Mouton Rouge
Cascade Brewing / Raccoon Lodge & Brewpub

 

Draft at PreFunk with Joel. Deep mahogany with small ring of head. Tart aroma, mildly sweet. Tartness ticks up in taste. Dark fruity flavors, no one fruit in particular, just a blend..

 

 

On tap at Raccoon Lodge on 6/27/09. Beautiful ruby brown with lasting frothy eggshell head. Hints of cherry and oak. Tastes a little sweet with vanilla, then the tart fruit kicks in and provides a smorgasbord of flavors of raising, grapefruit, vanilla, cherry and red grap. Very complex beer with a great sour finish.

Can't imagine how amazing this would've tasted if I weren't hungover.

Cascade certainly enjoys brewing sour red ales. The opportunities for blending and reblending different vintages and cooperages allows for a wide variance of products. And I haven't had a bad one yet.

Mouton Rouge (red sheep?) forms along classic Flanders red styling with strong lacto- sour qualities. It is wine-like in its acerbic tartness, but finishes with a flourish of chocolate. The aroma is similarly wine-like, while the body shows hues of purple, red, and brown - like a dirty plum. Carbonation is minimal, with no suds at all. A diaphanous film forms across the teeth.

Blended components of Mouton spend up to 16 months in oak barrels graciously souring and absorbing oaken contours. The result is an acidic ale of considerable charm. But if you like this one, you'll love the Cuvee or the Gose.

Re-review; had on tap at the Raccoon Lodge in Portland. Thanks to ramnuts for the DDing and to Curtis for the pour.

A: Dark cherry / burgundy red with a small off-white head with poor retention and little lacing. Lots of effervescence up the glass.

S: Lactic sourness, some roasted grain, and a tart cherry and blackberry aroma. Hints of oak. A bit vinous, actually.

T: Sourness that splits into cherry and blackberry flavors. Some oak detected. Mostly the flavor is tart and has a very light vinegar flavor to it. The aftertaste is slightly fruity (cherry).

M: Light-bodied, somewhat dry in the finish. My first glass (back in May) was surprisingly sticky and started to coat the mouth after a couple of ounces. This one was much better in that respect, but it could still use a little tweaking; I found it coated the mouth too long. I prefer a cleaner finish.

D: The first of the many Cascade sours I sampled that afternoon, and it set the tone very nicely. Not the best in their lineup, but a damn good one.

On draught at the brewpub (on a regular basis!), served in a tumbler (like a geuze glass, nice!), Mouton Rogue is a ruddy brown with a small off-white head leaving scattered lace.

Smell is nice, sweet, cherry like, with Cascade's trademark lacto.

Taste is tart, with a hint of caramel sweetness, sour cherries, nice lactic pucker, and light plastic phenols. Very refreshing, non of the vinegary acetic acid that I don't care for in the traditional take on the style.

Mouthfeel is slick, bone dry and crisply carbonated, with a medium-light body.

Drinkability is really high. I love this beer, the nose in particular. Just a bit more heft then their regular Flanders Red, but not enough to slow me done. Good price and availability, right down the street from my office, makes this one of my go-to beers.

On-Tap @ Concordia Ale House poured into Snifter glass.

Pours a clear, deep ruby complextion with a thin and fizzy tan head that quickly dissolves and creates a swirling thin layer atop the glass. The aroma is tart cherries, general sourness and some touches of oak. The flavor is very tart upfront with cherries and rounds out with some hints of the oak. Its medium bodied and is very effervescent. I thoroughly enjoyed this beer sitting outside in the sweltering sun. Thirst-quenching and refreshing.

I am blessed that the tender gave me and my GF a sampler.. and being so that my GF doesn't much care for beer, I got the rest of her sampler too!

- Dark crisp brown and plumb colored.. minimal head, and very light lace on the edge of the little glass... rich looking..

- Smell was a wonderful tart but yet sweet and aromatic fig, plum, raisin... and small hidden cherry... little bit of oakiness...

- Great tart and bitter bite, and very little vinegar which I really like in a sour... huge fig and plumb notes.. little bit of currant... and a very smooth taste...

- Left puckered and wanting more! Not very dry, but crisp and clean... little bit acidic..

- Huge plus on drinkability... especially on-tap... one of the best I've had.. sits up there with Consecration..

1/2 pint on tap at Saraveza in a chalice/goblet.

Pours a deep see-thru body with 1 finger's worth of thick white head. A periodic gentle swirl coaxes some pretty nice head retention. Decent creamy lacing.

Sharp tangy sourness stings the nose, with plentiful sweeter aromas of dark fruit and oak in the background after you get over the initial shock of the initial cherry blast. Small hints of vanilla and caramel. Very nice.

In the mouth, once again tart cherry flavor asserts itself immediately. It seems to sweeten up for a moment with some fruitiness and oak, then explodes with a second round of sourness and a bit of funk in there somewhere.

Finishes dry with huge lingering sourness. Makes you smack your lips in anticipation of another sip. This is a beer that really works your mouth over. Medium light body with moderate carbonation.

Overall impression: Great stuff. Nice 'big boy' Flanders Red.

