bottle

03-07-2012 01:23:13 | More by dcloeren

Bobheed

Texas

4.45/5  rDev +4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

A: Pours a nice golden color starting out quite clear, then getting pretty hazy. Huge, huge foamy white head. What a tripel should look like

S: A little bit of spiciness, a lot of bready characteristics. Alcohol slightly detectable

T: Tangy, citrusy, spicy. Lots of clove right up front, then sort of goes into a nice fruity flavor with a bit of hop presence. At the very end you get a bit of alcohol

M: Highly carbonated, but super smooth somehow. Almost seems like it was straight off a nitro-tap even out of the bottle. A bit of alcohol warmth behind it all.

Overall, I loved this one. Gonna grab a few more bottles too, see how it holds up with a little age. This, to me, is the ideal tripel.

Serving type: bottle

02-22-2012 05:19:16 | More by Bobheed

Drinkerofales

California

4.43/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Batch 069 of Batch 23

Pours golden yellow and slightly cloudy. A huge cream colored head forms and forces me to pour from the bottle three times before I could fit it in the tulip, even when I poured extremely slow. The head left some huge chunky lacing.

Smell is yeast tangy, hint of pepper and citrus.

Taste is quite different. Oak seems and undertone to the whole drink, with yeast being forward, a sourdough break like malt and a very woody nice aftertaste.

Feels incredible, smooth and luxurious. A light bubbly bite reminds you of the carbonation, but makes this feel much lighter than the 10.75%.

A great drinking beer for it's huge ABV. The oak adds something to all the aspects of flavor and texture. Too bad this is quite pricey, still, a very nice beer.

DOA

Serving type: bottle

02-13-2012 05:33:43 | More by Drinkerofales

WillCarrera

Illinois

4.33/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

375 ml bottle, batch number 069, poured into a tulip glass.

A- Pours a hazy apricot color with a big fluffy 2" head, good lacing.

S- Lots of tart and yeasty aromas, some spice, crisp apple/pear fruitiness and oak.

T- Big phenolic spices are prominent here, lots of clove and coriander, some orange and pear as well as a lot of earthy yeast. Some sweetness from candy flavors and alcohol.

M- Medium-bodied, heavily carbonated, has a very crisp feel with lots of prickly carbonation, finish is a bit dry.

O- A pretty good tripel, lots of complex flavors, drinkability is very high (I'm actually surprised at the alcohol content), Russian River never disappoints.

Serving type: bottle

02-11-2012 04:56:09 | More by WillCarrera

schlimenhaumer

New York

4.22/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from the corked-and-caged bottle into a Southampton snifter at low altitude. I really enjoyed the standard version of this, so I'm looking forward to this.

A: Pours a nice hazy honey color with some noticeable yeast sediment and a nice creamy white head of nice retention. Very nice.

S: Fruity yeast esters, cherry, sugar, oak, a bit of alcohol. My nose is stuffy at the moment, so that's about all I get.

T: Fruity cherry yeast notes up front give way to a spicy body and an oaky and drying finish. There's a bit of sourness here that plays well with the other flavors.

M: Light- to medium-bodied and quite dry. Good for the style and suits the flavors well.

D: This is a very drinkable beer, especially considering the ABV. If you've tried the regular Damnation or you're looking for a good American-made tripel, this is a good option.

Serving type: bottle

02-10-2012 00:52:48 | More by schlimenhaumer

DaftCaskBC

British Columbia (Canada)

4.53/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to sugit for this one.

A: 1" white head that left a nice lacing and remained for a lengthy period of time over cloudy honey/amber liquid. Very appetizing looking.

S: Oak, sour funk and yeast.

T: Oak, sour funk, lemon citrus and clove floral hops and a honey/biscuit malt backbone.

M: Medium viscosity and a high level of fine carbonation. Some drying from the alcohol.

O: One of the best tripels I have ever had, although it could use more funk. If you like this one; seek out a similar one by A La Fut out of Quebec called Tripe à 3 Brett.

Serving type: bottle

02-07-2012 23:57:40 | More by DaftCaskBC

stakem

Pennsylvania

3.45/5  rDev -19.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to both MexicanSkittel and BdubleEdubleRUN for the chance to try this one. Batch 69, 375ml bottle poured into a snifter. The cork removes with a loud pop and produces 4 fingers worth of white fluffy froth. The cap fades back to a thin lacing that is supported by constantly rising bubbles. The brew itself appears a hazed golden orange color that is slightly hazed. A light swirl effortless revives more than a finger of slightly off-white froth back to the surface.

