Cascade Kriek Ale | Cascade Brewing / Raccoon Lodge & Brewpub
Brewed by:
Cascade Brewing / Raccoon Lodge & Brewpub
Oregon, United States | website
Style: Flanders Red Ale
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 8.20%
Availability: Rotating
Notes / Commercial Description:
This NW style sour red ale is blend of red ales aged in oak barrels for up to eight months, then aged on fresh Bing and sour pie cherries for an additional eight months. Aromas of rich, dark cherries, oak and slight hints of cinnamon are noticed up front. Dark, tart cherries and light spice notes dance on the palate and lead to a rich, dark, tart sparkling finish of dark cherries and oak.
Note:
Kriek 2007 = 6.6% ABV
Kriek 2008 = 8.1% ABV
Kriek 2009 = 7.3% ABV
Kriek 2010 = 7.1% ABV
Kriek 2012 = 7.2% ABV
Kriek 2013 = 8.2% ABV
Kriek 2014 = 8.2% ABV
Please note which version is being reviewed, if known.
Added by ccrida on 04-17-2008
View: Beers | Place Reviews | Events
Reviews: 288 | Ratings: 1,103
4.32/5 rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
750 ml bottle into tulip glass, 2015 project bottling. Pours slightly hazy deep reddish copper color with a 2 finger fairly dense and fluffy light tan/pinkinsh head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Light spotty lacing clings around the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of huge tart/sour cherry, raspberry, cranberry, lemon peel, green apple, cherry skin, oak, hay, straw, pepper, toast, brown sugar, light vinegar/funk/vanilla, and yeast/oak earthiness. Incredible aromas with fantastic complexity and balance of fruity/acidic/spicy yeast, cherries, oak barrel, and light-moderate dark malt notes; with great strength. Taste of huge tart/sour cherry, raspberry, cranberry, lemon peel, green apple, cherry skin, oak, hay, straw, pepper, toast, brown sugar, light vinegar/funk/vanilla, and yeast/oak earthiness. Good amount of fruity/acidic sourness and yeast/tannic oak spiciness on the finish; with lingering notes of sour cherry, raspberry, cranberry, lemon peel, green apple, cherry skin, oak, hay, straw, pepper, light vinegar/funk, and yeast/oak earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/acidic/spicy yeast, cherries, oak barrel, and light-moderate dark malt flavors; with a nice sour/tannic/spiciness balance, and no astringent flavors after the finish. Very dry from acidic/tannic notes as well. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, acidic/tannic/puckering, and lightly grainy mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with minimal warming present after the finish. Overall this is an incredible fruited Flanders red ale! All around fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/acidic/spicy yeast, cherries, oak barrel, and light-moderate dark malt flavors; very smooth and easy to drink, despite the high amount of sourness/acidity. A highly enjoyable offering.
★ 1,927 characters
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
750 ml bottle into tulip glass, 2015 project bottling. Pours slightly hazy deep reddish copper color with a 2 finger fairly dense and fluffy light tan/pinkinsh head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Light spotty lacing clings around the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of huge tart/sour cherry, raspberry, cranberry, lemon peel, green apple, cherry skin, oak, hay, straw, pepper, toast, brown sugar, light vinegar/funk/vanilla, and yeast/oak earthiness. Incredible aromas with fantastic complexity and balance of fruity/acidic/spicy yeast, cherries, oak barrel, and light-moderate dark malt notes; with great strength. Taste of huge tart/sour cherry, raspberry, cranberry, lemon peel, green apple, cherry skin, oak, hay, straw, pepper, toast, brown sugar, light vinegar/funk/vanilla, and yeast/oak earthiness. Good amount of fruity/acidic sourness and yeast/tannic oak spiciness on the finish; with lingering notes of sour cherry, raspberry, cranberry, lemon peel, green apple, cherry skin, oak, hay, straw, pepper, light vinegar/funk, and yeast/oak earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/acidic/spicy yeast, cherries, oak barrel, and light-moderate dark malt flavors; with a nice sour/tannic/spiciness balance, and no astringent flavors after the finish. Very dry from acidic/tannic notes as well. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, acidic/tannic/puckering, and lightly grainy mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with minimal warming present after the finish. Overall this is an incredible fruited Flanders red ale! All around fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/acidic/spicy yeast, cherries, oak barrel, and light-moderate dark malt flavors; very smooth and easy to drink, despite the high amount of sourness/acidity. A highly enjoyable offering.
★ 1,927 characters
4.3/5 rDev +2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
A 2015 bottle poured into a tulip glass. A muddy reddish-copper color with a thin light tan and pinkish head that settled quickly into wispy laces. Charred oak up front on the nose, with prominent cinnamon, cherries, and musty basement. This was puckeringly sour on the palate. Bright tart cherries, more cinnamon, plenty of oak, wine, and raspberries. The finish was dry and left a nice sticky, funky presence.
★ 411 characters
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
A 2015 bottle poured into a tulip glass. A muddy reddish-copper color with a thin light tan and pinkish head that settled quickly into wispy laces. Charred oak up front on the nose, with prominent cinnamon, cherries, and musty basement. This was puckeringly sour on the palate. Bright tart cherries, more cinnamon, plenty of oak, wine, and raspberries. The finish was dry and left a nice sticky, funky presence.
★ 411 characters
4.15/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
On tap at the brewery brewpub: 2015 version in July 2016.
Sour aroma with loads of black and sour cherries. Lovely red-brown body with a lasting off-white head. Moderate tartness. Less cherry in the taste than the aroma, although it’s not subtle in either. Nice complexity.
Overall: excellent version of the style.
★ 319 characters
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
On tap at the brewery brewpub: 2015 version in July 2016.
Sour aroma with loads of black and sour cherries. Lovely red-brown body with a lasting off-white head. Moderate tartness. Less cherry in the taste than the aroma, although it’s not subtle in either. Nice complexity.
Overall: excellent version of the style.
★ 319 characters
5/5 rDev +19.6%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Love this beer. Super aggressive tartness. I could drink so many of these back to back. I full enjoyed the bite. however, misses a little on the cherry complexity. Maybe falls more into the flanders arena.
★ 205 characters
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Love this beer. Super aggressive tartness. I could drink so many of these back to back. I full enjoyed the bite. however, misses a little on the cherry complexity. Maybe falls more into the flanders arena.
★ 205 characters
4.25/5 rDev +1.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
This is pretty much a mix of flanders red ale and wild ale, even though it uses the terminology kriek which is generally something used with lambics, but lets move on beyond that.
Looks more like a flanders, there's the substantial amount of brown and dark red. Seemed aroma wise like there was a cherry blend, not just one kind.
Taste can really depend on the age and vintage of the bottle (or draft) as expected they can be quite sour, like a good 10 on the 1-10 scale when you classify it as a flanders, really nothing short of Oude Tart in that department.
Overall its a very sour beer, American wild like sourness, good cherry flavor, flanders appearance.
★ 666 characters
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
This is pretty much a mix of flanders red ale and wild ale, even though it uses the terminology kriek which is generally something used with lambics, but lets move on beyond that.
Looks more like a flanders, there's the substantial amount of brown and dark red. Seemed aroma wise like there was a cherry blend, not just one kind.
Taste can really depend on the age and vintage of the bottle (or draft) as expected they can be quite sour, like a good 10 on the 1-10 scale when you classify it as a flanders, really nothing short of Oude Tart in that department.
Overall its a very sour beer, American wild like sourness, good cherry flavor, flanders appearance.
★ 666 characters
3.8/5 rDev -9.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
I must confess I drink too much of this stuff (Belgian sours, that is.)
It is a taste I've tried to acquire, but can only do so if I try more infrequently.
This beer started well, but the taste eventually became too sour. (Probably not made well enough, despite a decade of work.)
I could not convince the wine drinkers to take more than a sip.
Dinner with garlic was about to start, so I corked it and had it for lunch the next day. Better.
I note when a beer is listed in one of my three books comprising my classical beer education.
