Cascade Apricot Ale

Brewed by Cascade Brewing @ Raccoon Lodge
Style: Sour Ale
Portland, Oregon USA

Date: July 09, 2009
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting
Appearance: muddy orange, fine off white head, drippy lace
Aroma: sweet apricot aroma, light funk, light tartness
Flavor: sweet apricot flavor, sweetness is well balanced with a tartness, light funk along with a light spicyness, long tart fruity finish
Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 14/20
Rating: 3.5/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **4

750 ml bottle mail ordered from the brewery. Pours a golden orange, lightly hazy, lively carbonation and decent body. Aromas are deep sour apricots, a nice funkiness, caramel malts underneath but very nice tart apricot and light funkiness that dominate the nose. Heaven. Initial is apricot, sour and tart with a good kick, underlying funkiness, oaky dryness, a bit of barnyard funkiness, lively carbonation. The body is sufficient, the tart and sourness is spot on for a more sessionable sour. Good oak and dryness, sweetness is there, but falls back substantially to let the fruit, sour, and barrel take the lead. This is a lively brew, good sourness, light sweetness, dry and oaky sweetness. Aftertaste of fresh apricots, a bit of warmth. Coats the mouth. Finish lingers on. Wonderful.

In short: An intense sour ale meets a sweet fruit ale (apricots). Tasty interesting result.
How: Bottle 750ml. Consumed fresh soon after purchase. Tasting session with Montreal crew.
The look: Cloudy dark golden body topped by a medium off-white head
In long: Nose is intensely apricot with a nice barnyard character in the back. Taste is rather straightforward but quite effective. The beer is sour, very sour. Medium acidic level. Somewhat sweet, a little too much so me, I prefer dryer sour ales. Apricots and more apricots. The apricots work well here but I was getting the sensation of a gueuze-ish non-fruity sour ale with added fresh apricots. Like if it was an intense sour ale blended with a sweet apricots fruit ale instead of being one unified beer. And thanks to people like me Cascade have all the fruits they need to experiment and make those kick-ass beers.

I had this at City Liquor during the RBSG 2009 from a bottle that was bein shared. hazy dark gold pour with a nice white head, I enjoyed the apricot flavor.

Bottle 75cl. @ Papsoes blindtasting. [ Bottle #3. ]
Clear medium orange color with a average, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, off-white head. Aroma is peach, cask wood, fruity, caramel, vanilla, brett and lactic notes. Flavor is moderate to heavy sweet, light to moderate acidic and moderate to heavy bitter with a long duration. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. [20090501]

750mL Bottle. Very nice perfumed dried apricot, fresh apricot juice, and some fleshy fresh fruit. Poured a very clear peachy-colored golden, extremely crystal clear, with a just off-white head. Rocky. Foamy, explosive strong citric acid juice. Vibrant and acidicly heavy. Sweetness balanced with alcohol and acid. Nice fruit character. Clean acids. I might enjoy some more softness and funk. Otherwise, very decent.

Nose was tart with nice vinegar notes. Poured a lite orange with brown tint capped with a very small head. Highly carbonated, tart, nice apricot flavors without being too earthy, nice and fruity and dry with a slightly sweet finish.

750ml shared by my stepfather on a visit a few months back - thanks, Peter! Never had the base tripel. I was immediately impressed by the full, very carbonated pour. A deep, slightly dank orange body - slight sediment making it pretty thick - and a surprisingly thick and creamy head. Soft apricot notes go so well in the nose, nicely complementing the wood character. Wood is in the lead in the flavor, but only until the beer settles and warms a bit. Then it’s a really lovely Flanders with perhaps slightly too prickly carbonation. Lively, refreshing, and nicely complex.