Cascade Figaro

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

Serve in Snifter, Tulip, Tumbler

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On draft at City Beer. It pours a golden color with an off white head. The aroma is a touch on the acetic side of things with some white vinegar and funky apricots. The flavor is better with some mild notes of sweet figs and stronger sour white white and stone fruits. Full body. Good honey and fruit sweetness underneath all the sour. Finishes surprisingly clean without slashing the throat. Draws the mouthwater something fierce. I didn’t think I would like this after smelling the acetic acid, but I didn’t get any of it in the flavor. It actually turned out very pleasant and satisfying with a good balance of sweet and sour.

On tap at city beer. The pour is clear and golden. Smell has a lot of lemon and hints of wine (very sour smelling). The taste is a wallop of lemon up front, dry finish with a another kick of sourness on the way down.

Bottle at Bruce’s, London. Thanks to Bruce for this Pacific NW rarity. Pours Lilly hazy gold with a slight, white foam head. Some tangy citrus in the nose, hints of herbs, light funk. Light to medium sweet flavor, some funk, apricots, orange and tangerine, moderate tang. Medium bodied with fine carbonation. Decent sweetness to finish, further citrus, apricot, some peach, pleasant sourness. Very fresh and refreshing. Wonderful.

2011. Chardonnay all day. Standard Cascade yeast, oak, fruits, and a touch of vinegar all supplement the profile. Fruit character is a bit ambiguous, but to be fair, I don’t eat figs by themselves pretty much ever. Finishes dry and slightly vinous.

Don’t think I’ll ever understand the Cascade haters. I really enjoy their sours.

Bottle. Pours a cloudy yellow gold with a medium frothy off white head that leaves sticky lacing. The aroma is apricot, citrus, funk, and vinegar. Thin mouthfeel with a white grape flavor and lemon with light vinegar. Good.

Seems liek a blander one, subtle fig, gentle chardonnay, not the typical face melting sourness htough.

Pouring at the Night of the Barrels at Extreme Beer Fest. Pours a clear golden amber with a thin white head. Soft bretty funk, hints of strawberries and soft fruit. I don’t really get figs, but that’s ok. Still smells nice. Big tart acid, almost oily mouthfeel. Lots of acid, tart and fruity. Touches of acetone into the end. Spicy fruit, tartness and bretty. Too much acetone to be enjoyable.

Bottle from GAManiac. Thanks! Pours a deep cider color, hazy with quickly fading white head. Nose is sour with some decent chardonnay/oak notes and fresh citrus/white grape. Maybe some fig towards the end. Faintest bit of acetone. Flavor has a moderate amount of sour with more of the chardonnay/white grape and a light citrus/golden raisin finish. Actually has some pale malt come through in the end. Light and clean, A fine sour, but certainly not their best. Not particularly complex and a bit one-dimensional.

Sampled at EBF. 750ml bottle pours a clear, honey gold with some thin, white head. Nose is wonderful and inviting, apricot, honey, green fig, white grape, a little butterscotch, some neutral oak, a little minerality. Flavor is tart and light sweet, white grape, unripened peach, apricot, green fig, light honey, flower petals, some citrus pith, a little touch of funk, wood shavings, apple cider. Acetic only to the point of being refreshing. Incredibly drinkable.

Bottle. Clear golden with a short lived white fluffy head. Musty caramel, green apple, lemon zest, fig, and oak aroma. Creamy very bright full bodied palate. Sweet caramel, vanilla, and grape flavors up front followed by lemon and orange juice flavors mid palate, which are replaced with sharp sour fruit, Chardonnay, and fig flavors and finishing with dry sour fruit flavors and a lingering green olive taste on the very end. Interesting complexity and nice balance. Well done.