Russian River Sanctification

Santa Rosa, CA

American Wild Ale – 6.75% ABV

By: Eric Sturniolo

Sanctification, like all Russian River beers, is basically impossible to find in NYC. But we love this brewery (in fact, their Pliny the Elder is my Desert Island Beer), so we work hard to find them.

This is fermented solely with brettanomyces (a yeast) , unlike a lot of sours which also use lactobacillus and pediococcus (bacterias). The result is a nice barnyard funk and sourness, but not an extreme sourness you’ll find in a Westbrook Gose or Allagash Avance. It’s a great intermediate beer for those getting into sours. It should also impress wine lovers, with it’s resemblance to white grape, pear, apple and oak flavors found in white wine. Like all good sours, Sanctification is refreshing with a dry finish, and great for summer.