Garden Party
Cascade Brewing / Raccoon Lodge & Brewpub

 

 

Had on tap, and I believe it was aged a few years. Murky apricot golden body with a tiny white ring. Zesty and sour lemon with tons of must and funk, oak, and flowers round out the aroma bouquet. Taste is musty and sneaky complex: add lime, green tea, and grape to the elements from the nose. Still plenty sour amongst the musty funk, oak makes itself known, want more botanicals to enhance the dryness that emerges beautifully.

L: 500ml Bottle from 2017 - purchased in 2021 March and finally poured July 2021. A deep gold pour with a very small head that dissapated immediately. Lots of bubbles in this one, almost to the point of thinking it looks like a seltzer.

S: Hard to mistake the elderflower here. A strong and sour aroma, but not without a sweet hint of lemon sugar, or something like that.

T: Very tart, and an intriguing blend of chardonnay grapes and citrus. Between the elderflower and grape flavors, you could imagine you are coming quite close to a fizzy cocktail, rather than a sour ale. I also taste a bit of wood/oak that could be a remnant of the barrel aging process. The aftertaste is meyer lemon, but I notice grapefruit, too. The elderflower isn't as noticeable past the aroma.

F: Quite carbonated - effervescent is a perfect way to describe this ale. Another reviewer said 'botanical' and I think that's about right - a sassy and peppy kombucha-like feel to this one. Despite the strong alcohol content (9.6) you really won't notice it - this is very refreshing and sneaky in its disguise.

O: This is one of the few Cascade ales I've had. It is hard to find a good sour ale that has the pep that I enjoy in the style, but this one is quite good. The chardonnay grapes are definitely something that folks who like cocktails or wine may like more than me, but overall this was a refreshing and delightful pour. Hope to encounter more from these folks although I don't see much make its way here from out west.

 

"Garden Party is a blend of sour blond and wheat ales aged in white wine barrels for up to two years with Willamette Valley-grown chardonnay grapes followed by a late infusion of fresh Meyer lemon zest and dried elderflowers. The perfect beverage for any outdoor soirée, Garden Party delivers the sparkle of champagne, the floral delicacy of elderflowers and the brilliance of sweet lemon zest—bringing refinement and refreshment to your party, wherever it may be."

5 oz pour on tap. The first sip yields heavy funk and a surprising amount of sweetness - not a great combination. However, the sweetness mellows out and gives way to oak, lemon, vanilla, white grape juice, and a floral component that must be the elderflowers. A unique beer for sure and decently complex. Not my favorite, but better than it seemed at first sip.

 

a really unique one from these guys, its been too long since i had something from cascade! its just a delightful brew, done in wine barrels with chardonnay grapes, meyer lemon zest, and elderflower, its the essence of spring, its fully wild and mature, funky and complex but exceedingly delicate at the same time, especially for its strength, really quite a compelling brew! pale to light orange in color with a lot of fizz but not a ton of head retention and a nose thats sour and bacterial like all the cascade beers, but not overly intense, with some incredibly bretty depth to the fermentation profile, it pops and seems fresh with the lemon element, but there is so much wood and time on this, that its real maturity cant be hidden. the elderflower is strong in here, botanical, tea-like, blooming, adding a really neat layer to this, expert with the stone fruit notes coming from the grapes and the mellow vanilla oak wrinkle, very smartly constructed. i also really like the light acidity of the lemon with the sourness of the beer, its vibrant and clean, really good. the wine aspect here is really high, somewhat floral in the aroma, even perfume for a moment, but with things like dandelion and ripe peach and lemon verbena all in the mix, just sexy. the alcohol content of this is almost shocking to me, as it drinks easy, only the acidity slowing me down slightly, no booziness or heft to this at all, its remarkable in that way. really pretty and delicious beer here from cascade, a pleasure to drink, floral and springy and even sort of gin-esque. i loved it!