The smell of this brew has a lot going on. First it reminds me of coriander with a hint of lemon and orange zest that is sweet and almost candied. More sniffs reveal a deep fruit inclusion with a bit of earth and mild oaked quality. A hint of sulfur and some spicy clove round it out with the alcohol becoming increasingly noticeable as it warms up.

The taste includes everything hinted in the aroma. Some peppery spice mixes with clove, coriander, lemon and orange pulp-like bitterness. Some tannic oak flavoring resides mid-palate bringing out a bit more focus on an earthy/herbal bitterness. The alcohol which was initially quite tamed really comes out with a warming factor as the brew warms up. The aftertaste is a little cheesy and quite earthy with a bit more pronounced oak flavoring that is raw.

This is a medium bodied brew that is very carbonated. It has a solid warming factor about it and a nice arrangement of flavor initially that sort of falls apart as it warms up and more sips are taken. I think the oak and hoppy bitterness clashes with the yeasty spices and it overall distracts from the experience instead of complimenting it. It lingers inside the mouth with almost an oily feel that mixes with a bit of astringency. It isn't a horrible brew by any stretch, it just isn't quite for me and what I expect from a tripel.

Serving type: bottle

02-07-2012 02:30:25 | More by stakem

jeffjeff1

California

4.1/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I got this at RR Brewery during the Pliny release.

Appearance- orange cloudy color, thick foamy head

Smell- citrus fruit, spices

Taste- citrus fruit, spices, slight bitterness

Mouthfeel- medium bodied

Drinkability- I thought it was pretty good. I shared the bottle with my family and we enjoyed it.

Serving type: bottle

02-06-2012 17:19:04 | More by jeffjeff1

SpeedwayJim

New York

3.85/5  rDev -10%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to ipa247 for this one. Batch 69. Corked and caged 375ml bottle poured into a Southampton oversize snifter. Shared with schen9303.

Gentle pour yields a gigantic 2 finger frothy, fluffy white head with great retention. Beer is a clear orange. Lacing is patchy and thick with little cling. Pretty.

Nose is coriander, orange peel, soap, and cane sugar. Real deep and robust but lively at the same time. Nice.

Opens clove, orange peel, coriander, citrus fruit, and Belgian yeastiness. Very sweet and herbal. More yeast towards the middle with some cane sugar further enhancing the malt body. End is sweet and yeasty with touches of citrus throughout. Aftertaste is of sweet orange and spices. Moderate complexity. Very enjoyable.

Light to medium bodied with ample carbonation. Lively and bubbly in the mouth and crisp and aggressive going down. Finish is messy with a lingering aftertaste. Decent.

For an 11% offering, this one hides its boozy side very very well. Otherwise, a very solid tripel though the barrel-aging barely shows up in the flavor profile.

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2012 23:55:50 | More by SpeedwayJim

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.78/5  rDev -11.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

My bottle at Stone Brewing Bistro and Gardens. Yeasty aroma mostly. Starts sweet and then finishes bitter. Funkier as it warms. Hits the style and also funkier than the style. Would be much better with food. 375 ml is sufficient without it. Enormous head.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2012 21:52:35 | More by northyorksammy

Giovacchini

California

4.4/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A- orange with thick head.

S- oak, yeast, banana.

T- oak, belgium yeast, fruit, for some reason this beer has a bubble gum flavor to me (double bubble).

M- nice carbonation, the alcohol is masked well for being an 11%.

O- I like this beer this beer a lot. I want to age a few bottles but they don't last. Long in my cellar.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2012 03:19:03 | More by Giovacchini

UCLABrewN84

California

4.18/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Batch # 069.

10.75% ABV per the label.

Pours a murky honey orange with a 3 inch foamy off-white head that settles to a film on the top of the beer. Random dots and streaks of lace form on the glass on the drink down. Smell is of Belgian yeast, spices, grain, and some light fruity aromas. Taste is pretty much exactly the same with a slight woody flavor on the finish. There is a slight astringent bitterness and a bit of alcohol warmth in the back of the throat with each sip. This beer has a high level of carbonation with a very crisp and prickly mouthfeel. Overall, this is a very good tripel and another great beer from Russian River. I am very happy I was able to find one of these.

Serving type: bottle

01-20-2012 06:29:43 | More by UCLABrewN84

BilbosNuts

California

4.35/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a 12.68oz bottle into a chalice. (batch 69)

A: Pours a slightly cloudy golden yellow color. It has a two finger, creamy, pearl white head that leaves sheets of lacing and keeps a good sized film across the top. A tornado of carbonation swarms from the bottom of the glass and rises vigorously to the top.

