Mortification - Russian River Brewing Company

ffejherb

Pennsylvania

4.22/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at Toronado, San Francisco, CA on 7/21/09.

A - Really pretty ruby/copper-colored body with burgundy and royal purple hues and a thin alabaster head that receded into a thin ring of retention, leaving attractive lacing around the glass. Head flared up with each swirl of the glass.

S - Dark fruit reminiscent of raisins, currants and plums with a prevalent boozy presence. Slight waft of magic marker. Pretty strong, pungent nose with slight sour and oaky notes around the edges.

T - Again, the flavor is heavy on dark fruit and alcohol, although the latter isn't too heavy for a Quad weighing in at 11%. An array of dark fruits akin to raisins, currants, prunes, dates and black cherries come to mind. A slight oaky, sour character emerges in the backend, followed by an earthy hop tinge in the finish. Overall, the dark fruit character dominates the flavor.

M - Medium to full bodied with a very thick, syrupy texture and bristly carbonation. Hint of sweetness with warm alcohol notes and just a tinge of sourness on the palate.

D - Glad to get another "tion" brew from Russian River under my belt, and a rare one to boot! While I don't have a whole lot of Quad experience, I found this one to be pretty damn good.

Serving type: on-tap

08-24-2009 00:36:30 | More by ffejherb

popery

California

4/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Good, but a bit of a disappointment. Russian River makes a quad seems like some kind of dream beer description to me. Unfortunately, I found this beer good but disappointing as a quad and as a Russian River beer. It's still quite good, of course. Mortification pours a deep garnet with little head and a bit lacing. The aroma is fairly mild with some bananas, some plums, some spice and a whiff of sour cherries. The sour comes through a touch in the flavor, but it's almost as though the brewery saw a bit of cross-pollination from the sour barrels rather than they were really going for a lightly sour quad. It's fairly dry, especially for a quad. It actually reminds me of a dry barleywine mixed with a tripel, for some reason. The flavors don't punch as much as I would like, but then again, the dryness is a nice contrast to more normal pitfall of a cloyingly sweet quad. Another nice upside to the beer is that it hides the abv almost entirely. I'm pretty shocked to see it listed here as 11% abv. This was my second time tasting this beer and I'm still confused by it.

Serving type: on-tap

08-18-2009 04:01:09 | More by popery

mjl21

California

4.38/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On tap at Russian River. Poured into their 14 ounce Belgian glass. Listed on the board as being 26 IBUs and 11%.

A-Pours a dark brown with a half finger off white head.

S-Smells sweet. Stone fruit, caramel malt, and candy sugar are predominant. Also getting a tad bit of funk on the nose.

T-It tastes of rum soaked fruit. Pick up on lots of dark stone fruit and pineapple. It reminds me in a lot of ways of a tropical drink. The candy sugar and caramel malt give it a nice sweetness, but it is by no means cloying. The hops stay in the background.

M-Super creamy mouthfeel. It is thicker with a soft level of carbonation.

D-The 11% is very well hidden. I had no problem drinking this one.

A deceptively drinkable 11% beer. I was surprised by how much pineapple flavor was in this one. The citrus gives it a uniqueness to most quads that are dominated by raisins and other dark stone fruits.

Serving type: on-tap

06-24-2009 23:57:17 | More by mjl21

belgbeerdrinker

Colorado

4.08/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

a: amber color, little head, decent lacing
s: sweet -- dark fruits including raisins, sweet caramel and a hint of citrus and alcohol
t: a tame quad, definite malty sweet with raisin flavor but not overly sweet. first thought was not sweet enough, but actually a pretty decent balance with some slight alcohol in the finish
m: carbonation was just a bit on the low side, but nice heavy mouthfeel makes for a good drink
d: fairly easy to drink, didn't knock my socks off right away but i quickly grew into it comfortably; would buy if they bottled it

Serving type: on-tap

04-22-2009 04:10:34 | More by belgbeerdrinker

Bubba83

California

4.28/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Had a 3oz sample at the 2009 Toronado Barleywine Festival. Even though this isn't a barleywine, it was still somehow in the competition? I'm not complaining.

