Cascade Drie Zwarte Pieten Sang Noir

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

Serve in Snifter, Tulip, Tumbler

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Called "Sang Noir" on tap at brewpub. Pours hazy and dark brown-red with light lacing. Aroma and flavor maintain deep chocolate, dark cherry awesomeness. Flavor reminds me of a Lost Abbey offering, integrating complex barrel notes that deepen the flavor, providing contrast and complement to the acidity. Excellent.

The flavor is intensely sour cherry and pinot, with subtle, and beautifully integrated support from the bourbon barrel aging. More dark fruits emerge as this nectar is sipped, and there is the same delicate spiciness that was in the aroma. There is a gluhkriek quality to this wild beauty that is softer, and more complex than any spiced kriek I’ve ever tasted, and an immediacy to the flavor that few beers can emulate. I’m off to my gourmet beer shop tomorrow to buy them out on this happy birthday weekend.

Deep reddish-brown pour, light tan head. Strong tart cherry notes, vinegar/oak funk, nice fruity and yeasty smells. Flavor is sour up front, cherries, oak, red wine vinegar. Tasty and I suspect this will age very well.

on tap at the barrel house. I’m niot a sour beer finish so probably miss some of the subtleties. the aging and brewer’s craft keep this sour from going too far. but it’s dominant amng the cheries and distant caramel. aroma mix of cherries, alcohol, vinegar and oak. mahogany red with off white head

On tap at the brewery. Nice deep red pour with a light tan head. Aroma is leather, sour, funk. That tart nose really hits you. Massive tart notes on the first taste. Kind of obliterates your mouth in a good way. Subsequent sips are rewarded with hints of leather, wood, dark fruit, very vinous. Always that excellent level of tartness making you savor each sip. This was an amazing beer.

On tap at the brewery. Pours a cloudy dark amber color with a small white head. The aroma is rich vinous, fruity and woody notes. The flavor comes through as a big beer with loads of tart cherries and strawberries even, more dominant barrel notes with huge sawdust and oak, a tart complex brew. Quite big but drinkable.

Labelled simply "Sang Noir." 2010 vintage. 9.2% Taster. On tap at Cascade Brewing Barrel House. This is a "blend of red and double red beers aged in bourbon and Pinot Noir barrels for 12-24 months and blended with barrel-aged Bing and Sour Pie cherries." Whew! A blend is a blend is a blend... Fruity, cherry berry aroma. Bright ruby with no head and very fine lacing. Very fresh-tasting tartness w/ long tart finish. A tongue-brushing, tingly finish. The aging is just becoming apparent, and this beer should just get better and better,

Draft at Malt and Vine. Hazed amber, frothy beige head. Aroma of cherry, not insanely acidic, toffee, unripe berry/fruit tartness. Taste is delicious, nice lactic sourness, some malty nuttiness, lemon, cherry, not too overpowering with the sour. Silky texture, soft carbonation.

Huge thanks to barleywinefiend for snagging this longtime want and getting it to drabmuh and I, thus setting up the Cascade sour tasting. Served in a Cascade Barrel House goblet. Pours a mostly-clear crimson color with a short off-white head and a bit of lacing as it goes down. Thin collar throughout. Really a nice color. The nose starts out with plenty of red-wine notes and lactic acid on the first pour when it’s quite cold. As it warms, the cherry starts to come out along with a touch of oak. I’m not sure if whiskey-barrel portions are still used in the blend, as I don’t get much of that. (Side note: I wish that were stronger, as adding a bit of Bourbonic to a shot glass of this made it even better.) The flavor takes the components to the next level, creating a more-complete beer. The red-wine notes are still strong and work really well with the acidity from the lacto. The cherries complement those characteristics perfectly. A bit of oak in the background rounds things out. The Pinot and light oak tannins combine beautifully with the acidity to produce a fantastic mouthfeel. Light with good carbonation and a brisk, acidic finish. Overall, a really solid beer. I had waited a long time to be able to grab this one, and it delivered. At the same time, I think it could have been a truly great beer with a bit more whiskey character in the blend, sort of a Cherry Adam from the Wood with red wine and acidity. Still, a very nice beer that I would love to have again.

Draft @ Cascade. Pours a dark amber brown. Getting the bourbon notes immediately off the nose with with oak and tart cherry. The bourbon and wine flavors and the cherry tartness really play well together, but ultimately the tartness wins out. There are qualities of a port wine almost. Very complex and the beer exhibits a creaminess. Delicious.

2010 vintage at Barrel House. Pours to a super dark garnet body with a starch white head. Aroma of bing cherries and pie with wine and oak. The flavor is sour leafy wine laden cherries and oak. Quite a lot going on. The palate is sour and acidic. A little acetic.