Daily Archives: August 28, 2012

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August 28, 2012

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Lightning Review: Russian River Beatification

Beatification

Russain River Brewing Co.

Santa Rosa, CA

Beatification American Wild Ale

6% ABV

Occasionally, my friend Dan is nice enough to invite me and a few other friends over to his house for some pretty amazing tastings. He’s extremely gracious with his offerings, and the tasting he hosted this past weekend was no exception.

But there was one gem that stood out: Beatification, the spontaneously fermented oak-aged sour from Russian River. The beer is extremely limited and therefor quite a catch, so it was great of Dan to share one of his limited bottles with us. (I’ve tasted the majority of the “-ation” beers from RR thanks to him, so hats off to you, Dan.)

Sadly, I was too excited – and too far in to the tasting –  to bother to take notes, but here’s a lighting review from what I can remember.

The pour is a hazy golden orange with a pillowy white head that leaves some nice lacing.

The nose is incredible. A massive, gargantuan tartness, funk and oak characteristics. Mountains of pear, green apple and white grapes. Very crisp smelling as well.

Absolutely phenomenal taste. It’s got an acidic tartness, a slight oak on the back and a big funky note. The tastes follow the nose: sour apples, pears, grapes, etc. The oak imparts kind of a mustiness that works well to balance the tartness. The finish is very dry and leaves you wanting more.

Lightning wrap-up: Dan’s awesome. This beer’s awesome. If you ever have the chance, drink it.

 

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Lazy Magnolia Southern Pecan

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Lazy Magnolia Brewing Co.

Kiln, MS

Southern Pecan Nut Brown Ale

4.65% ABV

Brown ales and I have a mixed history. I like them well enough, but for every great one like Founders Frangelic Mountain Brown or Stone TBA, you get 10 New Belgium Fat Tires. That’s not to say Fat Tire is bad by any means – it’s one of the most solid examples of the style and a great gateway beer – but standard brown ales seem pedestrian to brown ales such as the aforementioned ones, which take a solid base beer and giving it a bit more of a kick.

That’s why I was excited when a friend bequeathed to me a bottle of Lazy Magnolia‘s Southern Pecan Nut Brown Ale, which is made with whole roasted pecans. I’d heard the Mississippi-made brew was one of the better year-round browns out there.

The pour is very clear for a brown. It almost looks like a kind of deep sweet tea color, very fitting for a beer made in the South. It’s very thin with half a finger of head that’s gone quickly, barely any lacing and very thin alcohol legs.

There’s definitely a sweet nuttiness on the nose. That classic malty bready nut-brown note is the base, but it’s got this almost syrupy sweet pecan pie note on top of it. Not enough to really make anything stand out, though.

There’s a very slight hop bite on the tip of the tongue followed with a surprising wash of carbonation, and the mouthfeel is fairly rich given the thinness of the beer. Taste wise, it’s unmistakably a brown, but it’s covered by that pecan taste. You get a very small bit of the roasted note on the back and it ends with a bready, sweet flavor that sits on the back of the tongue. Sadly, neither the pecan or the roasted notes stand out at all. It tastes like a standard brown with a little bit of pecan flavoring.

All of the hype didn’t end up doing this one any justice. It’s not bad by any means, but I was really hopping for a big blast of pecan flavor, which I can see complimenting a beer of this style well. (I’m a Southerner; I love me some pecans.) However, while it didn’t quite live up to the hype, I’d say it’s still one worth trying.