Russian River Beatification - Batch 001

This 375ml bottle is Batch 001 of Beatification. Brewed by Russian River Brewing in Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, CA, this is a blonde ale aged in oak barrels and comes in at 5.50% abv. To be more specific, this brew is aged in used La Folie barrels graciously handed over by Peter Bouckaert of New Belgium Brewing. Beatification was aged for 23 months in these barrels before it was bottled and contains Brettanomyces, Saccharomyces, Pediococcus and Lactobacillus. Click on each one to learn a little more about these wonderful critters.

There is also a version of this brew labeled "PH1", which was aged in what the brewers at New Belgium felt was the very best La Folie barrel. I will be sampling that version later. Now onto the brew!

Batch 001. Pours into my tulip glass a clear amber orange with a good inch of bubbly white head and lots of big bubbles rising up to the top. Aromas burst out of the glass with light citrus aromas bathed in brett funkiness. Musty, horse blanket, acetic farmhouse aromas alongside woody and honey scents as well. Has a really bright, vibrant character to it. Wow. This is just wonderful.

First sip brings a rush of tart and sour and a nice base malt. Light citrus flavors, lemon rind and honey mingle in the funkiness of the brew. There's a nice woody dryness with each sip along with a fairly sharp acidic bite. Finishes with a lingering tart funkiness, rather dry. I may be imagining it but I get a bit of a green olive aftertaste with each sip. This is simply an amazing sour, wild ale.

Mouthfeel is on the lighter side with a lively, light carbonation that rushes across the palate with each sip. Really makes drinking this brew enjoyable. I wish this came in a 750ml bottle as I could easily and throughly enjoy the whole bottle myself. Beatification ranks with the best Russian River brews I've had and to be honest the best brews I've had overall. Cheers to Vinnie, Peter at NB and everyone else at RR that made this brew possible. Quite an achievement! I can't wait to try the PH1.

Overall I gave this amazing beer a 4.7 out of 5. This stuff is amazing!!

Check out all of Vinnie's creations at www.russianriverbrewing.com