Sampled at the brewery three different times that day with Ron and Curtis, thanks again guys, reviewed from notes, color is a ruby red with a 3/4 inch foamy whute head, some retention, not really any lacing, aroma has grapes, horse blanket, raisins, lots of oak, cherries, soft caramel, currants, tartiness, and candied sugar, flavor starts off with a nice sour bite that a good amount of berries, sour throughout the middle as well with dark fruits, finishes with a lot of oak and has some nice funk too, sour, funky, and dry mouthfeel, medium bodied, good amount of carbonation, taste lingers well, could drink a whole lot of this stuff and I pretty much did, alcohol is again is hidden amazingly, cannot taste a drop, nice lacto fermented sour, will hopefully have again in the future, recommended

Draft at the brewpub. Clear garnet color with no head (plenty of visible carbonation though). Red wine-like aroma, blackberries, subtle oaky vanilla. Tart and fruity on the tongue with flavors of red wine vinegar and blackberries. Light bodied, semi-dry. Tart fruity finish. Doesn't have the depth of a beer like Consecration, but very well made and drinkable all the same.

On tap at Raccoon Lodge. Pours dark ruby with a small pillowy head.

The aroma is slightly tart, with notes of oak and vanilla. A slight lactic character is evident, as well as currants and dark cherries.

The beer is tart up front with dark fruits and oak. Currants and sour cherries are prominent, as well as oak and tannins. The finish is dry and tart, leaving a slightly sweet fruity aftertaste.

The beer is medium bodied with a low level of carbonation and vinous mouthfeel.

This beer reminds me a lot of Consecration and a little of Red Poppy. This is a hefty Flanders Red, leaning towards a quad. I'm very happy we stopped here and even happier this was on tap.

On tap downstairs at the Lodge.

Opaque burgundy-ish body with minimal creamy white head, lingering lacing. Black cherries and blackberries predominate in the nose, with stone fruit in the background. Nice balance with malty flavor, with minimal hop presence. Sweet up front, with a powerful, yet pleasing sour/sweet aftertaste, and not too much funky yeast. Very mellow and drinkable, probably due to the long (16 month) barrel aging and getting the blend just right. Quite a revelation, a pretty rare NW-style sour worth seeking out. Hopefully, they will bottle some of this soon.

Should note that this came literally from the bottom of the barrel. So the review will likely reflect that in some manner.

Appearance: A nice dark rep, nearly mahogany color. Strong head at first, but soon dissipates. Very light Belgium lace.

Fruity at first, but then a deep mustiness that makes it smell a bit off.

Sour Comes through at first, but then it hits a watery end. Not what I am used to when it comes to Flander Reds. This is likely due from being the last of the barrel.

Mouthfeel. The mouth explodes at first due to the sour, but it quickly becomes astringent and then watery. This was probably a better drink earlier in the cask.

Drinkability? Meh. Can't recommend drinking from the end of the cask. Must try one from an earlier draught

On tap at Bailey's Tap Room, several times. Poured into a snifter.

Appearance is dark-cherry red with little to no head. Fantastic. To my nose the malt definitely plays second fiddle to the lactic sourness, but there is nonetheless a faint but reassuring roasted grain backbone. This increases as the beer warms. The sour smell is fantastic. Unlike some other flemish reds that I've had - particularly Vichtenaar and Duchesse - there is little to no vinegar.

The taste is initially puckering, overwhelmingly of sour cherries with very little sweetness. Again this is almost entirely lactic, with no acetic acid perceptible whatsoever. As the beer warms the sourness stays in the forefront, but becomes increasingly balanced by a pleasant whole-grain bread flavor.

The only real downfall of this beer for me is the mouthfeel. I have the suspicion that both this and Vlad the Imp are just different blends of Cascade's basic Cuvee recipe, and while both this and Vlad have much more substantial mouthfeels than the Cuvee, they are still a bit thin. This may be caused in part by what I take to be a tiny bit of over-carbonation, but I'm just not sure. The upside, of course, is that this is exceptionally drinkable, but I would like it to be a bit thicker.

All and all a fantastic beer, and thoroughly recommended. One of the best in the style I've had.

Sniffer on tap at Naked City in Seattle.

Been hearing a lot about Cascade and wanted to try something before purchasing a $20 bottle.

My knowledge of Flemish sours isn't great but I do like the Vichtenaar and Duchesse du Bourgogne.

This beer is definitely in the same vein but less challenging and therefore more drinkable. The sourness is mild and really well balanced. I could easily have a couple of pints of this beer which ain't true of the Vichtenaar.

All in all this is a wonderful beer. I will be actively seeking Cascade from now on.

This was on tap at my usual Tuesday spot. Appearance was pleasant, a nice looking burnt red. It had a small film of head that quickly dissipated. The aroma up front was malt heavy with a biscuity-caramel flavor; their was a certain tartness that plaid second fiddle to the malt. The beers tart nature came on strong as soon as it hit your tongue. The malt which came off as a toffee or caramel cleared the tart flavor out of your mouth. I love a good tart beer, but do not like the lingering affect of some as much. Beer had a fairly high level of carbonation which kept the palate nice and clean. For the style the drinkability was amazing if it wasnt for the hefty price tag I would have drank it all night long.