Russian River Toronado 20th Anniversary
The Toronado blend was 5 different beers blended together disproportionately:
1. Belgian style Quadruple aged in Firestone Walker (used) Double Barrel Ale barrels
2. Belgian style Strong Dark Ale – batch A in red wine barrels
3. Belgian style Strong Dark Ale – batch B in red wine barrels
4. Belgian style Pale Ale aged in wine barrels with Brett
5. Sonambic 100% spontaneously fermented ale – this was used to add acidity to the beer.
1. Belgian style Quadruple aged in Firestone Walker (used) Double Barrel Ale barrels
2. Belgian style Strong Dark Ale – batch A in red wine barrels
3. Belgian style Strong Dark Ale – batch B in red wine barrels
4. Belgian style Pale Ale aged in wine barrels with Brett
5. Sonambic 100% spontaneously fermented ale – this was used to add acidity to the beer.
4.1
241 reviews
Santa Rosa, United States
Community reviews
Bottle shared at MuckFest 3 - Saturday Edition. Epic share. Rating #3400. Pours a richer deep brownish orange hue, firm haziness and frothy tannish head dies from a firm layer with thicker tannish ring, mellow lacing overall. Aromas are sour fruits, melon and touches of citrus mix with some gentle caramelized malts, touches of sticky dough, lactic yogurt, red fruit, berry, and funky dusty brett, cobwebs. Gentle oak picks up as it warms a bit more. A distinct tropical fruit moving quickly into firm grapefruit, kiss of fuzzy peach, vibrant white wine element. Kiss of red wine tannin, juicy fruit, grapeskins. Cobwebs, touches of really nice fruit even with this age. Touch of cherry. Initial is a bit tense up front, sharpness and tartness, touch metallic with gentle sour fruits, citrus and lemons, touches of wine tannins, a touch of sharpness, bretty funk, gentle soft cheese and some sour cherry kisses. Touches of sourness, deeper wine tannins and oak come through more further into the experience. Some melon, grapeskins, and touches of richer fruit. Touches of sweeter malts peek in towards the backend, carmelized, a touch doughy with a crisp dry and bretty finish, firm lingering lactic sourness, richer red wine tannins. Still loved the nose, flavors are still on but aren’t as vibrant as you’d expect (5 years later.. To be expected). I prefer Deviation, but this beer is quite nice. Aromatic, good barrel presence.
Sour tasting with a bunch of friends. Dudes, it gets better. Poured a cloudy orange-amber color with a small off-white head that quickly dissipated.
Aroma is very subtle, contains a touch of sour notes, with a mild, aged malt note.
Flavor has touch of tart notes - perhaps a touch of apple cider, raspberries, with a touch of sweetness. There were some oak notes with a touch of vanilla in the finish.
Perhaps would have been slightly better a few years ago - but well worth checking out.
Brought this to Epic Tres. Pours a murky, dull brown in color with about a half fingers worth of off-white/light yellow colored head. Nose is pretty tannic, with a fair amount of maltiness from the Belgian base beers. There is also a touch of woodiness to it as well. Taste is heavy on the red wine character, especially on the black cherry, blackberry, and currant front. It is pretty dry. Light mouthfeel, light carbonation, very little acidity, and dry. Decent beer, was hoping it would be a lot better. I’m beginning to think dark sours aren’t really my thing. Wish more of the sonambic would’ve come through.
30th September 2009
Bottle shared by cgarvieuk at Borefts I. Cheers Craig! Dirty amber beer. Frothy off white head. Sourish nose. Lightly sour beer, soft and semi dry. Fruity - cherries and some citrus fruits. Cognac and malty sweetness in the middle. Approachable sour!
Bottle shared by Justin (I think) at the SeaBass going away tasting. Yeasty sour aroma with a hint of roasted malts. Sour malty flavor again with roasted malts and touches of sour acid and more. Nice, glad to have tried it!
Bottle at the DC Lambic & Sour Tasting on April 14, 2012. Served in a Russian River TION goblet. Big thanks to Brad for bringing out this long-time want of mine.
