Russian River

Why it matters

Simultaneously set the reference for double IPA and for American mixed-fermentation brewing, which is an unusual double.

Details

Reference beers

• Pliny the Elder8% ABV

  The beer that defined the American double IPA: enormously hoppy, startlingly dry and drinkable for its strength.

• Russian River Supplication7.8% ABV

  A barrel-aged American sour ale with cherries, and one of the beers that established that the category is a method rather than a recipe.

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Styles it is associated with

• Double IPA — IPA scaled up: more strength, more hops and more bitterness, while staying dry enough to remain drinkable.
• American wild ale — A broad New World category of mixed-fermentation and barrel-aged sour beers, often fruited, with no fixed base style.

Traditions

• American craft brewing — The post-1980 American movement built on intense hop character, reinterpretation of European styles, and rapid categorical change.