502. Russian River Brewing – Redemption Blonde Ale

Posted By kkozlen on Dec 19, 2012 | 0 comments

It’s been a long day at work and there’s still lots to do before the holidays.  So, when I got home from work, I just wanted to grab a good beer, sit and enjoy it, before having to start cleaning, wrapping presents, getting cards ready, etc.

I picked up this beer at the Hop and Vine during my trip to Seattle, Washington a couple months ago.  Obviously, we can’t get Russian River beers in the Midwest, so I bought 4 different beers from them (only 3 survived in my luggage on the way home).

Location: Poured into a large tulip shaped glass from the corked bottle at my home in Bloomington, IL.

Numbers: 5.15% ABV, 155 Calories

Appearance & Aroma: It’s golden-orange in color and mostly clear, with a very big, foamy white head that stuck around for a long time.  There was a lot of carbonation in the beer that contributed to the big, foamy head.  The aroma consisted of a light lemony-citrus smell and a bit of wooden barrel-like funkiness.

Taste & Feel: It’s light in body and has a lightly crisp, but pretty smooth mouthfeel.  There’s a light lemon zest flavor up font that grows a bit in the middle.  In the finish, there’s a good amount of earthy and spicy hop bitterness that almost seems to stick to my tongue and last in the aftertaste for a bit.

Food Pairing: With a light body and lemon zest flavor, I think this beer would pair perfect with a fish, shrimp, or other seafood dish.  The earthy and spicy bitterness would add another dimension to the otherwise lightly flavored dish and beer.

Overall Impression: I’ve very rarely gotten the opportunity to try Russian River beers, so I was really looking forward to being able to try some.  I wasn’t sure what to expect from this one, as I knew it was lighter than some of their others.  I found the aroma a bit funky in a Belgian sort of way, but I didn’t find the flavor very funky at all.  In fact, the flavor was very light.  However, that also brought the bitterness in the finish a bit more forward and noticeable.  Overall, this was a good, lightly flavored beer, but I’m not sure if I’d pay so much again for something so light.

My Rating: