Russian River Supplication Sour Ale turns tongues inside out on our Napa Valley trip

First day in Napa! We're here with over 16 people and staying at the same hotel as we did for my parent's 40th wedding anniversary 3 years ago, the Wine Country Inn http://www.winecountryinn.com/. I'm reallly excited about the wine and all, but the breakfast at this place is AMAZING. Make your own waffles with peanut butter and nutella and a rotating eggs casserole every morning that is to die for. Everything one needs for a good wine drinking base.

This post will be mostly pictures and the beer review at the end. Now why did Walker wait until the end of the night after drinking wine all day to drink his Russian River beer? Hmmm...is it because it was a sour ale? Mayhaps

Parents rule

Dudes rule

Miner winery has a wild yeast chardonnay, which creates a flavor profile similar to that of a wild yeast beer. Interwesting...

This is Napa on a bad day...psych, Napa doesn't have bad days fool.

This castle was fun and all, but the wine was blah. It was like going to Disneyland only to realize that Star Tours was broken after you waited in line for 45 minutes. And then a bird pooped on you.

So I'm very excited about this trip, because not only are the wines amazing, but the beer is rated highly too. Russian River makes amazing beers IPA's and Sour Ales, although I really detest Sours. All but one sour I've ever tasted made me want to write a strongly worded letter asking why they would want to put those particular flavors in someone's mouth. Tonight's beer, Russian River Supplication, is one of the highest rated sours in the world and since I'm in Napa, near Russian River, I feel compelled to heed the Sour's Siren Song.

The Supplication is a Brown Ale aged in French oak Pinot Noir barrels with three strains of Brettanomyces, Lactobacillus, Pediococcus and sour cherries. The whole gang is outside here tasting the beer. A few like sour candy, etc and somewhat like this. Others think I just poured them a cup of panther piss.They're accusing me of shenanigans but I tell them "I said that you should try this, not that it was a good." Ha. Now they know what a sour ale tastes like. Some things really have to be experienced.

I'm getting used to it, but IT IS SO OVERWHELMING. WHY WOULD YOU MAKE ANYTHING THAT SOUR THIS INTENSE. Imagine Emril saying "BAM" while kicking you in the balls while jamming sour starburst on steroids into your mouth over and over again.

Here is the Beer Advocate review, which rates it as an A. If you might like a sour ale, this review is for you because I can't say anything, good or bad, other than what I wrote. It's just too wild:  http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/863/22227/?ba=bros


The good news is, I also bought Russian River Pliny the Elder for my dad and others, who LOVES IT. It makes me very happy to see my dad enjoy beer so much. We're sitting out on a deck above a winery under a cloudy night drinking great beer and wine. This is an amazing.

I'm afraid to rate this beer, because it's so well regarded but I hated it so very much. TRANSFORMERS 2 rating? Nuts

Napa Smith Lost Dog Red Ale ends up in the pound

Having to drive straight to LAX from work to catch a flight to meet my family in Napa Valley for the weekend, but the short window won't stop me from having my beer of the day though!The Parking Spot has crappy scenery though.

In honor of my destination, I'm having a local Napa brew from Napa Smith. There's a saying in Napa; "it takes a lot of good beer to make good wine." During harvest, the pickers work crazy hours and can only maintain their sanity by drinking the one thing that they're not picking - beer.

This is the third brew from Napa Smith I've tried and while the first one surprised me in the best of ways - napa-valley-wedding-day-1-napa-smith.html - this Lost Dog Red Ale doesn't warrant further sipping past what's left in my to-go cup. It tastes like they used an English yeast, but there's no backbone to the brew. The caramel and sweetness isn't there and it's rather lackluster to be honest. I'm looking forward to drinking more Napa wine and less Napa Smith this weekend. THE ISLAND rating.

Napa Wedding Day 3 - Russian River Blind Pig IPA

Final day in Napa and I picked a nearby brewery, Russian River, who also makes the two highest rated IPA's in the world, Pliny the Elder & Pliny the Younger. The Blind Pig IPA isn't far behind them.

This little piggy went to town, this little piggy went to school and this blind little piggy decided to be really crisp, smooth and delicious. The hops are well rounded, almost buttery. Around the label they have a 'warning' that this beer should be drunk sooner rather than later or else the hops will go bad. "RESPECT THE HOPS!!!" it cries...Only an idiot wouldn't drink this beer immediately, it's superb. THE ROCK

I go wine tasting in Saint Ynez/Solvang a couple times a year, however, tasting in Napa is a completely different experience. Right before tasting the Blind Pig, me and Ma and Pa Davis went tasting at Paraduxx.  Instead of standing around a bar, we sat outside in oversized leather chairs and had the wine brought to us. Each wine came with a tasting card detailing everything from the different grape amounts to the duck type on the label. Really great wine and in a beautiful and relaxing environment. Good stuff.

Napa Valley Wedding Day 2 - Napa Smith Pilsner

Sunrise Napa Valley. Riddle me this, had I just woken up or was I just making it to sleep?

So I met with a gaggle of friends including Katie M, Billy D, Emily S, Katie B and Farbod, who needs no last initial (He's like Plato, Seal, McLovin or Sting. Especially like Sting) and forwent the expensive breakfast buffet for a rumored small cafe. Not only was the meal tasty and cheap but to my delight, I came across another Napa Smith brew, the Pilsner. Breakfast beer, yessssss.

Katie B's floating head. What a mug!

Whilst my Huevos Rancheros con extra salsa was just what the doctor ordered, the Pilsner was not. Pilsner is tough to make and I will Napa Smith credit, they made grape beer taste good. However, this fellow is a fairly ubiquitous pilsner and there's not much more to say, other than it lacked taste and goodness and it's hard to compete with the Germans in wine country. TRANSFORMERS 2 rating.

We went wine tasting in the afternoon and then onto the main event, Lauren and Chris's wedding!

Wedding on a golf course, b-e-a-utiful

Napa Valley Wedding Day 1!! - Napa Smith Crush Beer

Coming off an epic Thursday night with James L and David, James and I could barely eat pizza at 7:30am in the Southwest Terminal let alone use free drink coupons for Hair of the Dog at 9am. By the time we met our parents at a private tasting, our hangover had become apocalyptic. Good thing Patz & Hall comes with cheese...Which bdubs was awesome.

Best. Cheese. Ever.

On the way back, I asked my dad to pull over at the liquor store and I ran in for a few local brews to last me the weekend. In the spirit of wine country, I present Napa Smith Crush beer, an amber lager brewed with grapes.

You surprise me sir

Given my disposition to fart in the general direction of Amber beers and combined with the idea to put grapes and malt together, I thought this was going to be nothing short of pure gasoline...And then I tried it I was really surprised. I asked James for a second opinion and he confirmed my suspicions. This isn't a bad beer.

It's interesting, there is a slight but not overpowering grape tint to the palate, and it dissipated the bitterness found in many ambers. This isn't a lambic, but it is a beer that's fortified with grape and the result is a surprisingly well rounded brew (I hope that makes sense). This isn't something I'd drink often, but it's certainly drinkable. Color me surprised and for that I'm granting you a TRANSFORMERS rating. Going to a Desert/Cocktail reception tonight and wine tasting and the wedding tomorrow, can't wait!