This was in "1001 Beers To Taste Before You Die", page 868. I would not argue that it deserves to be on the next list.
★ 655 characters
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
I must confess I drink too much of this stuff (Belgian sours, that is.)
It is a taste I've tried to acquire, but can only do so if I try more infrequently.
This beer started well, but the taste eventually became too sour. (Probably not made well enough, despite a decade of work.)
I could not convince the wine drinkers to take more than a sip.
Dinner with garlic was about to start, so I corked it and had it for lunch the next day. Better.
I note when a beer is listed in one of my three books comprising my classical beer education.
This was in "1001 Beers To Taste Before You Die", page 868. I would not argue that it deserves to be on the next list.
★ 655 characters
4.52/5 rDev +8.1%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
2014, aged one year, poured into a wine glass.
This is an outstanding beer. Beautiful, bright color that is slightly muddied. Not as cherry flavored as you might expect, but it is a more complex beer than many krieks. Some dark fruit and oak. Well-carbonated and brightly effervescent.
★ 291 characters
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
2014, aged one year, poured into a wine glass.
This is an outstanding beer. Beautiful, bright color that is slightly muddied. Not as cherry flavored as you might expect, but it is a more complex beer than many krieks. Some dark fruit and oak. Well-carbonated and brightly effervescent.
★ 291 characters
4.92/5 rDev +17.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 5
Bit of dark fruits, some oak and vanilla, biscuit maltiness and monstrous, overwhelming cherry and lemon flavours. Easily one of the best beers I've had to date.
★ 161 characters
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 5
Bit of dark fruits, some oak and vanilla, biscuit maltiness and monstrous, overwhelming cherry and lemon flavours. Easily one of the best beers I've had to date.
★ 161 characters
4.22/5 rDev +1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
750ml caged and corked bottle, the 2014 Project, and 8.5% ABV, according to the label in front of me.
This beer pours a clear, dark red-brick amber colour, with one skinny-ass finger of weakly puffy, finely foamy, and somewhat creamy pale tan head, which leaves some decent view-obscuring, snowbank profile lace around the glass as things slowly sink away.
It smells of sharply tart cherry, lemon, and raspberry fruity esters, a middling earthy funk, semi-sweet bready and grainy caramel malt, a touch of roasted cocoa bean, the vinous and probably Flor-heavy cooking vinegar my mom always kept in the cabinet under the stove, and a subtle musty bitterness. The taste is rather acerbic and tart lemon rind, underripe backyard cherries (especially in Edmonton - holla, Piotr!), a bit of zippy raspberry pie 'sweetness', further grainy and browned caramel malt, a pleasantly understated yeastiness, gentle barrel-borne vanilla notes, and a fading estery vinegar zinginess.
The bubbles are adequate in their quest to provide a meager frothiness (and just to stay afloat, I imagine), the body an average medium weight for this sort of thing, and smooth by the same dangling scepter - not really, but not bad, either. It finishes off-dry, but trending toward the latter, the base malt steadfast, but it's the sour, generally vinous dark fruitiness that rules this day.
I see why this one receives something other than the generic 'American Wild Ale' designation on this site - the resemblance to Rodenbach, et al, is remarkable. Cherry, yes, but that's hardly the whole of the story - wine barrels, akin fruitiness, agreeably tame funk, and robust malt, to sum it up - all of which render an incredibly complex and enjoyable soured fruit ale, full stop.
★ 1,756 characters
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
750ml caged and corked bottle, the 2014 Project, and 8.5% ABV, according to the label in front of me.
This beer pours a clear, dark red-brick amber colour, with one skinny-ass finger of weakly puffy, finely foamy, and somewhat creamy pale tan head, which leaves some decent view-obscuring, snowbank profile lace around the glass as things slowly sink away.
It smells of sharply tart cherry, lemon, and raspberry fruity esters, a middling earthy funk, semi-sweet bready and grainy caramel malt, a touch of roasted cocoa bean, the vinous and probably Flor-heavy cooking vinegar my mom always kept in the cabinet under the stove, and a subtle musty bitterness. The taste is rather acerbic and tart lemon rind, underripe backyard cherries (especially in Edmonton - holla, Piotr!), a bit of zippy raspberry pie 'sweetness', further grainy and browned caramel malt, a pleasantly understated yeastiness, gentle barrel-borne vanilla notes, and a fading estery vinegar zinginess.
The bubbles are adequate in their quest to provide a meager frothiness (and just to stay afloat, I imagine), the body an average medium weight for this sort of thing, and smooth by the same dangling scepter - not really, but not bad, either. It finishes off-dry, but trending toward the latter, the base malt steadfast, but it's the sour, generally vinous dark fruitiness that rules this day.
I see why this one receives something other than the generic 'American Wild Ale' designation on this site - the resemblance to Rodenbach, et al, is remarkable. Cherry, yes, but that's hardly the whole of the story - wine barrels, akin fruitiness, agreeably tame funk, and robust malt, to sum it up - all of which render an incredibly complex and enjoyable soured fruit ale, full stop.
★ 1,756 characters
4/5 rDev -4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A - Deep cherry red pour with a nice pink lacing ring, calm carbonation.
S - Tart cherries with an overwhelming amount of funk (mixture of vinegar/oak/cherries).
T - The first sip draws a very strong sour cherry sensation with some tartness and a lot of funk making for a very puckering sip. Some oak lies low in the background.
M - Finishes semi-dry on top of the palate while the sides of the tongue salivate like crazy. Coats the mouth with tart dry cherries with a mildly lingering acidic sourness.
O - I sound like a broken record when it comes to this style => not a fan. However, I've found the Cascade Sours to be nicely balanced without an overwhelming amount of obnoxious funk.
★ 695 characters
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A - Deep cherry red pour with a nice pink lacing ring, calm carbonation.
S - Tart cherries with an overwhelming amount of funk (mixture of vinegar/oak/cherries).
T - The first sip draws a very strong sour cherry sensation with some tartness and a lot of funk making for a very puckering sip. Some oak lies low in the background.
M - Finishes semi-dry on top of the palate while the sides of the tongue salivate like crazy. Coats the mouth with tart dry cherries with a mildly lingering acidic sourness.
O - I sound like a broken record when it comes to this style => not a fan. However, I've found the Cascade Sours to be nicely balanced without an overwhelming amount of obnoxious funk.
★ 695 characters
4.42/5 rDev +5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Pours relatively clear, reddish brown, with minimal head - not unexpected for the style.
Aroma is sharp, complex, musty, and sweet. Vinegar and cherries, oak and yeast. Perhaps nothing exactly new to the game, but a beautiful execution of the bouquet.
That goes the same for the flavor, as well. Cherries are ever-present but don't dominate, allowing a vinegary sourness and oak notes to consistently shine through. A touch of vanilla, and some musty yeastiness round out the profile.
Lively and smooth; slick, medium-light bodied.
This is a brew that is right up my alley: a Flanders red with Kriek! If people wonder if American brewers can produce an authentic-tasting Belgian sour, this is how you do it: with traditional ingredients and long, long periods of aging.
★ 773 characters
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Pours relatively clear, reddish brown, with minimal head - not unexpected for the style.
Aroma is sharp, complex, musty, and sweet. Vinegar and cherries, oak and yeast. Perhaps nothing exactly new to the game, but a beautiful execution of the bouquet.
That goes the same for the flavor, as well. Cherries are ever-present but don't dominate, allowing a vinegary sourness and oak notes to consistently shine through. A touch of vanilla, and some musty yeastiness round out the profile.
Lively and smooth; slick, medium-light bodied.
This is a brew that is right up my alley: a Flanders red with Kriek! If people wonder if American brewers can produce an authentic-tasting Belgian sour, this is how you do it: with traditional ingredients and long, long periods of aging.
★ 773 characters
4.39/5 rDev +5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
2013 vintage-pours like a champagne with tons of bubbles and a head that disappears very quickly. Brilliant ruby red color. Very nice tart cherry aroma. Bursting with cherry flavor along with a good bit of wood and tannins. Moderate carbonation with a dry and almost buttery mouthful. Another great offering from Cascade
★ 320 characters
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
2013 vintage-pours like a champagne with tons of bubbles and a head that disappears very quickly. Brilliant ruby red color. Very nice tart cherry aroma. Bursting with cherry flavor along with a good bit of wood and tannins. Moderate carbonation with a dry and almost buttery mouthful. Another great offering from Cascade
★ 320 characters
4.02/5 rDev -3.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
2014 Edition -- Draft, Oct 2015
A: Bright, baked cherry aroma with some oak and a trace of spice.
A: Light brown and slightly hazy with no noticeable head.
T: Tart cherry flavors with a slight spice note. The finish is a bit dry with a touch of oak. The strong cherry presence lingers.
M: Light bodied with moderate carbonation. The beer is slightly tannic and lightly acidic on the tongue.
O: Quite delicious, though the cherry presence is still a bit sharp. Overall quite enjoyable.
★ 493 characters
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
2014 Edition -- Draft, Oct 2015
A: Bright, baked cherry aroma with some oak and a trace of spice.
A: Light brown and slightly hazy with no noticeable head.
T: Tart cherry flavors with a slight spice note. The finish is a bit dry with a touch of oak. The strong cherry presence lingers.
M: Light bodied with moderate carbonation. The beer is slightly tannic and lightly acidic on the tongue.
O: Quite delicious, though the cherry presence is still a bit sharp. Overall quite enjoyable.
★ 493 characters
4.24/5 rDev +1.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
2014 Vintage Served On-Tap
A — Pours a reddish hued brown out of the tap and into the glass, this looks more of a light flanders than a bright Kriek, but that's OK. Somewhat of a cream colored head tries to appear, but it fades quickly and leaves some legs along the inside of the glass.
S — Smells rather bright, but it does heavily showcase oak and rich dark fruit character, dark cherries, pie cherries, oak, vanilla, acetic.
T — Tastes fantastic, great notes of cherry, lacto, oak, vanilla. It's chewy and tannic, lightly acidic, tart, juicy, delicious.
M — Medium bodied, this encourages you to come back for another sip, and another, and another.
O — A treat from Cascade, a great, great sour.
★ 718 characters
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
2014 Vintage Served On-Tap
A — Pours a reddish hued brown out of the tap and into the glass, this looks more of a light flanders than a bright Kriek, but that's OK. Somewhat of a cream colored head tries to appear, but it fades quickly and leaves some legs along the inside of the glass.
S — Smells rather bright, but it does heavily showcase oak and rich dark fruit character, dark cherries, pie cherries, oak, vanilla, acetic.
T — Tastes fantastic, great notes of cherry, lacto, oak, vanilla. It's chewy and tannic, lightly acidic, tart, juicy, delicious.
M — Medium bodied, this encourages you to come back for another sip, and another, and another.
O — A treat from Cascade, a great, great sour.
★ 718 characters
3.84/5 rDev -8.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
On tap at the Cascade Barrel House tasting room on Belmont May 18, 2015. This was the 2014 version, aged in oak barrels on pie cherries and Bings.
Very dry with a deep fruity darkness. There's a hint of that over-ripe and fermenting taste and aroma. Lovely flavor of fruit and quite sippable.
★ 294 characters
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
On tap at the Cascade Barrel House tasting room on Belmont May 18, 2015. This was the 2014 version, aged in oak barrels on pie cherries and Bings.
Very dry with a deep fruity darkness. There's a hint of that over-ripe and fermenting taste and aroma. Lovely flavor of fruit and quite sippable.
★ 294 characters
4.37/5 rDev +4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Dark red. No head. Not a very fruity smell. Kind of subdued. Quite effervescent. Tart up front to a smooth pallet-adjusting finish. Not indicitive of the 8.2%ABV.
★ 162 characters
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Dark red. No head. Not a very fruity smell. Kind of subdued. Quite effervescent. Tart up front to a smooth pallet-adjusting finish. Not indicitive of the 8.2%ABV.
★ 162 characters
4.04/5 rDev -3.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
2015 project.