Sort of a cola colored concoction, maybe a little darker, with some purple and dark reds. Thin rim of fairly vibrant white head with a tiny little bit of lacing.

Smells musty and a little bit cheesy at first, which seems odd. Plum is there too with some roastyness and smokeyness, but the whole thing seems like it has been barbecued, I'm confused, but it does smell nice.

It doesn't taste much like the smell. Starts of sweet and caramel-like, with some dark fruits driving in hard toward the center, then follows with some roasty malt and finally some alcohol and even feint apples int he finish. A little mustyness is present all the way through. Interesting is an understatement.

Mouthfeel is always at a very high standard with RR beers and this guy is no different. Pretty smooth, yet lively and not too heavy.

Outstanding drinkability. Pretty dang easy to quaff really. No alcohol heat is present at all, sort of just like liquid candy... At 11% that's no small feat. Nice all around Quad but a little odd...

Serving type: on-tap

04-21-2009 07:33:28 | More by Bubba83

Floydster

California

4.2/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

250 ml serving in a Chimay goblet at the Pizza Port Belgian Beer Party on 3/29/09, reviewed from notes on my cell phone

A-Medium to dark brown color, 3/4 inch creamy off white head that stays around a few minutes, some lacing
S-Floral hops, caramel, nutmeg, cinnamon, toffee, roasted nuts, dark fruits, candied sugar, and red grapes
T-Starts off with a bitter hop welcome, some sweet malt in the middle that is mostly caramel, more sugar is present later on when it warms, finish is dry and bitter with hoppiness, nicely balanced, get a lot of raisins and toffee later on, also a little alcohol burn
M-Dry, sweet, nutty, and fruity mouthfeel, medium bodied, soft carbonation, taste lingered a long time
D-Could have drank another glass of this, strength is not very hidden, can also be filling, hops do help provide balance against all that sugar, malt, and fruit, decent drinkability

I was really hoping this would make it there and I am glad it did, it was actually the only Russian River brew on draft, got quite lucky with this one, would not quite call this quad, it reminded me more of a barleywine especially with its hop profile, I would like to have this again, recommended

Serving type: on-tap

04-02-2009 19:38:17 | More by Floydster

JWD

California

4.2/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

On tap at RR

A- Golden with fairly high carb, this is a quad.

S- Yeasty, bready and very belgian, i was very interested to try this as it replaced the barleywine that i really like and i had heard that it was kind of a blend of the two, not the case this is a quad straight up.

T- outstanding, i would put this up with any other quad out there.

M- Good, nothing out of the ordinary here.

D- Very good, I could drink several of these but the ABV is dangerous to most.

Overall, i tried it because it was there, good but not something i will quest after but that is just my personal preferance.

Serving type: on-tap

03-28-2009 20:25:23 | More by JWD

photomike

California

3.98/5  rDev -2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

On tap at Toronado.

Pours a nice clear brown into a tulip with a 1 finger light white head. Dies down to almost nothing, but with decent sticky lacing. Never seen a quad as clear as this....it could easily pass for a strong ale on looks alone.

Smell is rather underwhelming. Maybe it was the general funky aroma of Toronado, but I really didn't get much here. Light malty molasses, perhaps.

Taste is somewhat unexpected. Not much like other quads I've had in that it has nowhere near them in complexity. The predominant flavors here are raisins and dates, and lots of brown sugar. Alcohol is easily detected, though not necessarily in a bad way. The boozy bite fits in well here.

The mouthfeel is perhaps the area in which Mortification differs most from other quads. This thing finishes CLEAN! Shockingly smooth, but without the velvety mouth coating. Perfectly carbonated, and dangerously drinkable.

I quite enjoyed this beer, and will probably get it again. Not my favorite quad, but hey, that's what the belgians are for.

Serving type: on-tap

03-26-2009 07:45:37 | More by photomike

ccrida

Oregon

4/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On draught at the Toranado, I thought this would be fitting for my first beer here. Served in a tulip, Mortification is a dark reddish brown with a small white collar, leaving no lace.

