Cascade Sang Royal

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

Serve in Snifter, Tulip, Tumbler

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This beer is quite the gusher; I actually lost a couple of ounces before I could react to the foam over. A careful pour into my 25cl tulip glass produces an almost four-finger thick, amber tinged, tan colored head. As the head slowly subsides with a rocky, crag-riddled surface it leaves some nice fat lacing on the sides of my glass. The beer is a dark plum color that shows a hazy, rich red hue when it is held up to the light. The aroma is quite vinous and smells of dark fruit; notes of prunes, raisins, lots of black currant, as well as some bright cherry and berry notes (this last reminds me of blackberries, blueberries and mulberries). There is a backdrop of toasty oak in the nose as wellas a touch of toasted grain effect; some tannin, a spicy oak character and a hint of vanillin are noticeable. The nose on this beer is pretty nice, it is well integrated and rich smelling, though I could wish for a touch more complexity.

The beer tastes lightly tart up front. It has a palate fullness and heft to it, which a lively, effervescent carbonation tries to offset; it is actually a bit excessively carbonated, but the body of the beer still stands up to this excess quite well. A nice sourness can almost be bracing, it couples with a tannic bite towards the finish that makes this that much more puckering. Spicy oak and wood flavors play a more prominent role than they did in the nose, but the fruitiness is much more subdued in the flavor; this last is likely because this beer is quite dry tasting, with little residual sugars. Still the fruit notes are noticeable here and remind me of a dry, fruit forward red wine; notes of berry, dark-concentrated plum, tart currant flavors, some washed out cherry skin and even some port-like fruit notes are noticeable here. As the beer warms up the fruit does become more evident though. There is a tart bite from the acidity that is most lactic, but there also seemed to be a rounded acid influence from the fruit character. Especially after the beer settles down (from the initial carbonation level), the texture is lush and structed from the tannic influence, yet it is still quite drinkable; velvet-like and silky seem like apt adjectives for this brew. There is some spice character here as well and a bit of a biting note that is contributed by the rich fruit / malt character (sort of reminiscent of a spicy fruit skin flavor).

I like that this has a nice oak backbone to it; that and the tartness really helps to bring a suave balance to the jam-like, rich fruit character. I paired this beer with some fish tacos for the last 25cl and this brings out a peppery spiciness from the oak as well as more of the wood-like flavors, but what it really does is accentuate the rich fruit character that is in this beer. This is a really nice, rich, complex, layered beer that retains its ample drinkability. A fantastic beer, that I am quite happy to have polished a bottle off of.

One of my favourite sours up to now, just reading the description on the bottle you realise how much love has gone into this beer. Fruity wine taste and then a huge sour burst, lingers on your tongue long after you’ve put the glass down. I’m just glad I got a few bottles of this great beer!!

750ml bottle, shared by the Enforcer. Pours a murky reddish-brown. Minimal head is tan to off-white, and rapidly diminishes. Aroma is funky, and oaky with lots of cherry and background grape. Taste is sweet and sour, with the accent on sour. Tart and acetic, cherry and grape, with some wood. Finish is sour, tart and crisp. A delicious summer ale. Well done.

Bottle thanks to spicelab. Pours a murky brownish red with a cream coloured head. Very clean aromas of sour cherries coupled with plenty of vinegary acidity. Brilliant. Flavours are very tart / sour. No sweetness what so ever from the cherries. Another great beer

Bottle. Super sour sinks into the teeth. Dark brown red and tasty in an obscure way

On tap @ the barrel house. Reddish brown brew, slight off-white head. Big time berry aroma with some wood. Flavor is sour cherries, wood, fresh berries, and a tart finish.

Bottle. Nice clean sour dark chocolate covered cherries kissed by a pleasant cleant port and oak note. Dry. Tasty nice.

Bottle bought at the Cascade Barrel House in Portland. Wild, winey red ale aroma, tangy ... even on the nose. Sludgy brownish color, kinda unappetizing. Flavors are puckering acid, grapes, maybe stewed tomatoes. The tartness take over completely. This one grabs the throat with acidity, creating an almost instant heartburn sensation. A truly extreme wild/sour beer. Great.

Big thanks to Maekchu for bringing this one back from the brewery. Filthy reddish brown color. Looks horrible, really. Big grape, wine, vinegar, cinnamon nose, with crazy fruit. Like a super fruity, grape-ridden Flanders Red. Flavors of yogurt, cherry, grape, much like a Rodenbach Alexander really, nicely spicy, great balance and complexity and great sourness. One of those extremely and immediately likeable American sours: almost no challenging funk, just sweet-and-sour goodness.

Bottle shared by Blake, thanks! Pour is deep cloudy brown with a medium tan head. Aroma is tart with hints of cherry, faint brown sugar, notes of wood, a touch of squash, and acetic acid. Flavor is super tart with hints of cherry, acetic acid, light wood, and sour heads. This is wicked tart and I love it. Great beer. Very drinkable and clean.

Bottle from 09. Pours murky red with a light tan ring for a head. Aroma is tart, sour cherries and oak. Flavor is tart, lots of cherry, oak. Nice tart finish. Medium carbonation and light bodied. Pretty good sour.