Cascade Blackberry Ale

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

My Blackberry Ale was an intriguing hazy purple with hues of black and deep rose depending on how the light graced her surface. A puffy lavender ringlet corrals roaming puddles of foam while an onslaught of tart, unripe berries storm my nose. Black berries, boysenberries, blueberries harvested long before their prime speaks of crisp acidic skins and tart berry juices. A softer background of wood and warm baked pie crust brings me into a topping of vanilla and soft cream. Wow. Ok, maybe I have a sour-tooth, but that is one mouth-watering aroma. Wait not, though I certainly want, and my first quaff is as lip-puckering sour as I was hoping it would be. Clean with the perfect weight, crunchy sour berries electrify my tastebuds while wood, pie crust, and vanilla hang out further in her finish. She obviously wants to grab my attention first, and then offer soothing reassurance in end, and I am perfectly fine with that. As my palate slowly dries under her tart sour berry assault, I am able to pick my berries of choice within her brew; blackberries, boysenberries, and a pleasant addition of raspberries. As I make sure to lick the last drop from my glass, I can think of about a couple dozen different desserts I would love to pair her with.

There are many fences to tear down or crawl over in the wide world of beer, and sour ales are certainly one of the tallest for any beer aficionado, new or seasoned. But once one catches the sour bug, there is no going back, and that siren’s song of bracingly dry, tart, and sour will call for you where you are. Do as I do and don’t fight it. Instead, embrace the sour and watch as yet another limitless field of beery possibilities opens up before you.

Very much like the cherry. Dark red. Dry aroma with berry and yeast. Some berry in the flavor, more yeast, and moderately sour.

Tasted at SWB’s Sour Fest along with 15 others. Gorgeous deep fuchsia with a fluffy rose head. Predominate berry aroma, including strawberry, raspberry, current and of course blackberry. The taste is not quite as prevalent as the aroma, but definitely of blackberry. Not overwhelmingly sour. Slight grassiness.

On tap at Brouwer’s for Sour Fest. Purple reddish color with lots of lacing and fluffy head. The aroma seems to have a slight raspberry tilt but is dominated by blackberries. The taste is not as fruit sweet as I would thought, pure sour. Gripping but smooth palate.

This was titled "Nightfall Blackberry" at The Dray in Seattle. Beautiful red aled with a cream soda cream head. Tart blackberry aroma with earthy, farmhousy, sour brown notes. Fruity flavor, though difficult to pry away and discern any blackberry. Sour, citric, salty, tart, bretty, with woody sour brown notes. Earthy, with a prick of uric on the finish. Patently well-crafted, but not much an appreciator of the style.

Bottle. Reddish/purple/brown beer with a red/tan head. Big blackberry aroma with light earth and a light tartness. Big currant/blackberry flavor with malt and a nice tartness. Medium bodied. Ends with a nice tartness and blackberry/cherry/currant fruitiness.

Bottle 75 cl. Courtesy of bu11zeye. Pours a cloudy dark orangey brown with a beige head. Dry and lightly tart berry aroma. Medium body with a heavy carbonation and dry tart berry accents - not very distinct though. Dry and vaguely tart finish. 010509

[Bottle] shared by skyview. Pours a deep purplish brown with a large brownish red head. Aroma is light berries and oak, only a hint of lactic tartness. Flavor is nice with sour blackberries, a touch of dry oakiness, and some cherry.