Smell is malty, raisin and caramel, Special B in the hizouse! Not much in the way of esters, just some light peppery spice. I kept waiting for it to open up, and it never really did much...on the other hand, I drank it fast, couldn't be helped!

Taste is really rich, woa! Raisin puree maybe, strong but clean alcohol, malty. While this is super smooth, it's pretty simple for the style. I'll take well made over kitchen sink any day though, and reckon a bottle of this would develop nicely....

Mouthfeel is really creamy, with a light body.

Drinkability is pretty dangerous, wow is this one smooth quad. While you can taste the booze, it's not relaly hot or anything, and overall, really dangerous!!

Serving type: on-tap

03-24-2009 00:01:23 | More by ccrida

RomanW70

Rhode Island

4.13/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

3/20 @ Russian River. Pours cloudy caramel with a small than head that quickly fades into lacing. Aroma of dark fruits, candied sugar, cocoa,and caramel. Taste is similar with a slight vineous quality. Vineous and caramel finish with some alcohol. Medium carbonation with a medium thick mothfeel.

Serving type: on-tap

03-20-2009 20:37:30 | More by RomanW70

madtowndmb1

Wisconsin

4.1/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On-tap at Russian River.

A: Dark brown with a little lacing that stuck around the whole time

S: Belgain Candi sugar, plums, fig and some raisins. A very nice malt backbone to hold it all together.

T: Tasted almost exactly what I thought it might form the scent! It's a Quad!

M: Very nice, hard to pick-up the 11%!

D: For not being a style I like alot, I liked this beer!

Serving type: on-tap

02-23-2009 21:24:01 | More by madtowndmb1

MisterClean

California

4.58/5  rDev +12.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

On tap at the Toronado in the City.

A - Dark amber pour with maybe one finger of head mahogany-white head, that dissipates quickly, leaving a small amount of lacing.

S/T - Dark fruit, brown sugar, dark belgian sugars, oak, and slight grapefruit.

M - Well balanced, with a full mouthfeel, but slightly malt dominated of course. Slightly dry finish, with a light amount of alcohol.

D - This was excellent. Rarely disappointed from RRs offerings.

Serving type: on-tap

02-20-2009 04:17:15 | More by MisterClean

paytoplay

California

4.03/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

On Tap Toronado SD, Lots of carbination with a swirl, all the way till the end. Great aroma, woody, some sweet raisiny-ness and with a nice finish, minerals and acidity keep it from being too sweet. Winter warmer great for a cold night, nice quad / barley wine and easy to drink for the style.

Serving type: on-tap

02-19-2009 23:40:13 | More by paytoplay

beermeSD

California

4.55/5  rDev +12.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Had on draft at Tornado SD. Great coming off the tap, but it's heavy and should be enjoyed without the Mac N' Cheese plate served there. Reminded me a lot of traditional winter beers with a dark color, fruity smell and flavoring, and heavy feel to it. Definitely worth a second go the next time I'm there.

Serving type: on-tap

02-16-2009 21:13:59 | More by beermeSD

surfer4life

California

4.33/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On draft at Toronados

A - Dark copper with minimal head that quickly recedes to a thin film which does however leave some lacing to be seen.

S - Raisins, Plums and light citrus character. Very big caramel maltiness in the nose. Alcohol smell dominates.

T - Is it a barleywine or is it a quad? Vinnie says both. I can see the where you could get that, it does have the fruit and light bitterness that comes with the quad, however I get the great amount of sweetness that comes with a BW. The is a fine tasting hybrid. Raisins, figs and oakiness.

M - Carbonation is just right here, very crisp however it coats the mouth well. Leaves the palate yearning for another baptism.

D - Very much so, but what from Russian River isn't?

Serving type: on-tap

02-16-2009 07:33:58 | More by surfer4life

Arbitrator

California

4.1/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Draft at Toronado's Barleywine Festival 2009.

A: Translucent amber. The head has very light retention, and it quickly settles to a ring. Some lacing down the glass.

S: Strong dark fruit aromas: fig, date, plums. Caramel malt, and a nice Belgian yeast nose.

T: The dark fruits dominate the taste, giving it an initial flavor of figs, dates, and plums. A little breadiness in the mid-taste, with caramel malt providing a strong, sweet backbone. The remarkable thing is that the finish is quite dry.

M: Medium body, medium carbonation. Well-masked ABV.

D: I'd like to have this again. I could definitely have a couple of pints.

Serving type: on-tap

02-16-2009 04:44:23 | More by Arbitrator

largadeer

California

4/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Draft at Toronado. I believe this was 11% ABV, but may be wrong on that.

A: Side by side with Benediction, the dubbel. Surprisingly, this is the paler of the two, and also much clearer. Amber hued with brown highlights, dark but very clear. The half-inch of head settled fairly fast, eventually reducing to just a ring.

S: Fruity (fig and date) with a big malty backbone. Esters are present but on the reserved side. Little bit of roastiness and yeasty spice.

T&M: Huge maltiness but not overly sweet; Russian River brews their Belgians on the dry side, something that I really appreciate. Figgy fruit, notes of date, graham cracker and just a touch of licorice. Medium body. Finishes semi-dry, almost crisp. Deceptively drinkable, there's absolutely no trace of the high ABV.

Serving type: on-tap

02-11-2009 21:54:33 | More by largadeer

Corkpuller

Pennsylvania

4.85/5  rDev +19.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.75

This beer approaches perfection - and easily the best Quad I've had.

I'm not even going to try to describe it, but the balance and complexity are ridiculous. The finish is super long, spicy and classy. Would drink this at every opportunity.

An awesome beer. My favorite RR.

Serving type: growler

02-04-2013 13:21:46 | More by Corkpuller

Gobzilla

California

4.28/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Poured a dark brown in color with burgundy highlights and a half finger of head that left some good bubbly lacing sticking to the glass. Plenty of dark fruit is noticeable upfront in the nose with nice belgian yeast sweetness, slight candi sugar, booze is present and hints of brown sugar. The belgian yeast character was more apparent on the palate alongside dark fruit accents, welll balanced booze that was not overwhelming, subtlt brown and candi sugar but with mild spice. The brew was medium in body with good amount of carbonation which has a sweet, yeasty, dark fruity, slightly boozy and sticky finish. Finally got to tick this beer after some years of chasing. Yeeahh!!

Serving type: bottle

01-26-2013 19:17:18 | More by Gobzilla

thagr81us

South Carolina

4/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Another tick on the Russian River –tion Quest that I started quite awhile back! Big thanks goes out to estocker for sending me this one a LONG time back! Shared this one at aasher’s wedding reception with as many people in the wedding party as I could find! Served from growler into a Boulevard tulip. Poured a ruby red-brown with a two finger off-white head that subsided to a half finger slowly. Maintained nice lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of sweet malt, dark fruit, bread, and banana. The flavor was of sweet mat, fruit, banana, bread, and dark fruit. It had a medium feel on the palate with medium carbonation. Overall this was a good brew. As far as quadruples go, this was a fairly solid one. All the proper flavors and aromas going on in all the right intensities. There was absolutely no sign of the alcohol in this one at all. This was definitely a scary aspect as I’m sure the right person could crush a 64 oz growler without a problem. I’m just glad I had help that all seemed to enjoy it as well. Definitely worth trying if you get the chance to do so.

Serving type: growler

07-03-2012 10:59:47 | More by thagr81us

Retsinis

California

3.63/5  rDev -10.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A fellow BA (thanks Skuter) brought a growler of this back from Russian River to share with a few friends.

A: Poured from the growler into a Bruery tulip glass. The beer is murky to semi clear amber brown, with a copper hue. A nice, bubbly and creamy head rose over a good inch, then settled slowly, leaving behind nice lacing.

S: I get whiffs of caramelized sugar, light Belgian yeast, toffee, caramel, some rye spice, and a mild bready or grainy malt.

T: Raisins, candied figs, some light spice. The yeast and wheat bread notes are subtle, and take a back seat to the upfront flavors. The alcohol comes through a bit as well.