Enjoyed this in Palm Springs, CA during a sweltering heat wave. Sour right from the first sip with distinct tart cherry accents. Faint cherry sweetness. A solid example of the style.
★ 198 characters
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
2015 project.
Enjoyed this in Palm Springs, CA during a sweltering heat wave. Sour right from the first sip with distinct tart cherry accents. Faint cherry sweetness. A solid example of the style.
★ 198 characters
4.25/5 rDev +1.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Poured into a snifter at Cascade's tap room. Pours a deep cherry red with a thin head that dissipates quickly and a bit of delicate lacing. The nose is great, loads of cherries and tartness with a bit of bruised fruit. The taste is quite similar, rich dark cherries and tartness balanced by a bit of oak. Like most of what Cascade does, the alcohol is very well hidden. Definitely try this brew if you get a chance, you'll enjoy it. Cheers!
★ 440 characters
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Poured into a snifter at Cascade's tap room. Pours a deep cherry red with a thin head that dissipates quickly and a bit of delicate lacing. The nose is great, loads of cherries and tartness with a bit of bruised fruit. The taste is quite similar, rich dark cherries and tartness balanced by a bit of oak. Like most of what Cascade does, the alcohol is very well hidden. Definitely try this brew if you get a chance, you'll enjoy it. Cheers!
★ 440 characters
4.47/5 rDev +6.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Pours a very rich burgundy. Has a nice sour and oak smell. The body is rich with tart cherries and finishes with the dry finish expected of a red wine.
★ 151 characters
look: 5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Pours a very rich burgundy. Has a nice sour and oak smell. The body is rich with tart cherries and finishes with the dry finish expected of a red wine.
★ 151 characters
3.68/5 rDev -12%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Cascade Kriek 2014, bought at The Beer Store in Malvern, PA, for about thirty-five dollars. A good Flanders that hits almost all the right notes but nevertheless fails to impress- more so considering the outrageously high price.
I remember the best time I had Lost Abbey Red Poppy and was absolutely wowed. This is not the case. I think it could use a little more lacto and tartness.
The body could use a little more heft and carbonation, and again the price really weights heavy.
★ 484 characters
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Cascade Kriek 2014, bought at The Beer Store in Malvern, PA, for about thirty-five dollars. A good Flanders that hits almost all the right notes but nevertheless fails to impress- more so considering the outrageously high price.
I remember the best time I had Lost Abbey Red Poppy and was absolutely wowed. This is not the case. I think it could use a little more lacto and tartness.
The body could use a little more heft and carbonation, and again the price really weights heavy.
★ 484 characters
4.42/5 rDev +5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
I popped into Cascade today to do some tastings for a review, which I haven't done in far too long. Figured I would challenge myself a bit by going with a sour. This rating is for the 2013 vintage.
Appearance: The beer pours slightly hazy and bronze, though the color has a bit of a gradient from golden to amber to ruby. It's very nice to look at when held up to the light. The head is sand-colored with decent retention and lacing the speckles the glass on the way down.
Aroma: Sour cherries dominate your nostrils when you first inhale. You can also pick up some notes of cinnamon, apple, apricot, and a good bit of funk from the souring process.
Taste: The taste certainly follows the Kriek's aroma. The first few sips are quite puckering with strong flavors of bing and sour cherries. The puckering quality backs off as the beer warms in the glass and the sweeter, fruitier notes start to come more to the forefront. There is a slight medicinal (for lack of a better word) quality in the middle with spice notes like cinnamon and allspice. It finishes funky, slightly bitter, and very pleasantly sour. It left me with an impression of spiced pie filling. Delicious!
Mouthfeel: The carbonation is slight and tingling, which is what you would expect from a well-aged sour. The body is medium, slightly viscous, with a dry and tannic finish on the palate.
Overall: Cascade are artists with barrels. The shear complexity of a beer like this really holds my attention all the way through as I try to discern everything that I am experiencing. All of the Kriek's qualities coalesce into a truly fine beer. The bottle comes with a little sticker shock, but I'll drink this on draught any day of the week!
★ 1,709 characters
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
I popped into Cascade today to do some tastings for a review, which I haven't done in far too long. Figured I would challenge myself a bit by going with a sour. This rating is for the 2013 vintage.
Appearance: The beer pours slightly hazy and bronze, though the color has a bit of a gradient from golden to amber to ruby. It's very nice to look at when held up to the light. The head is sand-colored with decent retention and lacing the speckles the glass on the way down.
Aroma: Sour cherries dominate your nostrils when you first inhale. You can also pick up some notes of cinnamon, apple, apricot, and a good bit of funk from the souring process.
Taste: The taste certainly follows the Kriek's aroma. The first few sips are quite puckering with strong flavors of bing and sour cherries. The puckering quality backs off as the beer warms in the glass and the sweeter, fruitier notes start to come more to the forefront. There is a slight medicinal (for lack of a better word) quality in the middle with spice notes like cinnamon and allspice. It finishes funky, slightly bitter, and very pleasantly sour. It left me with an impression of spiced pie filling. Delicious!
Mouthfeel: The carbonation is slight and tingling, which is what you would expect from a well-aged sour. The body is medium, slightly viscous, with a dry and tannic finish on the palate.
Overall: Cascade are artists with barrels. The shear complexity of a beer like this really holds my attention all the way through as I try to discern everything that I am experiencing. All of the Kriek's qualities coalesce into a truly fine beer. The bottle comes with a little sticker shock, but I'll drink this on draught any day of the week!
★ 1,709 characters
4.3/5 rDev +2.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
long awaited for me, the cascade kriek, what a true delight! i love the use of multiple cherry types, i think it makes a more layered and interesting beer. i also like its alcoholic strength. its uncommonly strong, which i think forces me to slow it down just a bit and appreciate every sip. its dark red, foggy ruby in color, with an off white head with excellent staying power. it smells only a touch medicinal before the sweeter nature of the cherries crashes into the lactic acidity and sourness. its intense as they get both in aroma and flavor, and the cherries never lose their authenticity in the taste. that medicinal thing is now obviously a product of the higher abv, and i like what it does here, subtle but not absent. rich beer, flush body and warming in the belly. the fruit stays after the sourness subsides on the finish, which is both unique and welcomed, my tongue is in heaven. i like the density of the fruit, the body of the beer that is never for a second syrupy or thick like these can get on the cheap end. definitely brilliantly crafted. worth the wait and the hype, i love it. takes the style somewhere new, and thats always a pleasure to ride along with.
edit: just had a 2009 edition, and man does this one age well. deep velvety red beer brings quite a bit more acidity and less fruit than the fresher ones, but thats not to say it becomes less dynamic, the wood and the funk seem more prominent too, and it ends up sort of drinking like a rare wine, slow and appreciative and demanding that we let it warm up awhile. hard to say which i prefer because they are so different, but its well worth ageing one of these if you have the patience!
★ 1,671 characters
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
long awaited for me, the cascade kriek, what a true delight! i love the use of multiple cherry types, i think it makes a more layered and interesting beer. i also like its alcoholic strength. its uncommonly strong, which i think forces me to slow it down just a bit and appreciate every sip. its dark red, foggy ruby in color, with an off white head with excellent staying power. it smells only a touch medicinal before the sweeter nature of the cherries crashes into the lactic acidity and sourness. its intense as they get both in aroma and flavor, and the cherries never lose their authenticity in the taste. that medicinal thing is now obviously a product of the higher abv, and i like what it does here, subtle but not absent. rich beer, flush body and warming in the belly. the fruit stays after the sourness subsides on the finish, which is both unique and welcomed, my tongue is in heaven. i like the density of the fruit, the body of the beer that is never for a second syrupy or thick like these can get on the cheap end. definitely brilliantly crafted. worth the wait and the hype, i love it. takes the style somewhere new, and thats always a pleasure to ride along with.
edit: just had a 2009 edition, and man does this one age well. deep velvety red beer brings quite a bit more acidity and less fruit than the fresher ones, but thats not to say it becomes less dynamic, the wood and the funk seem more prominent too, and it ends up sort of drinking like a rare wine, slow and appreciative and demanding that we let it warm up awhile. hard to say which i prefer because they are so different, but its well worth ageing one of these if you have the patience!
