Cascade Blackberry Ale

Cascade Blackberry Ale spends over 6 months of lactic fermentaion and aging in small oak barrels. This "Belgian Flanders Style Red Ale" is refermented with fresh whole Northwest Blackberries and then hand bottled. Cascade Blackberry Ale is bottle fermented and should be refrigerated or stored at cellar temp and served at 45-50 degrees.

3.7

169 reviews

Portland, United States

Community reviews

3.7 Nicely integrated black berry and modest sourness. Lovely deep purple only color.

3.8 Bottle shared by a friend. Hazy purple pour with a medium pink head. Aroma of sweet blackberry, malt and sour vinegar. Sour berry flavor with a bit of sweet maltiness before a sour finish.

3.7 Sample at Decatur Beer Fest, yes I tried to hit the expensive bottles. What you have come to expect from Cascade. Good tart sour with a decent bit of body and a light oakiness. The fruit comes through big though and is decently sweet.

4.2 Sample from bottle at Aces and Ales South Nellis. Pours a slightly hazy reddish-purple color with a medium white head that diminishes quickly to an outer ring. Stringy lacing on the glass. Aroma of tart berries, yeast and malt. Medium body with flavors of tart blackberry, herbal yeast, oak and doughy malt. The finish is moderately tart with a lingering blackberry aftertaste. Solid beer all around.

4.3 Great blackberry arms. Very tart and very acidic. Grea none the less as blackberries helped balance out sharp tartness.

3.2 2014 bottle. Purple/ruby, pink head. Nose is lactic blueberry, blackberry, some wood, light floral, light fishy, smarties. Flavor is blueberry/raspberry, lactic smarties, some woody tannins. Finish rounds out a bit but ends up a bit flabby / too wide.

3.8 Bright red with a pink head. Aroma of blackberries, blackcurrants, raspberry and more fruit, light yogurt. Taste is filled with blackberry, with a hint of caramel in the background. Very fruit forward and tasty, but not very complex, and way too pricy.

4.3 Bottle. Puckering tart unripe fruit mixes with yogurt to form an orgasm of blackberry purée in your mouth. Seedy. Shady. Deceitful. Delectable.

3.7 750ml corked bottle pours a bright red color with a fizzy quick dissipating pink head that leaves only a few spots of lacing on the glass. Aroma is blackberries with some lemon and light woody, earthy tones. Taste is a bold blackberry and lemon tartness with a light malty sweetness and a dry finish. Medium bodied with abundant carbonation that tickles the tongue. Considering the price, this is not an outstanding ale, but still quite an enjoyable brew.

4.7 Strong blackberry and lactic sour aroma. Taste is lactic sour maybe 5 of 10. Not the most sour cascade but still very sour. Blackberry, dark fruit, woody, not too sweet with a tannic dry bitter blackberry finish. Complex and really an awesome sour. Love the use of blackberry. Lots of flavor. Thought the body was a little lighter than some and I see it is a blend of wheat ales. Still a ton of flavor and amazingly complex. Love it

5.0 This brewery rocks!!!!Only down side is huge money for this 750 bottle....forty bucks ouch. Never the less worth it as it has so much going on. Huge blackberry aroma off the start. Poured rose red. Light head. Flavors of everything, from hay, awesome fresh blackberries and ending of very tart acids. After all that the blackberries cruise back in for the finish line. A+

3.9 On tap @ the brewery, RBSG. Lovely bright purple pink. Ripe blackberries and moderate acetic sourness. Juicy, clean, refreshing.

3.9 Sampled on June 29, 2015. At the brewpub in Portland. 2014 vintage. Clear cherry color, pink head. Berries, tart taste. Sour, berry aftertaste. Fizzy mouthfeel, no bitterness. Berries scent.

4.1 (En dégustation au Stone Sour Fest 2015): Des mûres affolées, confiturées qui finissent par se calmer dans une soupe minérale et assoupie.

3.9 Tap. Pours hazy candy apple red, large pink creamy head, dissipates slowly, nice lacing. Aroma is fructe de padure, a hint of must. Flavor is light tart, blackberries, stems, a bit of must, oak tannins, light funk. Medium body. Tasty.

4.0 Sampler at the barrel house pours ruby red, small red white head. Mild sourness. Blackberry sweetness prevails. Mild acid burn in the light body.

3.8 On tap at the barrel house in Portland. Pours purple with an off-white head. Aroma of berries, some sourness, light oak, and some pale malts. Flavor the same. Average texture. A pretty good beer.