S: It starts off with big spicy phenolic notes. A touch of belgian yeast follows. It finishes with sweet light fruits. There is a touch of alcohol in the aroma as well. I can't sense anything resembling this being aged in oak chips.

T: Here is where the oak chips make their presence. They give off a nice earthy and woody sort of taste that works well with the other flavors that follow. Belgian yeast and spicy phenols are again present. Belgian candy sugar makes a significant impact giving off an appealing light alcohol taste. A big sweet fruit taste finishes it off.

M: The belgian candy sugar gives it a lighter body. The high amount of carbonation effectively moves the flavors around the palate. It finishes with a mild amount of alcohol.

O: This was really a great beer. Definitely one of the best tripels I have enjoyed to date. It hides the high alcohol dangerously well, it has a great complex taste, and is well put together overall.

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2012 00:46:46 | More by BilbosNuts

billab914

Virginia

4.13/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Batch 69 poured into my Lost Abbey stemware. It poured a murky orange amber color with a huge, frothy, off-white colored head to it. Great head retention and lacing as I drank it.

The aroma shows a lot of the earthy Belgian yeast spice to it. A good amount of the oak comes through in a woody, slightly vanilla like flavor. An herbal, somewhat grassy hoppiness is there as well. Nice aroma for the style.

The taste also has a good dose of the earthy, spicy, yeast flavors to it throughout. Some sweeter, pale malts start to come out in the finish and mix with some of the woody, oak flavors. A little bit of an herbal hoppiness is there as well.

The mouthfeel is medium bodied for the style with carbonation being high. Overall it was a very good beer of the style. The oak seemed a little more subtle, but did provide a little more depth to it. It had a nice range of flavors to it and was a very good tasting beer overall.

Serving type: bottle

01-13-2012 00:04:57 | More by billab914

AlCaponeJunior

Texas

4.1/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Kind of a tan color with orange hues, cloudy, with a nice white head and good lacing.

Smells is really nice, Belgian yeast and spices, citrus, light to mid fruits, banana, clove, a tinge of woodiness, and a healthy dose of funk.

Taste follows the smell, less funky than I imagined it would be from the smell, subtle woody notes, great Belgian yeast flavors, enough hoppiness to balance it all out, just a tinge of alcohol.

Body is pretty rich and full, plenty of carbonation, alcohol is present but not very noticeable.

Another damn fine beer from RR. What else needs to be said?

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2012 22:35:44 | More by AlCaponeJunior

rowingbrewer

Massachusetts

4.08/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Had this one last night. A big thanks to ultraman9000(Martin) for sending this one as an extra.

This beer pours a hazy star color with a huge fluffy white head. It's like there is a cloud on top of my beer. The smell is lightly spicey with hints of bready malts, I also get hints of the oak. The taste is pretty similar to the smell with a little bit of a bitter finish. The mouthfeel is medium body and fairly dry with high carbonation. Overall this is a really good beer and I am glad I got to try it.

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2012 15:12:02 | More by rowingbrewer

MrDanno96

Ohio

4.35/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Batch 69.

A big thank you to my best friend Dave for bringing this (and 12 other bottles of RR!) back for me from his recent trip to California.

A: Hello carbonation! A gentle pour of just half the bottle yielded more fluffy white head than my big Duvel tulip could handle. As the head slowly receded, it left lots of fluffy lace sticking to the sides of the glass. Pours a coppery-orange color.

S: The spiciness of the Belgian yeast predominates the nose. Subtle notes of citrus and brett. Apples.

T: The flavor features several layers, with the oak adding an intriguing layer of earth complexity. Spicy Belgian yeast up front transitions to flavors of sweet fruit in the mid palate. Towards the finish this sweetness is balanced by subtle earthy oak flavors and slight grassy hints. The finish is just the slightest bit bitter with notes of earthy yeast as well. Despite detectable notes of brett on the nose, there is little, if any, sourness.

M: Body is somewhere in the neighborhood between medium and full. Despite the huge head, carbonation is only moderate and alcohol is almost non-existent.

O: Another winner from RR. The nose was a little subdued for me, but that is my only substantial critique. Delicious. RR's mastery of both American and Belgian styles of beer is truly amazing. The addition of oak added a subtle, yet significant, layer of complexity to this brew that elevated it to the next level for me. And to boot, it is dangerously drinkable for 11%.

