Russian River Brewing Company

Today is my last day in Kansas City and I'm finishing off the last few beers that are still in the cellar. I've been holding on to this bottle of Russian River Consecration for a while now and I figure it's finally time to open it up. I picked up this bottle in Denver about six months ago and judging by the date code on the bottle, it had been sitting on the shelf for quite some time. This bottle is from batch 004X4, meaning it was brewed over two years ago and it's been bottled for 16 months now. I'm not worried about the freshness, I'm more excited for the complexity and depth the aging has hopefully added to this sour Wild Ale.

My Russian River supply is dwindling as I pick up the pace and finally get around to drinking these beers. I'll be moving out east in a couple of weeks and I'm trying to get through as many beers as I can before the move. I'm not going to try and write about all of them, because that's kinda how I got into this mess of having a basement full of beer and no time to drink it all... I did think the Damnation was worth of an entry in the old blog, so I popped the cork on this 12.68oz bottle, grabbed my favorite tulip glass and waited for the suds to die down.

Russian River beers are always a treat. They aren't available in my area so I generally only have one while away on vacation. About four months ago I took a trip to Denver and brought back a few bottles of different Russian River beers. Tonight I decided to open up one of them because tomorrow I'm heading back to Colorado and will hopefully be able to pick up a few more bottles to bring home. This bottle of Temptation is the third Russian River beer I've been able to bring home and log a review of. The name of this beer seems fitting, I'm very tempted by this corked and caged bottle with "sour ale aged in Chardonnay barrels" written on the label.

Russian River's Belgian and barrel aged beers have a near legendary reputation as some of the best beers produced in this country. That reputation also means they are also some of the most sought after beers, making them difficult or impossible to find in most markets. I returned from an out of state trip a few months back with a few bottles of Russian River beers so I could try them out and see if they live up to the hype. This is the first bottle I'm reviewing, Russian River's Supplication, a Sour Ale aged in oak barrels.

Collaboration Not Litigation is the product of blending two production beers from different breweries, both of which are named Salvation. The name is said to be a tribute to the collaborative nature of craft brewers, because in any other industry there probably would have been cease and desist orders issued by one party or the other. One of the most interesting parts of this beer is the fact that it's a blend of two fairly well established beers. Two beers that already have followers and quite well regarded in their own right. Blending those two beers together sounds risky, but it also sounds like a lot of fun. This beer has a great story behind it, hopefully the actual beer is as much fun to drink.

Pliny the Elder. A lot has been said about this beer. It wouldn't be any understatement to say that it is considered the best IPA in the world. Even though big India Pale Ales aren't my favorite style I've been looking forward to this one based solely on its reputation. Russian River doesn't distribute to my area so I had to wait quite a while for a bottle of this beer... A generous local homebrewer and like minded aficionado hooked me up with a couple bottles of Pliny the Elder that came to him direct from California. The date stamp on the bottle says it was bottled about two and a half weeks ago, so it's pretty fresh. If this beer is as good as they say it is, this will be the time for me to try it at its best...