Pours a clear amber-red with a small off-white head with pretty good retention. Average lacing on the way down as it makes its way to a collar.
The nose carries some really nice cherry and earth notes with a touch of port and vinous red-wine character in the background. A touch of woodiness to it as well.
The flavor continues down that path with a nice mix of earth, cherry, black currant, and light plum, resulting in something that’s reminiscent of some red wines.
Long duration with moderately-heavy acidity and light-to-moderate funk. Medium body with a slight chewiness to it. Carbonation is average. Finish is dry.
Really an excellent beer and its complexity has withstood the test of time. After having this, I’m all the more motivated to seek out T25 this summer. Vinnie can really do some great things with wild ales.
750ml bottle pours a transparent orange with some cloudy, white head. Nose is approachable, grapefruit, lemons, grass, a little sugar, some raspberry. Flavor is very well balanced, lightly sweet, lightly tart, grapefruit, lemons, grass, a little pithy, some light white wine vinegar. Medium bodied, tart finish. Very well balanced. Well proportioned.
Thanks ygtbsm94! Hazy orange amber pour with a massive off white head. Awesome lactic sourness, cider hints, dark fruit, nectar fruit, and cheesy brett. Perfect caressing silky carbonation with a super dry finish. Awesome balance of dark fruit characteristics with Beatification.
HUGE thanks to ygtbsm94 for bringing this whale!! Hazy orange amber pour, small head. Nose holds delightful lacto notes, wood, cider, red plum, and complex dark fruit with fig and raisin. The flavor brings increased presence of cheesecloth Brett that mixes with beautiful fruity plum, peach, and vinous notes. Awesome carbonation with an extremely dry finish. Delightful!
750mL thanks to ygtbsm94. The man, the myth, legend. He lives! Pours a hazy, reddish amber almost brune with a towering, thick tan head leaving perfect sheets of full lace. Oh yes. Nose is play of big sour cherries and strawberries with dark, dried fruits. Big red wine barrel character and seedy berries. Taste is pretty awesome- sort of feels like a blend of Supplication and Beatification, which is essentially what this is exactly plus some Sanctification and and odd BA Mortification? Big red wine barrel and spicy oak comes through from the Supplication and then lemon peel and grapefruit rind from the Beatification. Tangy, bitter, mineral laden palate. Refreshing...such a treat even though I’ve been told its a shadow of its former self.
Orange yellow pour. Moderately tart flavor. Very dry and bitter. Notes of pineapple, citrus peel. Some oak and cherry lingers in the aftertaste. Very complex with lots of subtle notes. Goes down very smooth and easy.
Bottle courtesy of ygtbsm94, thank you sir! Murky variegated golden brown color, large tan head, solid lacing. Aroma of sour pears, apricots. Taste is sourdough brown bread, stone fruits, nice funk.
Bottle. Cloudy orangish/brown pour with a nice sized off white/tan head. Sour apricot and cherry aromas. A complex ale with many things going on: sour cherries, other stone fruits, vinegar, vanilla, oak, and black currant all blend nicely with the caramel malt notes. It doesn’t have huge barnyard or funk notes like I was expecting, more like a bad ass sour bruin or Flanders style ale in my opinion. Still a fantastic ale that I’m really glad I got to finally crack open and drink...
Big thanks to Matt for sharing this amazing and rare beer with me. Pours a cloudy mahogany with a strong tan head. Nose is lightly sour and moderately funky with some light vinegar notes and some cherry and wine grape character. Flavor is full bodied and lightly roasty on the backend with a balanced sour and fruit component. Fairly noticable cherry/currant flavor. Finishes lightly sour with very light vinegar. Extremely well done beer, not their best, but still a damn fine beer worthy of its lofty reputation. Again, huge thanks to 50belair.
Bottle thanks Briank. Brown pour with tan head. Beer is missing Russian river patented finish, sour flavor has mellowed and alcohol has little to do with the flavor.
