Cascade Blackberry Ale

Brewed by Cascade Brewing
Style: Sour Ale/Wild Ale
Portland, Oregon USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip, Tumbler

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Very well carbonated, I get two fingers of beer and about five-fingers of head in my 25cl tulip glass after a reasonable pour. The head is a tight, tan colored head and the beer is a deep, purple / amber color that shows a hazy, cherry red color when held up to the light. The aroma has quite a bi of dark, fresh berry / light jam fruit notes to it. Underneath this is some cracker like malt, a light tartness, a touch of mustiness and some substantial toasted malt character (this last only if you are really digging around, but it is significant). The fruit is definitely the most noticeable aromatic note of this beer, but it is not overly strong and allows the other notes to come through pretty easily. The nose is pretty tame though, only faintly tart and there isn’t much in the way of funkiness. As the beer warms a musty, almost woody, damp wood aroma starts to become noticeable.

Lightly tart tasting, more like a fruit derived acidity than anything. The beer finishes with a tart, unsweetened, berry juice like flavor. This beer is pretty darn dry and actually pretty light bodied as well. There is a touch of tannic structure (seemingly contributed by a sort of berry skin character and a touch of oak) that keeps this from being watery.

With a very careful second pour I get an almost even split between head and beer. The head, once it stops growing actually falls fairly quickly, but doesn’t seem to completely disappear. I retained a lot more of the carbonation in the second pour and the beer becomes quite fizzy as it hits my tongue. There seems to be an almost roast character to the finish and there is definitely some toasty malt character here. The flavor is dominated by tart, fruity flavors, though not overly so. This is definitely lacking a tartness approaching that found in most sour beers, and I could almost be convinced that the acidity is solely derived from the blackberries. As the beer warms it begins to pick up a jam like berry character without really picking up much in the way of sweetness.

Definitely a bit disappointing, I was quite excited to see this called a "Belgian Flanders Style Red Ale," unfortunately I would be hard pressed to call this anything but a fruit beer. The typical tartness and balancing funkiness, plus the caramelized malt character is all lacking here. Not a bad beer, just needs a substantial boost before it can live up to its "style" designation.

From notes. First reviewed 3/11/2011. 2007 750mL bottle served in a pint glass. My pour looks like blackberry jelly in the glass, that unique blackberry color with a brown tint and a beige foam head. The aroma is full of blackberries, with light tart acidic notes, and a little bit of vinegar. The malt backbone has all but disappeared, leaving a lot of fruit in its place. The blackberries impart a pleasantly sour flavor with some nice dry oak and acidic tannins. The body is definitely on the lighter side of medium. Fully carbonated, this beer starts off crisp, eventually smoothing out with the oaky finish. I thoroughly enjoyed this; not crazy or overwhelming, but the beer is made to simply let the goodness of the blackberries shine through.

Big thanks to ygtbsm94 for grabbing this bottle for the Cascade tasting. Served in a Cascade Barrel House goblet. Pours a somewhat-cloudy and murky amber-ruby color with a short off-white head and not much in the way of lacing on the way down. The nose carries some muted blackberry plus a light bit of lactic sourness. Base malt is present and is reminiscent of a Flanders sour beer. The flavor is also Flanders-esque and has a good bit of acidity. Slightly chewy with some fruit and oxidation notes in the background. Medium body with low carbonation and a slight chewiness. Altogether not a bad beer, though it has not held up all that well.

bottle... dark purple with a bit brown to it, a big light tan head, a bit of purple tint, good retention... it smells like a fresh, blackberry thick and sticky not sweet, a bit tart... the taste is a bit too light, wish there was more flavor there, not very tart but a new fruit sensation... try this

24th June 2009
Cloudy purple - brown beer. Dry palate. Sharp and sour with a very dry finish. Not my favourite style but this is quite drinkable. No lemon acid and a decent amount of blackberry fruit coming through. Quite minerally in the finish.

A: The pour is a murky dark amber color with a short lived pinkish head. S: Definitely a nice blackberry aroma. There is a moderate level of tartness and a touch of oak. Moderately sweet berries and malt aroma and some chocolate oxidation. Just a hint of vinegar is present. T: Nice lactic tartness with hints of vinegar. Surprising amounts of blackberry flavor still present. Some dark caramel malts and a noticeable oxidation. Despite that, it still tastes pretty good. M: Medium in body with a moderate level of carbonation. O: While still good, I prefer the Apricot, which is just one of my favorites.

Dry and tart and full of blackberry fruit. Doesn’t put a foot wrong and might be the perfect aperitif. Very impressive.

A-pours a dark cloudy brown, very murky and dirty with a thick light brown head that has huge retention. S-the nose has a plethora of black berries, there is little to no sourness to this but something in the back is slightly sharp, either acidity or a tinge of metal. T-the taste has a hint more complexity but is also a little bit more watery than the nose. there is a fair bit of berry with a decent amount of tartness to it. dark malts are there as well showing notes of chocolate and a touch of raisin. the finish is slightly messy and a little watery with notes of acidity. M-lighter body with tons of carbonation and very grainy prickly feel. the finish is thin and watery falling off from the body with a hint of driness. D-this has a fair bit of malt to it and for a fruit sour it seems a little off. the tartness and dry finish seem pretty solid but the flavors are slightly off.

Reddish/brown pour with a big beige head. Aroma has mostly a woody vinegar note with light berry presence. Flavor is tart, very carbonated, oaky and finishes with a very slight berry/cherry note. Good, not amazing.

Bottled (thanks after4ever). Quite much close to black colour, big brown head. Aroma is sour and wooden along with some mild berryish hints. Flavour is berries, sour wooden notes as well as some mild acidicness. Very pleasant sour ale.

(bottled and shared with oh6gdx) brown, almost black colour with long lasting head. blackberry (not phone) on nose, you can smell the sourness. tastes very sour and fruity