Spiced Fruit Blend
Cascade Brewing / Raccoon Lodge & Brewpub

On tap at barrel house, live barrel.

No head, peach grapefruit pink in color. Maybe a bit of orange.

Smell is tropical punch, orange cherry slight apricot, sweet.

Taste is tart acidic and some vinegar. Some vegetable quality.

Very balanced. I think I enjoyed it more than cherry bourbonic.

 

on-tap, The Yard, from notes

"This "live" NW-style sour ale is a barrel aged blond beer that was additionally aged with fresh pressed apricot juice and spices. Spiced dark cherries, cloves and nutmeg greet you in the nose. Sweet, tart candied fruits and spices on the palate give way to a dry, tart finish with lingering spice notes. Cheers and happy holidays from the blenders!"

appearance: served in an unbranded 12oz chalice, hazy dark burnt-orange body, light beige film, no retention

smell: a spectrum of aroma - tart apricot, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla

taste: a really nice blend - definitely showcasing that typical Cascade tartness, apricot and cherry being the fruits of notice. The spice really adds layers of complexities that were difficult to keep track of and even harder to describe - nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, bread, peppercorn, brown sugar and vanilla. Given this is a live blend, not really surprising that interpretations have varied

mouthfeel: medium crisp body

overall: strong stuff

Listed here as a Fruit/vegetable beer, I found this brew to be more in the area of a Sour. Keep this in mind during this review. Served in tulip. Poured a nearly opaque (I could just barely see my finger through the glass when I held it up to the light) coppery orange-brown color with just a thin ring of white head that had OK retention and no lacing.

The sour funk hits the nose first and dominates. There is some earthy grain deep underneath, and I didn't really pick up any fruit in the nose. On the tongue the story was similar, very tart funk, not really bitingly sour but certainly attention grabbing. Some grains poke through and there was just the lightest touch of fruit (I couldn't really tell what kind) sweetness poking around the edges.

The body was kind of hard to judge, it was clean and smooth, but also thin. Overall, a pretty nice beer.I didn't get a ton of fruit or spice out of it, but still enjoyed the nice tang. Certainly worth having if you see it.

 

 

On cask at the barrel house tonight.

The beer pours a slightly hazy, apricot amber color with good head retention and lacing. The nose is great, showcasing brown sugar, light cinnamon, fruit cocktail and light vanilla. As good as this beer smells, it tastes even better... the flavor profile replicates the nose, but with a sour component that perfectly compliments and balances the sweet spiced fruit in this beer. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, with a long, smooth, spice and sour infused finish. Alcohol is nicely integrated into the flavor profile, though is a bit more noticeable than is typical for Cascade.

Just an all around excellent beer... I could drink this all the time.

First had: barrel pour at Cascade, Portland, OR

Poured a cloudy, honey-amber color with a nice, full, white head. Aroma of fruit medley, candy, and light spice. Great taste! Fruit punch up front, juicy and mildly sour, more tart mid-palate with big notes of grapefruit, berries, cherries, and candied apricot. Any nutmegish spice present was subtle, as the fruit was easily the dominant feature. And even though this beer probably would have been better if the spice was more pronounced (as seemingly promised by the description), it didn't really matter because it was just fine the way it was. Extremely delightful. Medium body, and very drinkable. One of the best sours I've had.