WOW! bottle shared at toronado san diego thanks Dak!
poured into a wine glass tulip. pours a murky reddih brown with a ton of off white bubbles.
the nose is funk, mild dark fruit notes and leather.
the taste is way more mellow and delicate then I expected. very refreshing while having a tone of flavors flying around the mouth. up front you get barnyard and fruit. in the middle you get tabaccoa, leather and tannins on the tongue. in the back you finish with some extension of the leather and tannin feel.
what an amazing brew. so glad to have ticked it!!!!
Dark chestnut, frothy cream head with heavy lacing. Light lactic lime nose, very reminiscent of framboise for a cure in the mineral aspects, bit of vinous berry and grape. More grape and cherry in flavor, unmistakable body and wonderful light bubbles, hints of vanilla and oak, somewhat standard flavor profile, standard RR greatness in body, but here the carbonation strikes a contrast with the thinner flavor profile, reducing it to a "foamy" experience. This bottle was over the hill and not nearly as expressive as the last time I tried this.
One of my all-time wants has now been realized. I walked into O’Brien’s and it happened to be bartender Tyson’s birthday. Sitting at the end of the bar was this bottle. Pour was a hazy amber with ruby glow. Lots of cloudiness from the sediments. Warm leathery funk, high vinegar tart, and a deep pungency lingering. Big full mouth of flavor. Lovely beer that I doubt I’ll ever get to sample again.
Another one of the 750ml bottled white whales Thanks to JohnGalt1 and ditmier collaborative works on landing this one. Pours out a cloudy amber/brown topped with a sand head. Aroma was funk, light vinegar, light Brett, sweet malts, oak, pit fruit, and some of the red wine barrel notes. Taste was much as the nose with lots going on but nothing that was over the top. I would have to sadly say that this one has also moved past its prime. But with that said I was so very happy to finally tried this.
Thanks to madorb for bringing this 750ml bottle to our tasting...Pours an ugly light brown with ruby highlihts and tons of yeast floaties. A light tan head that is decenly carbonated provides some nice stuff to look at...The aroma is pretty light, most just tart with some oak mixed in, dark fruits on the back...The taste shows off mostly as sour oakiness, its pretty good, amazing that its a blend of five beers, not so much of a wild ale, like an oud bruin in many ways...The feel is nice and easy to drink.
This is a very good beer, but not a top notch wild ale. Gets a lot of pub because of the story and rarity and its good, just not world class. Worth trying IF you can.
A-pours a dark ruby red with notes of pink and a violent carbonation rising to the top with huge white billowy head that lingers and coats the glass.
S-the nose is juicy with hints of barrel and lots of red wine. a slightly leather brettcomes in with juicy red grapes and very bright nose with hints of sourness and acidity with a slight note of citrusy orange peel in the back.
T-light dry oak with a good juicy red wine presence and well integrated notes of brett. hints of leather, peppery, and juicy red grapes. a random raspberry that is somewhat sour and a subtle acidity in the back.
M-lighter in body and very drinkable with lively carbonation, crisp and rather dry, soft and subtle on the palate.
D-extremely well balanced with awesome flavors of juicy grapes and raspberries with nice brett additions. good acidity and light sourness. everything is balanced nicely and nothing is too pronounced as the juicy flavors and dry finish do this for me.
Bronzed gold. Buoyant, fine-bubbled ivory head. Pleasant nose of Band-Aid, iron, straw, peach, pineapple and coconut. Firm in body with soft, expansive effervescence. Well-rounded tartness yields to a gently coarse brush of vanillin oak. Graceful emergence of springy strawlike malt cradles the complex assortment of fruity esters (peach, plum, unripe strawberry). Brisk irony tartness deepens the center as it merges with the pineapple acidity. Oak remains crisp throughout, augmenting the dryness. Slightly tacky and cheesy at times, which hinders drinkability, though a plethora of snappy brett-derived phenolics compensates adequately. Finish displays a proportionate fusion of straw, oak and iron adorned with tongue-puckering plum-skin acid. Rather straightforward and not particularly characterful, but, as always from Russian River, a very respectable Sour Ale.