3.7 2014 project bottle. Pours a bright clarity, dark red to almost purple color. Medium sized white head dies quickly. Nose is a complex berry medley with some orange, pineapple, strawberry notes too. Taste is initially full of berry and bright fruit expression. Quickly switched to a lactic tartness in the finish that reminds me of soured milk almost. That seems to go away a little in the second sip but then comes right back. The finish is really weird here. It’s not a clean sharp lactobacillus flavor, it’s like a weird yogurt or something. Maybe it’s just a strain I haven’t encountered before in beer. Overall the fruit expression is where it’s at and this beer hits it right on the head with a significant tartness but not too overpowering. I like it.

4.1 No longer noted as a sour red/brown on bottle. Just a "Northwest Sour Ale" for the 2014 project. Still rating here. Pours beautiful purple red color with a pink head. Nice aroma with some vinegar and funk, acidic, lots of blackberries. Flavor follows closely, with a big explosion of sweet blackberries and puckering sour. Yum. Nothing really "flanders red" about this though.

4.1 Bottle. Pours a hazy reddish amber with a thick layer of pinkish head. Aroma is sour and tart with berries. Taste is great, tart with some funk.

4.4 Beautiful pour of this ale. Exudes fruit, and based upon the color is mild in nose and flavor, which is perfect. Don’t want a lambic. Enjoyable both from 40-60 degrees. Matches well with a medium strength cigar.

3.9 Bottle. Pours a deep purple ruby color with a pinkish hued head. Nice aroma of fruit in the nose, obviously blackberry but raspberry and lemon notes. Medium/light mouthfeel. Nice fruit forward note transitioning to a tart berry sourness. Very solid.

3.4 Lots of sweetness, zest, and sour zing in the front, sweet berry body, but doesn’t last all that long.

4.2 holy snot rockets! had during cbc weekend at the brewery .. dark purple .. mild foam .. . nice and tart, blackberry and jam .. slick bold mouth feel .. finish is easy and tart, long .. . great beer! .. . . i’m gonna smooch her like a mule eating an apple!

4.3 Served in a Teku from bomber. Served the day bottle hit the shelves. Aroma – brilliant aromatic qualities! Berry-like, fruity esters exude from surface of glass. Smells like a concoction of sour berries! Aroma stands out among other sours I’ve encountered in my life and contributes remarkably to overall sensation. I have never given a beer a 10 for aroma. Appearance – gorgeous, almost framboise-like appearance: frothy pink and purple head, which lingers for hours in glass and does not dissipate. Taste – juicy, ripe, sweet blackberry sensation consistent throughout each sip. Extremely refreshing on all fronts. Oak barrel and base beer wheatiness tough to decipher through rich, ripeness of berries, which dominate overall experience. Addicting, sensational, reinvigorating lacto strain consistent throughout each sip. Lovely taste. Palate – tart, semi-sour sensation in back of throat. I consider this brew more of a Wild Ale than a Sour, but brew still exhibits pure, one-of-a-kind lacto strain. So refreshing, so delicious. Wish I had more of these. Overall – price point is fair for this brew. Not the best Blackberry Ale I have encountered, but damn impressive. Most romantic color I’ve encountered in a beer. I am certainly satisfied.

4.2 On tap at the brewery. Pours a clear ruby with small pinkish head. The aroma is strong berry, funk, oak. Thin mouth with jammy blackberry, light funk, oak, tart finish, really enjoyed this one.

4.2 750 cc from WH PM. Magenta pour with fizzy pink head. Nose is earthy, tart blackberry. Tastes very tart, with fresh blackberry flavor. Complex and champagney mouthfeel. Outstanding.

3.5 Bottle. Murky brown pour with a purplish tint. Kaki head. Big blackberry aromas. Tart blackberry notes. Average body and mouthfeel. A bit pedestrian from Cascade.

3.9 A: Deep Purple Hue, Passes Mild Light, Off White Head Ring, Mild Lacing S: Cabernet, Mild Blackberry T: Cabernet, Blackberry M: Decent Carbonation, Medium Bodied, Semi Drying Overall, this beer held up pretty well for its age but definitely not a sour, had nice red wine taste and feel.

3.7 750 ml bottle. Pours brown with some purple highlights and a medium sized beige head. The aroma was blackberry fruit goodness, lightly tart with some light woody notes. The flavor is much of the same; good blackberry fruit, mild tart, light acidity with a hint of wood. This drinks more like a fruit beer and less like a sour.