★ 1,671 characters
4.67/5 rDev +11.7%
look: 2.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
Pours a murky reddish brown with a short lived head. The aroma is a bit funky, almost stinky as some may say, Barnyard. The cherries come through nicely as well.
Pops the mouth, puckers like a sour candies. Completely wild and has excellent cherry flavor. Oak, cherry, lemon rind acidity, slightly toasty malt flavor. Delicious and very sour. The beer is great to sip and savor.
Overall, this is an exceptional American made sour kriek. Very lively and alcohol is well hidden. World class beer and worth every penny.
★ 526 characters
look: 2.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
Pours a murky reddish brown with a short lived head. The aroma is a bit funky, almost stinky as some may say, Barnyard. The cherries come through nicely as well.
Pops the mouth, puckers like a sour candies. Completely wild and has excellent cherry flavor. Oak, cherry, lemon rind acidity, slightly toasty malt flavor. Delicious and very sour. The beer is great to sip and savor.
Overall, this is an exceptional American made sour kriek. Very lively and alcohol is well hidden. World class beer and worth every penny.
★ 526 characters
4.75/5 rDev +13.6%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
2013 vintage. Cork & cage. Pour this one SUPER SLOW! Keep that yeast in the bottle. If you want to taste the dregs, wait until you pour most of it out. Then stir em up.
Pours a DEEP ruby red. VERY minimal
Lacing present but the color is amazing.
Smells of lactic acid and brettanomyces. Very little cherry aroma present.
Tastes of sour fruit, Lactobacillus, very slight sour cherry. This brew has one of the best sour flavors I have ever had. Super tart, with a slight cherry finish.
Feels amazing on the palate with some great sour notes. Unreal Puckering!
Overall a great sour! Super tart but really drinkable. Would drink this every day of the week if I could.
★ 669 characters
look: 4.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
2013 vintage. Cork & cage. Pour this one SUPER SLOW! Keep that yeast in the bottle. If you want to taste the dregs, wait until you pour most of it out. Then stir em up.
Pours a DEEP ruby red. VERY minimal
Lacing present but the color is amazing.
Smells of lactic acid and brettanomyces. Very little cherry aroma present.
Tastes of sour fruit, Lactobacillus, very slight sour cherry. This brew has one of the best sour flavors I have ever had. Super tart, with a slight cherry finish.
Feels amazing on the palate with some great sour notes. Unreal Puckering!
Overall a great sour! Super tart but really drinkable. Would drink this every day of the week if I could.
★ 669 characters
Cascade Kriek Ale from Cascade Brewing / Raccoon Lodge & Brewpub
4.18
out of 5
based on 1,103 ratings.
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
2014 Project. Reviewed from notes taken in the first part of 2016. Poured from 750 mL bottle into a Hunahpu Day large snifter glass.
A: Dark red, reminiscent of cranberry juice. A thin pink head forms and then fades quickly, as does a big bloom of visible carbonation. Relatively opaque.
S: Tart cherries up front, with fruits notes like raspberries and boysenberries as well. Lactic acid to make the saliva flow, and lightly funky. Lighter oak barrel tannins to round things out. Pretty nice here.
T: Sour overripe cherries, lactic acid and some oak dryness. Puckeringly tart. Some citric acid tang develops as the beer warms up a bit. Not overly funky, but there is some funk here, that seems intermixed with the oak as it warms as well. This definitely needs to warm after you take it out of the refrigerator. Residual tartness and cherry fruitiness in the finish.
M: Medium body, good amount of carbonation sensation, and the alcohol presence is well-integrated into the flavors.
O: Good, but is has a one–note flavor when cold. Opens up a fair amount as warms. Enjoyable and tasty, but heavy on the lactic acid and not intermixed with much funk…not world class, but quite enjoyable.
★ 1,196 characters