Russian River Temptation

Top Tastings 2009

ABV: 7.3%
Origin: Santa Rosa, California, USA
Website: www.russianriverbrewing.com

Russian River Temptation Barrel Aged Ale

My first encounter with a US brewpub was a fortuitous one. When I first crossed the Atlantic some years back, it was to San Francisco, but rather than head straight for the city we first went to Santa Rosa in the North Bay Area, where my partner’s aunt and uncle live. The conversation turned to beer — at that time my knowledge of the US scene was relatively slim. Ian’s relatives bemoaned the loss of their local in 4th Street, which had been taken over by a craft brewery, Russian River. I’d probably like it — they did unusual beers and decent pizzas, but they weren’t as homely as the old place. We went for lunch: yes, the pizzas were good, and of course I was very interested in the beers. The hop hit from a half of Pliny the Elder Double IPA almost knocked me over. More intriguing still was the array of corked bottles purporting to contain “Belgian Style Ales” and “Oak Aged Beers.”

I’d unwittingly stumbled upon one of the leading lights of the West Coast craft brewing scene, and I’ve since returned with eager anticipation to both the brewpub and its beers. The area is part of Sonoma County, second only to neighbouring Napa County as a centre of activity for the Californian wine industry, and brewery founder Vinnie Cilurzo is a winemaker who first set up the brewery on Korbel’s vineyard in Guerneville, to the north. The town is on the Russian River, so called because it was first explored by Russian trappers, thus the brewery name, but it’s probably more famous as a major gay resort. The brewery separated from the vineyard in 2003 when the brewpub in Santa Rosa opened — brewing does still take place on site but expanding sales resulted in the business adding additional capacity on an out-of-town site in 2007.

Multi-award winning Temptation is one of the brewery’s most appreciated specialities and one that best illustrates the vinous influence on Russian River’s approach to beer. It’s a strongish Belgian-influenced blond ale aged that has a secondary fermentation in French oak chardonnay barrels, including a dose of brettanomyces, and is also conditioned in the bottle. Brewed in limited batches, it doesn’t come cheap — this 750ml bottle from batch 004X3 came from San Francisco’s excellent City Beer Store and set me back $22.99.

The beer is a cloudy blond with some fine white head. It has a sour, cidery and old wine aroma with an oaky touch. The base pale malt comes through on soft and smooth palate with tropical fruit notes, but you can’t ignore the complex cider and wine like flavours from the ageing process, masterfully integrated with the sourness in excellent balance. A woody and sappy finish has a gentle hint of hops, with apple and oak flavours emerging and a warming quality that’s unusual for the strength.

Read more about this beer at ratebeer.com: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/russian-river-temptation/13145/