Name: Consecration
Brewery: Russian River
Style: Sour Ale
ABV: 10%
Source: Blue Palms Brew (Hollywood, LA)
A Sour Ale aged in oak barrels with currents? Cut It Out!
I knew this was going to be one of my favourite beers before I even tried it. I had already purchased it once before – for about $35 from beerstore.co.nz for my Dad’s birthday – but I had only ever tasted it in my dreams.
And what sweet, sweet (and also sour) dreams they were.
I had been expecting a sour bomb, but what I got was more like a sweet, oaky dessert wine with a tangy, sour finish. Flavours were of currants, cherries, oak, vanilla – and something a bit old, leather or books perhaps. It was beautifully balanced, refreshing, and also f***king strong.
So strong that 5 minutes after I finished it I deteriorated – almost instantly – into a blabbering drunken mess and had to go home. (I’d also had a tasting paddle and three pints of IPA beforehand, seemingly getting way too excited about being in a craft beer capital and trying to drink all the beer in LA at once. Big mistake.)
Bloody amazing beer though!
