Brown Ale aged in French oak Pinot Noir barrels for one year with three strains of Brettanomyces, Lactobacillus, & Pediococcus.
Seasonal release (June).
Beer Ratings and Reviews:
[1] Review by popery from San Franciso, CA, USA who has tried this beer many times. (3/10/2010 12:04:01 AM)
"Batch 04x1. Supplication is a wonderful beer. This is the third time that I’ve tried it, and my appreciation for Russian River’s brewing only grows. This is probably my favorite of their normal sour rotation. It is a rust-colored beer with a big, white, small-bubbled head. The aroma is a symphony of cherries, oak, brett, fruity malt, old leather, apricots, plums and grass. The flavor is tart and dry but smooth, pulling in the wide array of flavor to a wonderful harmony. The flavors in Supplication are a tad more balanced against each other than most RR sours (no complaints about any of them, though) without any particular flavor dominating. The mouthfeel is light and mildly effervescent. It’s a very refreshing beer and I can’t help going back for more. Absolutely delicious."
Aroma:
9/10
Appearance:
9/10
Mouthfeel:
8/10
Flavor:
10/10
Overall:
9/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(4.5)
Sampled: Bottle, Forced Draught
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure
[2] Review by oh6gdx from Vaasa, Finland who has tried this beer once. (4/17/2009 12:43:32 AM)
"Bottled (from Cracked Kettle). Amber colour, small white head. Aroma is sour fruits, quite winelike with also some wooden and brett notes. Flavour is dry wood, lots of yeast, and some fruityness. Very wellbalanced and nicely drinkable. Surprisingly complex even though it’s not that rich on "lots of stuff" in the flavour. "
Aroma:
8/10
Appearance:
8/10
Mouthfeel:
8/10
Flavor:
8/10
Overall:
8/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(4)
Sampled: Bottle
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure
[3] Review by Sap from Tucson, AZ, USA who has tried this beer a couple times. (1/11/2008 11:04:37 PM)
"Batch 002; Sampled January 2008
A careful, persistent pour yields a fat-one-finger thick, dingy, tan colored head. The beer is a brilliantly clear, light cherry red color. Tart aromatics of acetic acid, lactic acid and moldy cheese are the first thing I notice in the nose. Quite fruity, but it is a sort of non-descript, perhaps berry-like, sweet fruitiness. The barrel character is present, but held well in check by the other aromatic components; touches of vanillin, a backdrop of spicy oak, some hints of butterscotch around the edges and a tannic character that is definitely noticed. The nose is quite funky, teetering on the edge of being off; over-ripe cheese, penicillin and buttery oak notes all contribute to this. Compared to a Lambic, this has quite a bit of acetic acid character to it, which is something I always enjoy if kept to a reasonable level.
Tart tasting, in fact very tart tasting; this is a nice mix of lactic and acetic notes. The lactic acid is the more prevalent not, but I am not sure that the lesser amount of acetic acid is not the most noticed part of the acidity. Flavors of tart cherries, tamarind and star fruit are all noticeable in this exceedingly dry beer. The body actually has a bit of heft to it though, which should be attributed to the barrel contribution and touches of residual malt character. Dry cherry notes, rich (though diluted) balsamic character, . A tannic, tongue coating note in the finish adds spicy almost piquant oak flavors that coat the tongue in a long finish. The barrel adds notes of buttery oak, spicy wood, some soft, creamy vanillin and probably even some berry flavors (assuming that the noticed berry flavors are coming from the Pinot Noir part of the barrel). As the beer warms it really starts to come into its own; the fruit & malt seem to balance the sour notes all that much more and make this even more enjoyable.
This is quite a bit more acetic in character than batch one. This is actually quite hard for a red / brown styled sour beer. An aggressive, but enjoyable, experience if you are into that sort of thing. I like that the oak character is much more integrated (though it still plays a significant role) than it was in batch one, but it still has a little ways to go before it hits that perfect balance between malt and funk / oak. This is still a fantastic beer, but I can't wait to see if Vinnie can dial this in a bit more over the next couple batches.
Batch 001: Sampled July 2005
Pours a hazy ruby red color when held up to the light, an amber color otherwise. The head is thin and tan in color. The aroma is dominated by a fresh oakiness, but, especially when I was pouring this, there is a nice acetic acid note to this that reminds me of a Rodenbach. The nose has notes of buttery oak, hints of cherries, balsamic, and a certain tannic woodiness. The aroma is quite well integrated with a great balance to it, though it does lean toward the acidity, which I am partial to.
The taste is fairly dry, much drier than the pasteurized Flemish beers, but still strikes a malty balance with a bit of caramel complexity to it. The finish is pleasingly acidic, with a leaning towards the acetic side of things. This beer is really well done, I am quite impressed, this is quite a bit farther along than the temptation. The finish has notes of a tannic woodiness, plus a long sour note that lingers along with the woodiness. This beer certainly reminds me of cherries, with a nice fruitiness to it. The more I drink it the more I become enamored of this beer, an authentic Flemish style sour beer that has not been pasteurized. This is quite a bit better, and much more balanced than New Belgium’s La Folie. There is a wonderful interplay between the oak, maltiness, and acid character; this is superb and I can’t wait to get more vintages of this.
Sampled: Bottle Sample Size: 375ml @ $0 Unit Cost: $0 per Pint
[4] Review by bfeldmann from Wilmington, DE, USA who has tried this beer once. (8/23/2007 9:02:35 AM)
"Poured a cloudy orange color with small head. Aroma was full of oak and cherries and funk. Flavor was very very sour lemons and cherries and that funk was a perfect blend. SOlid beer.
"
Aroma:
9/10
Appearance:
7/10
Mouthfeel:
8/10
Flavor:
9/10
Overall:
9/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(4.2)
Sampled: Bottle
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure
[5] Review by eaglefan538 from DE, USA who has tried this beer many times. (8/6/2007 7:09:22 AM)
"Bottle courtesy IrishBoy, Batch 002. Murky orange with red hues, pretty weak head, diminishing to nothing, no lacing, yet not that surprising for the style, especially aged 15mos. Aroma is wonderful, lots of cherries, oak, funky horesblankets and other brett nuances. Flavor smacks ya right in the fact with stronger than expected tartness, sour lemons, tart cherries, all supported by a leathery horesblanket and oaky base. Pretty solid stuff, RR proving itself quite wonderful again. Thanks, Richard, a great brew, a wonderful opportunity (beats my one other experience with La Folie). Re-rate, 11/08 on draft at Monks. Gentler than the first experience, certainly tart, but not as sour as my first experience seemed to have been recorded. Love the Cherry and Bret balance. Re-rate as beer number 8 in a killer July 09 Super Secret Sour State Line Tasting (SSSSLT) featuring (first to last by my counts): Supplication, Consecration, La Folie, Dissident, Cuvee de Castleton, Red Poppy, Lambic de Hill, Festina Lente, Panil. The top of this run, great tart, sour, vinous, action, rubbery notes, strong assertive leathery flavors and horseblankets with barnyards character. A little kick and some shivering with the finish of each one. Thanks, Wolf, for including this one in the run. A very well done brew for sure. One of my favorite brews out there."
Aroma:
10/10
Appearance:
7/10
Mouthfeel:
8/10
Flavor:
9/10
Overall:
9/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(4.3)
Sampled: Bottle
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure
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(4.5)
