Cascade Lakes IPA
Cascade Lakes Brewing Co.

 

Mild orange, 1/2" white head. Aroma was c hop more than amarillo. Got a little bit of caramel sweetness to it.

Taste was chinook dominated as well. Not bad, but not the most flavorful hop usage. One of those old school 90s ipa beers. If you want a crystal malt, c hop, 6%, 60ibu type of beer, this is your jam.

 

 

Pint glass at the brewery in Bend. Perfectly clear golden yellow appearance. No head. Often the case at bars. Taste is mildly hoppy up front with a flowery finish. Very smooth.
I enjoyed this beer a lot and am puzzled by the low ratings.
Try it and decide for yourself if you get the chance.

I remember this as being one of the first orangeish ipa's I had back in the day. Mild aroma, combination of malt sweetness, bubblegum yeast and bitter hops.

Taste, really muddled, not massively hopped by any means, but the chinooks can sometimes really bitter up a beer. Amarillos must be used sparingly, as I did not pick them up in the aroma, and I pretty much think that is Amarillos only place in a beer for the most part. Really delivers the bitterness, but would like either more hop mouthfeel, or a better caramel presence instead of what seems like a lager/pilsner type of malt bill from this one. The hops are definitely not piney, and I guess grapefruit would be the go to cliche simply based on the bitterness.

I like the price though, which is always worth a .5 on the overall score.

22oz bomber poured into a standard pint glass.

appearance - gold, average head and lacing

smell - some citrus hops and malt

taste - grapefruit and citrus hops, pale malts, fairly well balanced

mouthfeel - medium body, good carbonation

overall - much better than i expected considering the rating and reputation, didn't really disappoint

I bought a bomber of Cascade Lakes IPA in an Oregon grocery store. Poured into a pint glass.

Pours a pale gold color and is crystal clear. Small white bubbly head, is unremarkable.

Smell is faint, but a sweet citrus aroma, lemon blossoms and oranges.

The taste is a bit off. There is as strong pine bitterness upfront, and then an odd grain flavor like corn or rice. It just doesn;t have that citrus punch you might expect, and the grain is more than oe would expect from the style.

Mouthfeel is clean and crisp, perhaps a bit thin and watery, but not bad.

All in all a drinkable IPA, but an unremarkable one. I doubt I'd have this again.

Bomber poured into a Duvel tulip. See-thru gold with a haphazardly constructed head of some small, some large bubbles. OK retention and lacing.

Nice nose, lightly malty with strong pine and, to a smaller degree, grapefruit and sweeter citrus. Perhaps a few stray floral notes. Tastes pretty much the same, although the aggressive carbonation seems a bit over the top, taking the edge off everything but the piney bitterness. On the bright side, the malt profile is fairly crisp and lightly sweet. It seems like it could easily be better with a few tweaks, and actually, it’s not a bad take at all on a piney IPA. Too many excellent options in Oregon for this one to be memorable, though.

Look is a golden copper, strong white head, very fluffy

smell very faint hops, green apple, a bit of barely, wheat bread and a bit of corn

taste: the corn taste comes up strong, almost like sucking on a corn cob....very little hops at all, bitterness is low. has a subtle sweetness that is almost enjoyable

mouthfeel is semi nice, strong bubbles, a medium thickness.

drink is ok, not something i would normally get but was only a 2 buck bomber so i picked it up

Poured 22oz-er into chilled mug.

Poured an almost-clear yellow gold with a creamy, bubbly but limited (~1/2") head which dissipated quickly leaving little trice on the surface or the glass.

Aroma is a heady yeast that hits immediately, but is replaced almost immediately with a buttery scent. Not overly aromatic.

High-hopped out front with loads of grapefruit, but leaves a fairly bitter aftertaste, probably due to the massive 90 IBU count.

Light in the mouth, with that lingering bitterness, probably best suited to hot weather & spicy food.

22oz bottle.

Pours hazy gold with a tight, quarter inch head of white. Spotted lacing and a partial skim coat throughout the glass.

Aromatics are laced with sappy pine, grapefruit, cut grass, and tangerine. A trace of biscuity malt in the background. Earthy, hoppy, and very fresh.

Medium bodied with a crisp, drying mouthfeel. Slightly chaulky with a hint of tacky honey.

Bright, citrusy hops lead off the palate along with light, husky malt to balance. Grapefruit pulp, spruce dew, and gummy resins.

Finishes with a lingering, solid bitterness, warming alcohol, and plenty of grapefruit and pine.

This ones drinking really fresh and will be drained quickly. Nice job.

Thanks to Docer for this 22oz bomber. Poured into a imperial pint glass. Nice golden body. An aggressive pour created only ~1/2 inch of white head that quickly subsided. Some minor lacing. Nice citrus hop aroma with a touch of pine. The taste is mostly citrus hops followed up with some floral and pine notes. More pine as it warms up. The mouthfeel is light with moderate to low carbonation for an IPA (probably why there wasn't much head either). The body is light and easy to drink. I think I'd like a little more carbonation in this, but otherwise, is a good well-rounded and very drinkable IPA. There's nothing here that amazes me, but nothing turns me away either. I could see this being a nice go-to beer if I lived near the brewery.

Snagged a 22oz. bottle from Whole Foods to try.

- Nice light copper, and straw yellow clear color... fizzy white head down to a bit of lacing and a hefty ring.

