Cascade Vlad The Imp Aler - Cascade Brewing / Raccoon Lodge & Brewpub

johnnnniee

New Hampshire

4.25/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This one has been sitting around much to long, tonight it must be drunk. The cork broke and I had to resort to the corkscrew, the cork was really dry. Pours a deep amber bordering on copper with a small tightly bubbled white head that shows moderate retention. Smells of tart and lactic as soon as I wrangle the stopper out of the bottle. Tart cherries, lemon, oak, vanilla, brown sugar, lots of wonderful aromas waft out of my glass. Taste is tart with a hint of sugary sweetness. Up front I get a hint of brown sugary type sweetness followed by a heaping helping of tartness. Lemons and tart cherries with a hint of acid followed by some vanilla and oak and maybe a hint of ash in the finish. Medium body with a moderate level of carbonation and a sweet tart kind of mouthfeel. Wow this is a beautiful beer! Its bigger in body than most American sours, but its base is also a Quad. I really enjoyed this, I wish I had more.

Serving type: bottle

04-15-2012 00:01:00 | More by johnnnniee

cpetrone84

Pennsylvania

3.48/5  rDev -18.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

the pour is a copper transparent color with tight white head. The nose is lightly vegital and medicinal with a strong fruit and barrel component. The flavor is the same with a light bitterness. The body is light and the carbonation is very aggressive.

Serving type: bottle

04-10-2012 14:05:41 | More by cpetrone84

LiquidAmber

Washington

3.05/5  rDev -28.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured into a Black Raven pint. Pours a bright orange amber with a two finger off-white head and lots of lacing. Aroma of sour citrus, slight brett and wood. Tastes sour and acetic with a light brett component. Sour citrus fruits and green apple, some darker fruit. Not as sour as some other wild ales. Not my style. I was able to finish this, but will not revisit. Obviously well made, but there just isn't enough interesting here to overcome the sour/wild aspects.

Serving type: bottle

03-15-2012 03:07:39 | More by LiquidAmber

dogfishandi

New York

4.2/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

750ml cork and caged bottle poured into a bruery snifter thanks to trxxpaxxs. i believe this is from the 2nd release...

pours out a cloudy orange color with just a touch of sediment. only an off white ring of head that lasted most of the way, no real lace to speak of.

big tart lemony, barnyardy brett intially. bits of wine like fruits. as it warms it really takes on a stinky, funky, moldy oak character, lactic?

lots of tart lemon citrus, sour pie cherry, and barnyardy brett. some subtle wine like fruits, mostly citrus like. a little alcohol is noticable. a bit of that moldy lactic funk, but this comes through way more in the aroma.

very tart and sour. medium to light in body, does not drink anything like its 10% ABV suggests. very drinkable, but the intense funk and sour obviously hinders this a bit.

a solid sour, cascade really knows what their doing with sour barrel aging and it really shows. i have yet to have anything bad from them. the only thing i couldve hoped for was more of a bourbon barrel character.

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2012 03:41:50 | More by dogfishandi

DCon

Missouri

4.68/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Shared a 1 PT. 9.4 FL. OZ. bottle of this w/ CurtisMcArthur, Sharp, and other BA friends in Nashville, TN. Poured from the Yellow Labeled Bottle w/ a OAK AGED barrel on a wooden cart & the description below saying "SOUTHWEST STYLE SOUR ALE" into a 12oz Hefe Glass. Does not have a freshness date but is a 2009 VINTAGE.

Aroma- Sourness dominates the nose right away. Barnyard and sweet attributes come out as well. Not a young sour. Can tell this has been aged! Perfect.

Appearance- Pours a 1 finger head that has poor retention (not sure this is a problem or not). Has a dark golden colored body but clear. Leaves a few suds behind.

Flavor- Malt and a strong sweetness start this one off. Very complexed and finishes very barnyard like. Can tell there is oak involved in a fermentation process. No hop flavor due to the "gueuze" like finish.

Mouthfeel- Light-Medium Bodied, Medium Carbonation, Puckers, Mouth-filling, and has a goaty finish.

Overall Impression- For my first brew from Cascade, this one rocked my socks! Almost could be a gueuze with all of its goaty and barnyard attributes. Would HIGHLY recommend this for sour lovers and aging it. Cheers guys!

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2012 01:39:59 | More by DCon

oline73

Maryland

4.38/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I had this at the bottle share during the Jackie O's bottle release. Poured into a tasting glass.

