Cascade Drie Zwarte Pieten Sang Noir

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

On tap at Uber’s Cascade Night (and Brouwer’s Sour Fest). Pours dark reddish brown with a nice beige head. Huge tart and slightly funky aroma of cherry and wood with tobacco emerging as it warms. The cherries really worked well with this one. Medium bodied and bubbly with a nice lingering tart finish. My favorite of the Fest.

Draft at Sourfest 2009 at Brouwer’s. Pours a nice black/dark burgundy with a solid tan head and nice lacing. At first, cherry and grapes dominate the sweet aroma with hints of blackberry. But as it warmed, a great wood began to dominate. This was a nice sweet beer balanced incredibly well with the sourness. This had a little wild carbonation but a nice long sour finish. As this got warmer, the beer became more and more complex as various flavors came out. This was the highlight of Sourfest for me (and I sampled it three times throughout the day to make sure) and one of the best beers I’ve ever had.

Holiday Ale Festival Portland 2008. MY FAVORITE beer at the festival, and that is saying quite a lot with such and impressive line up. Lovely sour aroma swiftly climbs out of the glass and smacks you a bout. First taste hits your mouth and makes the eyes crinkle up with the tart flavor. After a few sips you really get to delve into the complexity of the flavors and the beautiful bouquet really opens up for you. Incredible beer.

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!

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.

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.

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.

Holiday Ale Festival... Poured reddish/ruby with a thin, tan head. Wonderful nose of candy sugars and light fruits. Insanely dry -- the must puckering beer I’ve had from Cascade -- Malty with a fresh cherry fruit flavor. Barrel aged notes, but not too bourbon-y. Definitely one of Ron’s finest.