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Cascade Brewing / Raccoon Lodge & Brewpub

 

Clear amber colored pour. There's lots of carbonation bubbles rising in the glass, but there's very minimal head. What's there is white and there's some lacing.
The nose is very complex and many layered. I get some orange. I get a lot of bourbon barrel on the nose. I get caramel, and toffee.
Taste. A bit of sour orange up front. That gives way to the barrel flavors, that are very strong. I also get some caramel and a hint of toffee.
The body is thick, and full. There's a decent alcohol burn.
Solid beer and a pleasure to try.

 

Deep, woody amber. Like a beautiful hardwood stain. Very active on the pour but no head after 30 seconds of fizzing
Nose is bitter, like some kind of herbal liqueur. A little harsh
Taste kind of follows with a hot, bitter, booziness. There's a sort of sour oaky note that lingers. Like the smell of fresh cut conifer, but a sticky taste. Definitely some bitter orange peel lurking in there and some bitter root. Pretty rough honestly.
Feel is thin but still kind of sticky.

Overall this is a weird.beer and a real dud for me. It tastes like a bitter that you would add a splash or two of to a cocktail. Only comes in 250 ml cans so its possible I'll finish it. But its not something I would ever seek out.

for all my lamenting about how boise doesnt get that many heady out of state beers coming through, i have to also be thankful for its steady stream of cascade, especially lately, and especially on tap, they are very well represented here, and i am thrilled about it, always more to discover from this legendary brewery. this was a cool find on tap and handlebar, a sour quad in bourbon barrels with orange peel and bitters, an ode to the cocktail, these guys do this sort of thing so well, i was pumped to see it on the menu. i was a little surprised by the pour, more red and less dark than expected, a sort of jewel tone, thin for its alcohol strength and without hardly any head at all. the aroma is striking to me through, the bitters are immediately obvious, unique with the acidity of the base beer, an uncommon combination. the citrus is subtle, i get some generic red fruit and raisin notes too, nothing belgian at all suggesting a quad, maybe more on the malt side than the yeast side there, but hard to pick it out as a quad from either the aroma or the flavor, but also a ton of oak and whiskey, complex to say the least and definitely more fruity than anticipated. the flavor is about the same, sour all the way through but not as bracing as some of the cascade beers are. the alcohol is also well hidden and there is more carbonation to it than it looks like there is, so the texture is surprisingly mellow. the oak helps with that, and this is very mature and woody. i get some good funk to it, brightness from the orange, and a bitter botanical depth from the bitters, which is great with the sweet malt and the vanilla richness from the bourbon. its all very cohesive and i am impressed with the layers of flavor, i get hints of curious things like rose water, papaya, and clover honey through it as well. oddly dry to finish, the acidity ramps up as it warms, and overall another delicious and inspired head scratcher from cascade. it does justice to the cocktail and really is quite spectacular!

8.45oz(!) can purchased at Bottles, in Millwood, Washington, for $5.99. Canned on January 8, 2021. Cascade has apparently found a novel response to people complaining about the prices of their bombers and 750mLs.

Poured into a Chimay goblet, this was a somewhat cloudy dark amber color, with the thinnest of off-white heads that drops at nearly the speed of light, leaving spotty lace.

Whoa! Big nose on this small but potent beer. Bourbon barrel sweet woodiness vies with orange peel and an herbal bitterness.

Bitter up front, with herbal notes, then the sweet and boozy bourbon barrel notes kick in. The taste ends with a bitter citrusy zap from the orange peel. Somewhere inn the middle is a kind of cherry-like, tart fruitiness.

Quite light bodied for a beer north of 12%. Fairly light, effervescent mouthfeel.

Most unusual beer I've had in a while. Very complex and yet quite approachable. Cascade does it again.

Interesting. Met with boozy barrel scent when I popped open the tiny can. A medicinal cherry smell.
The sour quad taste sinks in. Sublime orange peel flavor.

L: Dark golden ale color.
S: Strong herby bitter flavor.
T: A strong bitter start with clean wood and a strong citrus finish.
F: Wood and citrus.
O: A unique and simple bitter-like sour with a lot of ABV but simple citrus and wood notes.