Appearance: Pours a cloudy orangish amber with a layer of white head. The head fades to a ring around the glass.

Smell: Sweet malt, more sweetness than I expected. Some funk and citrus tartness with an herbal note too.

Taste: This is awesome! Sweet malt with some white wine like tartness. Much sweeter than most sours I have had. The finish is malty but acidic. Really good.

Mouthfeel: Medium body with smooth carbonation and a dry finish.

Overall: This is really different, but really good. Sweet and sour, great balance. I would love to have more given the chance.

Serving type: bottle

12-05-2011 05:07:17 | More by oline73

Dreadnaught33

District of Columbia

4.05/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Another BIF beer drank with the DC group.

The beer is a nice orange color, clear ish with a fizzy headthat dis to nothing at all with no lacing. The beer smells great with plenty of nice wild ale yeast and tartness, really nice tame fruit notes with some great other sweet potato casserole bourbon notes as well in the nose, also with some red wine too. also some peach or nectarine in the nose.

The taste is not nearly as tart as I hoped, but it is nicely balanced with notes of vanilla, sweeter fruity berries, some oaky (but not overly bourbon) flavors, sugary berries, and just a bit of tartness. It's overall a pretty decent showing with a complexity of sweeter fruity flavors with a touch of tart, would be amazing with more tartness. Has plenty of cherry and plenty of red wine as well. The feel is not great, just a little thinner and sweeter than I like in wild ales.

Overall good.

Serving type: bottle

11-27-2011 20:58:31 | More by Dreadnaught33

AleWatcher

Illinois

4.18/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Reviewed from notes.

shared by crushedvol.

Smells bright and sweet with some funky tartness.
(takes a sip) Wow. This is quite nice.

The sweet, somewhat citrus notes, with some lacto-tasrtness to it work wonderfully. This has all the characteristics of a beer that I think will age very well-- If I could land a bottle of this, I'd let it sit around for 2 or 3 years and then give it a try!

This is really enjoyable as it it is though-- certainly worthy of comparison with benchmark beers (at least in terms of sour blondes) by the likes of Russian River.
This isn't the most sour beer, but I could imagine it growing a bit in that category and really rocking my world then!

The finish has an acidic white-grape tannin note that works pretty well.

The beer itself is a murky hazy gold color with small head. The feel needs just a bit more in terms of carbonation to really kick it up a notch.

Serving type: bottle

11-27-2011 04:22:06 | More by AleWatcher

jethrodium

California

4.2/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

750 ml bottle generously shared by colonelforbin. Thanks Mike. Pours a hazy light copper with a small white head that leaves a bit of lacing on the glass. The aroma is big oak oak, some light bourbon, vanilla, a lactic sourness, some funk, grape, and a bit of cinnamon. The taste is oak, cinnamon, some funk, light boubon, some vanilla, and a sharp lactic sourness. The finish has some light alcohol as well as a light astringency. Medium bodied. Medium carbonation. This beer was quite enjoyable. There are a lot of flavors going on that work well together.

Serving type: bottle

11-01-2011 22:37:17 | More by jethrodium

jsanford

Georgia

3.78/5  rDev -11.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

750ml bottle poured into a Tulip Glass.

A - Pours a hazy reddish-amber with a thin white head that settles to a slight ring and swirl of haze.
S - Wonderfully complex aromas of lemon juice, green apple, and "funk", with a touch of caramel and vanilla from the Bourbon barrels and some grape and tannin from the Wine barrels. You can really make out each individual component of this beer, and the sum is even greater then the parts!
T - Taste starts with a smooth caramel and malt flavor, then moves to tart lemon and wine tannins before finishing with a very dry, oak-barrel finish. Lots of wine, lots of oak, not quite as sour as I'd expected but a very unique, complex brew.
M - Very crisp, with a medium body and sharp, "scrubbing" carbonation. Again, VERY dry, tannic finish.
O - Whiel not as "epic" as I hoped, this is a very complex beer that requires some serious time to dissect. In the end I just don't think the parts equal a whole that wows me like I hoped it would.

Serving type: bottle

10-29-2011 17:41:29 | More by jsanford

Soonami

Pennsylvania

3.48/5  rDev -18.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to bartrash (Pete) for sharing a pour of this from the Weyerbacher Rapture release.

This beer smells like a dirty diaper, it is just all kinds of funky. It didn't taste bad, but it just weird drinking something that tasted like a sour leathery funky beer that also smelled like digested food.