M: Medium body, medium carbonation. Slick.

O: Good Quad, glad I got to try this one. Great way to start a tasting, but no more than one in a sitting, but for me that's not unusual for a Quad, as the candy sugar flavors are a bit much after 1 glass.

Serving type: growler

04-21-2011 00:16:57 | More by Retsinis

oglmcdgl

Pennsylvania

4.1/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A nice pour from a growler thanks to onix1agr.

A- a nice hiss when the cap is popped, that's a good sign being that this was a hassle to finally get. A finger or so of tan head from an aggressive pour that held for a bit before settling and leaving a thin ring. Rather clear red brown in color with amber red highlights.

S- bready and sweet with a nice light spice to it. Some dark fruits, figs, raisins, bits of cherry.

T- soooo nice. Opens up with dark bread, brown sugar sweetness, dark fruits with dates and dried cherries. Background spices that lean towards the fall variety. Flavors are well balanced and very complimentary, they flow into each other super smoothly.

M- on the fuller side of medium but not heavy. There's a bit of slip to it. Carb was solid considering the long trip this took. Just about right for the style. Very smooth with almost no heat on the palate just a nice warming in the belly.

O- well rr never let's me down and I had reservation about this one from jump street. A nice quad and one that is super drinkable even fresh. I'd like to see what a bottle of this would do with some time down.

Serving type: growler

04-03-2011 20:04:35 | More by oglmcdgl

onix1agr

Pennsylvania

4.15/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Got a growler of this and shared it with a bunch of heads at Capone's 2011 PTY event. Then I used the remains to get drunk late at night at the crib.

A- A loud pop from the lovely RR growler, Mortification comes oozing out a bark brown color with some hazy specks of red on the edge. Alot of foam for a 10 percenter, off white/beige in color, leaves a cap and some streaks.

S- Malt forward would be the smell and Im surprised that Im not drowned out by candi sugar sweetness. Some dark fruits and caramel/biscuit malt, hops don't make a dent and the alcohol is hidden very well.

T- I was really surprised by this one, a very balanced quad without the signature Belgian candi sugar addition, which kills alot of quads for me. I like Vinnies vision for this style. Dark fruit, plum, caramel that is not overstated, morning biscuit and bread, a box of chocolates but no werthers. Balanced and not overly sweet, SWEET!

M- A smooth quad that leaves a lasting impression for a nice while. Semi coating and not hot at all. Medium bodied with present carb that does not bite, or bark for that matter.

D- Another solid take on a style by the RR crew. I don't see why this is not rated higher, it's more drinkable than most authentic Belgians in the same vain. I don't want to sound like a RR fanboy, but they can do no wrong.

Serving type: growler

04-03-2011 18:41:35 | More by onix1agr

NWer

Washington

4.4/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Enjoyed at the brewery during the PtY frenzy. Growler to go gave me the opportunity to enjoy it in a more subdued setting - like at home under dreary Seattle skies that refuse to go away. A CofC nightmare.
Pours dark tastes smooth masking the alcohol content. Unlike many reviewers, I thoroughly enjoy this beer.
Difficult to pick out individual flavors but suffice it to say it is delicately balanced with no cloy. Totally drinkable considering the ABV.
Can't wait until next year to repeat the cycle but now I have my own RR growler to refill.

Serving type: growler

03-29-2011 19:45:35 | More by NWer

drabmuh

Maryland

3.25/5  rDev -20%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Growler shared by Thorpe, every brewery makes a bad beer, unfortunately for Russian River, this is it for them. Completely underwhelming piece of trash beer. I won't be going out of my way for this one ever again.

Beer served in a Russian River wine glass because I can. Beer is brown and clear with low carbonation, almost no head, no lacing.

Aroma is sickingly sweet, like malt syrup disolved in water.

Beer is medium in body and really sweet on lead off. The beer unfolds to reveal almost no interesting yeast character and an overly bitter finish. Not pleasant.

Serving type: growler

03-21-2011 19:53:48 | More by drabmuh