Serving type: bottle

01-11-2012 03:23:15 | More by MrDanno96

DaveHack

Pennsylvania

3.7/5  rDev -13.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Batch 69....Thanks to Cisco619 for this!

POP!! Its a gusher!

Once it settled down, it has a nice slightly cloudy, coppery hue. After the initial gush and explosion of foam, the head settles down to nice thin head. It is just enough to cover the top of the beer. Slight bit of lacing.

It smells a slight bit like Brett. The oak scent is faint, not overpowering...that is a good thing (for me anyway).

It hits with a bready, old banana, alcohol taste. Hmmmm..the taste is a little odd. I'm not a huge Tripel drinker, but this isn't like most Tripels I remember.

It's creamy and big. It feels like I need to chew before swallowing. There is a bit of alcohol as you swallow, but it is not like an 11%, that is hidden well.

Russian River is my favorite brewery, so I HAD to have this. I will say, its not something I need to seek out again, but I'm super happy to have tried it. Its certainly not bad by any means, just not smoething I need more of.

Serving type: bottle

01-09-2012 01:03:42 | More by DaveHack

mdfb79

New York

4/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Actually batch 69. Poured from a 12.7 oz. bottle into my Lost Abbey glass since I don't own a Russian River glass yet.

a - Pours a somewhat transparent bright orange yellow color with two and a half fingers of fluffy off white head and high carbonation evident. Head lasts for several minutes and leaves some spotty lacing on the glass.

s - Smells of Belgian style yeast, spices, citrus hops, oranges, floral hops, fruity malts, bananas, and cloves. Not getting any oak, seems very much like the normal Damnation in the nose to me.

t - Tastes of bananas, cloves, spices, pepper, Belgian yeast, citrus hops, floral hops, earthy notes, sweet fruit, a hint of wood or oak, and alcohol. Again, almost no oak. Tastes has more bananas and sweet fruit than the nose, and a tiny bit more alcohol.

m - Medium body and moderate to high carbonation. Pretty smooth and just the right level of carbonation before it gets too much. Tiny bit of alcohol.

o - Overall I thought this was a good beer, but I don't think it was an improvement on the base beer. It's very similar and there is not much oak at all. I think the normal Damnation looks a little better so this rated slightly below it (4 vs. 4.03), but both are good beers. Interested to see what happens to it with some time on it as the alcohol was there in the taste.

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2012 22:39:47 | More by mdfb79

lurpy1

Minnesota

3.33/5  rDev -22.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

I've always been put off by the cultish behavior of RR zealots, but my first RR beer, Supplication, really made me see the light. Here goes #2.

After corking, the pour. Let's not blow smoke up asses here, Damnation 23 looks like any other tripel/pale. Slightly wood grain gold, not a lot of head.

It has that standard Tripel smell, fruity, yeast, cloves, some funky bitterness in the background.

The taste has me wondering, where the F the oak is? I get a little bit of bizarro RR funk, but not much to distinguish it from a commodity tripel.

Mouthfeel is more like a saison. Long on carbonation, doesn't sit particularly well in mouth.

This is an OK beer at best and to be honest, at the price Russian River asks for it, Damnation 23 is flat-out unacceptable. I really have to wonder what the grades would be for this beer if it didn't say Russian River on the label.

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2012 05:15:52 | More by lurpy1

hdelavega

Florida

4/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured to a snifter.
Pours a hazy yellow straw colorwith a thin fizzy white head.
Aroma, big fruity nose, citrus, oak, and yeast.
Flavor is pretty sweet, peach, and apricote with a subtle citrus finish.
Pretty light body with moderately high carbonation.
Overall pretty nice, light and refreshing. Not that complex but drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2012 20:02:20 | More by hdelavega

htomsirveaux

Texas

4.15/5  rDev -3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Tried on tap at Russian River, 26 Dec 2011. Served in a ~12 oz. tulip. Presumably batch #69.

Smallish beige head, lightly carbonated. Slightly hazy peachy yellow in color. Aroma is yeasty, fruity-tart, a bit sweet. Starts a bit sweet and yeasty. Peach, and maybe some pears, touch of vanilla. Medium body, warming ethanol. Moderately peachy sweet-tart finish. Oak not hugely prominent, but makes a nice contribution in the background. Aftertaste is fruity tart and tannic.

Should have compared this side by side with the regular Damnation.

Serving type: on-tap

01-01-2012 03:20:25 | More by htomsirveaux