- Fantastic fresh hop aroma... really loving the smell. Reminds me of the scent of that first crisp fresh beer in life. Piney and zesty hops with a slight sweet malt base... light pale...

- Fantastic hops again in the flavor... zesty, pine, light citrus... I think they used my favorite hops here. Certainly a fantastic hoppy ale and one I will certainly buy again. Quite a nice surprise. Slightly sweet caramel and sugar... perfectly balanced and fresh.

- Slightly syrupy, medium to light bodied... little chewy and drying due to bitterness.

- Huge drinking points. I could easily go through a tone of this stuff if I had it. Tasty, and great to drink. I highly recommend this brew. Wish I could brew it.

**** edit

After some more purchases, this brew came across as an extract brew to me... it really had a big extract taste to it, and hit the wrong spot with me.... therefor my review got edited and lowered.

Sunny Sunkist orange with radiant goldenrod trim. Although almost no tiny bubbles can be seen rising within the crystal clear liquid, the pale beige cap is at least three fingers in size. The upper surface is covered with hundreds of glassy bubbles that leave thick sheets of shotgun-blasted lace all over the upper portion of the pint glass.

The nose almost reaches that same level of quality. The Chinook and Amarillo hops (both good choices) need to be more pungent given the style. Apricot, orange and grapefruit ride along on a lightly toasted barley malt base. Not bad at all.

India Pale Ale is a pretty good India pale ale and is probably my second favorite Cascade Lakes beer to date (20 Inch Brown). It helps if you're a committed hophead since all 65 IBUs are present and accounted for. As always with IPAs, fresher is better if you can manage it.

It doesn't taste like there's a 'hefty grain bill', as the label reads. It tastes like malt sugars are jackhammered into near oblivion by alpha acids. Still, crystal and Munich malt provide a toasted breadiness and light nuttiness that gives the beer another dimension on top of the white grapefruit pith assault. A juicy peachiness is present as well.

In the end, I'm not groovin' on the flavor profile enough to go with the bigger score. Close, but no cheroot. Better than average is a good way to describe the mouthfeel. In terms of size and creaminess, it's closer to an IPA than an APA, so that's something.

Cascade Lakes India Pale Ale is one of those offerings that *almost* deserves higher taste and drinkability scores simply because it's abrasively hoppy. Brute force is always good in a beer of this style, but it needs something more to push it over the top.

Pours a bright golden color, topped by a half-inch of creamy white head that lasts for a good long while. Aroma of slighlty sweet pale malt, fruity hops, and just the faintest whiff of some adjunct malt. Palate is moderately bitter up front, with notes of citrus and biscuit malt. Finish is a nice, lasting hoppy bitterness, though not overwhelming. Mouthfeel is just a touch thin and dry for the style, but is not distracting or out of place in any way. Certainly not the best northwest IPA I've had recently, but a decent one nonetheless, and definitely worth the ~$3 price it's been going for lately.

Large off white head clear amber body and plenty of lacings. Nice fruity citrus hop aroma. Taste is bitter citrus grapefruit orange hops with a good amount of sweet malts. A bit subdued for a modern IPA which made for an easy session. Mouthfeel was a bit thin but carbonation was fine. Alcohol was well hidden. Overall not a bell ringer but enjoyable anyway.

pours a clear tepid unappealing yellow/gold with a voluptuous rocky yellow-tinged head. It has impressive retention, and leaves behind some nice lacing. negative score for the color, plus for the head.

aroma is malty... smells line an english ipa. malt forward, a bit of caramel, a bit of vanilla. smells pretty decent, although not picking up a whole lot of hops.

whoah. there the hops are. bitter, herbal and pine hops. some funky vegetable hopping. a few off flavors on top of a heavy pine base. the malt is practically hidden. an intense "pure" bitter finish lasts seemingly indefinitely.

mouthfeel is fair. a bit over carbonated creates a bit of sharpness. a bit thin, a bit slick, a bit light. not bad, but not memorable.

I had high hopes for this one. maybe I like the redesigned label. maybe I'm a fan of the brewery because I like the name monkeyface porter. Maybe the hops are getting to me. but all in all, I definitely didn't like the beer, and struggled to finish this one. no more.

had this one on-tap at CL's Lodge in Bend.

Nice orange amber color with slight haze. Big head.

Flavor and aroma are hops, but it's rather sedated. Not getting much malt in there, certainly not a balance. Somewhat watery in the mouthfeel. Grainy finish and aftertaste. It is as sharp as an IPA should be, but its really thin, with a light body. I don't get the sticky resiny goodness that PacNW IPA's are known for. Based on the hops used (Amarillo/pearle) this also isn't an attempt at a traditional english IPA, not really sure where Cascade Lakes is going with this one.

Despite a whopping 90 IBUs (an egregious sum in my view) Cascade Lakes IPA is not agonizingly bitter. The aroma is bitter and exotic, but not overly so. The head is white and collapsed, the lace tight and solid.

There are two things this beer could use. One is a proper name. Calling this IPA “IPA” is like naming your dog “Dog”: a functional reference for certain, but a little short on imagination.

The second thing this beer could use is a touch more aromatics. Perhaps something a bit more floral. Just a thought.

Otherwise, everything is well accounted for here. This is a soft, creamy ale; surprisingly light gold and clear. The bitterness is abundant enough to please ardent hopheads, but not so overpowering as to frighten away your curious friends and neighbors.