On draft at Russian River night at Toronado. Pours a very dark amber with a small white head that has good retention and leaves a decent amount of lacing on the glass. Aroma is funk with some raisin, plum, other dark fruits, and a bit of red wine. Also a bit of yeast and some light alcohol. The initial taste is tart with a bit of raisin and some light vinegar. A bit or red wine and fig also comes through. The finish is tart with some alcohol and a little yeast. Probably the most full bodied sour that I’ve had so far. Medium carbonation. Very good beer. I’m glad to have tried it, but I would say many of the of the shelf Russian River sours are better. This was my first time having it, but I would guess it is slightly past its prime
A: The pour is amber, maybe copper, in color with a short lived off-white head.
S: Quite a lot going on in the nose here. Grass and oak are prominent up front, but a wine note starts to kick in. Lots of dark fruits and a slight vinegar aroma. A surprising malt and vanilla note to this which creeps in as the beer warms.
T: There is a very big red wine flavor that is one of the parts about this beer that I quite enjoy. Some mild cherries and lemon along with a touch of vinegar providing the tartness. A bit oak character and a mild leathery funk. As I take more sips, more sweet malt such as caramel comes through. Very surprising.
M: The body is medium with a moderate level of carbonation.
D: The elusive T20 has been tried and I must say that I was a bit let down by it. Of the big Russian River rarities, I much prefer Deviation. This is a very complex beer, so perhaps I just don’t "get it".
Bottled sample via and shared with oakbluff. Apricot in colour with medium spritzy carbonation. Aromas are of peaches, funk, lacto, almonds, lemon peel, earth, red wine barrel, and egg cream. Unusual sweet pink grapefruit, lactic funk, and grass mix upfront in the mouth before moving back into musty red wine territory. Definitely sour, quite smooth and not overly acidic. No alcohol burn and loads of complexity.
Tasted at the big “SeaBass has got to go” tasting courtesy of jdubFL. Pours murky amber with tan head. The aroma is tart and berry-like with thin slices of sweetness here and there moving into caramel covered cotton and mild funk. The taste is smooth soft and inviting offering up sweet berry notes mixing with a bit of tart crushed aspirin. It stays moderately tart as well as sour rimmed in a thin layer of funk. It ends tart and dry. Overall smooth and only moderately tart for my non crushed aspirin palate.
Huge thanks to jdubfl for sharing this one at the So Long Sea Bass Tasting. Pours an opaque orange amber with a white head. Nose is some sour quality with hints of malt, vinegar, red wine, and slight brett. Flavor is malty vinegar and sour with subtle sweetness. If this is the mother of all sours, then it is going slightly downhill. If it is mildly sour ,then it’s very good. Interesting, but not all that I have heard it is.
Huge huge huge thanks to Justin for sharing this at Sea Bass tasting.
I’d pretty much given up on seeing this beer again when I found out that Justin was bringing it to Greg’s, so naturally I was very excited just to try the legendary blend. Sadly, I feel that it is probably well past its vaunted prime. Pours a murky brownish red. Nose is lightly tart, not much detectable funk. Taste is amber ale malt component with slight flemish red tartness. Toffeelike sweetness, palate is modestly sweet in the finish. I could definitely drink this, but it’s not a particularly rewarding experience. I still remain humbled by Justin’s generosity and eternally grateful.
Bottle @ Seabass going away party, Jan15th ’11. Courtesy of jdubfl
De couleur brune/ambre, un léger col beige. Aigreur est fine avec le tonneau qui reste léger, donnant des notes de vin, une fermentation spontanée qui rajoute aussi ce long goût vinaigre à la saveur du palais.
La bière est complexe et développe de nombreux aspects de ce style ’sour’, le tout donne place a qcq note de caramel.
Une bonne bière qui se laisse déguster tranquillement mais qui est un peu en deçà d’autres dans le même style.
Shared this with Irishboy and Ratman - gracias amigos! Poured a cloudy amber brown. Nose is fruity with some lemon and vinous aromas. Softly tart, with orange and apricot up front, and a funky dry finish. Still well carbed. A long time / highly desired want of mine and it was "excellente" as I hoped it would be. Thanks again greatly to Richard for sharing this lovely brew. Well worth the hype...