Cascade Drie Zwarte Pieten Sang Noir

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

Draft pour @ Brouwer’s Sour Fest 2009. Deep purple and brown colored body with a small tan ring of carbonation. Thick and rich, somewhat musty with a dark plum and slightly charred currant character. Tart, dried black cherries show up across the middle, where it turns somewhat gritty and dirty, developing a faint level of roughness and brashness across the palate. Full and frothy texture, lactic and dry/tannic, but ultimately falls short of what I would call great. Close but didn’t nail it with this one.

Thanks for sharing, theisti. The body was deep brown. The aroma was alcoholic with toffee and iced tea. The taste was strongly vinous with some light souring, like brett. There was a woody finish, that was strangely sugary sweet. An interesting brew. Hardly sour.

Special brew that I got to try on the tour of the brewery with Ron. This beer will be exclusively on tap at the Holiday Ale Fest in Portland, do not miss this beer. I feel honored to have tried this awesome double sour with bing cherries. Pours reddish with a tan head. Nose is huge with lots of cherries and a nice tart edge. Taste is wonderful. Big sour tart cherries. very nice and very well balanced.

Portland Holiday Ale Festival 2008. I thought this was one of the best beers at the fest, and that says a lot. Dark red pour with a tall beige head. Tart cherry up front, medium lactic sourness, lightly woody/earthy character from the barrels. Light dryness and very mild acidity, could have used a touch more of both.

Draft at the brewpub. Thanks, Ron (and Preston)! This one’s an absolute jewel. Deep purply black with bright garnet highlights and a thick, loose, rocky, sudsy tannish head with faint pinkish/lavender undertones. Nice forward nose of sour cherry with bits of very subtle anise and pepper underneath. Plenty of tart pucker but in a fun, light, refreshing way. More like a sour pop than a gueuze--and that’s no knock against the beer, it’s just not a viciously sour one. Creamy medium body with plenty of carbonation and a bit of graininess showing against the tongue as well. Dark pitted tree fruit dominates, of course--cherry to be sure, and bits of currant and nectarine feel like they’re just around the corner. Tiniest hints of baking spice. Plenty of refreshing sour to it, but a bit too sweet to be a sour for noon on a hot summer day. More of a four seasons sour, and that’s much to its credit. Sounds like a weird metaphor, given that it’s brewed and named in observance of old Christmas traditions, but there it is. Beautifully complex and eminently drinkable. Another triumph from Cascade.

Dark brown beer with amazing bright red highlights and a nice bubbly head. The aroma is tart with some sweet fruity undertones of cherry, cinnamon, oak. The flavor has toasty dark malts, fruity sweetness, cherry, cinnamon, wood, and more cherry in the finish. A nice sour tartness is tasted throughout. Smooth, amazing, fantastic. Thansk Ron!

@ Uber Tavern’s meet the brewer night. Hazy reddish brown color with a light tan head. Heavenly aromas of tart lemon, cherry vanilla, whisky and wood; great nose. Light carbonation with a prickly mouthfeel. Sweet n’ sour flavors of tart lemon and cherry with earthy wet wood, with rich, smooth whiskey vanilla, and a toasted caramel maltiness. Great sour beer right here.

1 liter hand bottle filled by DA at the brewery. Pour is cloudy deep brown ruby, colors nicely swirled. Not much head to speak of, whats there is off white. Aroma of red wine, dark chocolate, pepper, oak woodiness. Ton of stuff going on, but all really well melded. Taste is red wine grapes, cherry sour, blackberry, currant, black pepper. The oak woodiness is present, and a nice base to the varied flavors. This beer has a lot going for it. So much flavor, so much going on, so melded. Palate is perfect, mouth coating, perfectly balanced, beautiful. Wonderful beer, thanks Derek.