I Have a Russian River in my Fridge!

by Jeremy Dugan
The Wine Country Staff

So I was sitting at home last night, enjoying Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker in the first Spider-Man and a thought popped into my head.

"I have a Russian River in my fridge!"

 

Really, that alone makes me happy.  Any time I have a beer made by Russian River in my possession my night is made.  But what made this one better were two things:  

 

1. It was their Consecration, (a sour aged in Cabernet Sauvignon barrels with currants added).

 

2. I had never had the beer before, and anytime I get to try a new beer or wine, I'm a happy camper.

 

I run to my fridge, grab the Consecration along with my footed pilsner glass (the glass Russian River always suggests to drink their beers out of) and pour myself this wonderful beer. The look of it is amazing, a dark amber color with a very minimal head, and bubbles always fizzling. The nose on this beer is something sour heads will love, sour candy, almost like a lemon drop, hints of dark fruit and cherries softens up the smell, thanks to the time in cab barrels.

 

 

After smelling that beer for way longer than anyone should (but with a nose like that, how can you not just want to smell it?) the excited kid on Christmas inside of me starts yelling "Drink it already!" and to keep the kid from throwing a tantrum like he didn't get that candy bar he wanted at the grocery store , I go in for my first taste.

 

And as the liquid hits my tongue, BAM!, a quick flash of tartness that surrounds the perimeter of the tongue, it then mellows with a soft caramelization that makes this beer well rounded.  As it warms up a little bit, the tartness becomes more like a harden plum, tart but still fruity and the spices come out more at the end that add just another layer to this great beer.

 

As I finish my little 375 ML bottle I feel a little more light headed than I did at the start (my guess is the 10% ABV might have something to do with that.)  I also realize that I missed half the movie enjoying this beer.

 

Oh well, on to Spider-Man 2, but definitely not Spider-Man 3.