Serving type: bottle

09-24-2011 14:33:19 | More by Soonami

dmsohyea

California

2.85/5  rDev -33.1%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Bottle at Churchills sour fest. 4oz for $9.

Light orange gold with small 1 finger bubbly head. Looks pretty thick. No lace but some retention around the edge.

Nose is mostly brett and funk and some table sugar.

At first sip I wasn't ready for the massive amount of funk. Thick and chewy bready malt but very low sweetness. Sourness is strong but mostly funky.

Overall not a huge fan of this one, a bit too chewy and over bearing. I won't seek this out again.

Serving type: bottle

09-22-2011 00:13:38 | More by dmsohyea

claspada

New Jersey

4.26/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

Bottle thanks to hoppymcgee in our most recent trade; the guy is the epitome of generous and a gentlemen. I am quite fortunate I can call him a friend. Label says 2009 but 10.6%ABV so I am not sure the exact age.

Pours a nice dark orange color with a small, soapy, bubbly white head that dissipates rapidly leaving minimal, spotty lacing.

Aromas begin with a huge champagne smell. Pears, green apple skins, kiwi and some papaya. As it warms you get some more light vinegar, funky, sour Bretty barnyard yeast notes.

The tastes begin with a light sweet vanilla maltiness, but then soon after you get the chardonnay pear, white grape, tart apple skin flavors. As it warms you get more of the oak and some more of the light vinegar, lactic, earthiness. As you continue to sample, you get a nice light peppery yeast taste which is only now apparent in the aftertaste. You can also begin to pick out the individual aspects of the base beers as well, which is nice.

The mouthfeel is medium bodied with medium to medium carbonation. Quite good for the style. Some oaked aged beers are flat and some sours are way too carbonated but this hits the mark in the middle. The finish is dry and clean thanks to the oak aging.

Overall this is a really great beer; really complex and shows how amazing a single beer can be when you blend 3 separate beers together to form 1 synergistic masterpiece. This is not the sourest or oakiest or anything-est beer I have ever had, but it is just darn freakin' good. Cascade/Raccoon really has this oak aging, sour brewing and blending thing down pat. I look forward to sampling their other blended/barrel-aged sours in the near future.

Serving type: bottle

09-15-2011 23:13:21 | More by claspada

aficionado

New Jersey

4.22/5  rDev -0.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Served in a Duvel Tulip - Thanks BuckeyeOne!

Looks like yellow-orange apple cider. Very cloudy. Minimalist head. Nice lacing though.

Smells sour. Reminiscent of RR sours. Fruity, dry, and inviting. Granny Smith apples and lemons.

Whew!! Sour, sour, sour and yet odd at the same time... but I'm intrigued. The oak wine barrels and sour grapes are evident right up front. More green apples and lemons as well. I also taste minimal bourbon notes, which is good. Any more and the flavor would have been way off base. Some honey sweetness lingers at very subtle pace in the background. Dry and sharp!

Mouthfeel is thinner than I expected because of the high, tingly carbonation, but it works. Still creamy and supports the flavor well.

Overall, I'm impressed by Cascade. They think outside the box and present beers that others are afraid of attempting, or even thinking up. I love the creativity and uniqueness without being cocky and pretentious. For these reasons, I feel the overall beer is quite exceptional.

Serving type: bottle

09-15-2011 23:08:08 | More by aficionado

joefuzz

New York

4.83/5  rDev +13.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

750ml poured into snifter sent in a trade from dyan.

Pours a brilliant golden yellow with a tiny white head. Smells amazingly of peaches and some slight oak. Taste is mind blowing , a great peach taste upfront with some green apple and wine oaky hints. Mouthfeel and carbonation are what I have come to expect from a great sour. Overall one of the best sours I have ever had the chance to try...thanks dyan.

Serving type: bottle

09-14-2011 05:28:26 | More by joefuzz

alpinebryant

Connecticut

4.18/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a massive white head leaving spotty lacing. Light orange to yellow in color with a slightly hazy body.

Smell of overripened granny smith apples, oak , some muskiness, lactose and just a tiny hint of vinegar.

Taste is amazing. There are so many things going on inside that it is hard to start in any particular area. For starters the base is a tripel, bringing plum flavors, caramelized sugars, sweetness all around and a slight booze presence. On top of that, there is a nice bourbon flavor coming from barrel aging which goes nicely and I always love to drink together in a barrel aged beer. At the end of the taste I get a light spice flavor of cinnamon. The label says it is also aged in wine barrels which might be bringing a little bit of green apple flavor but for the most part, the bourbon dominates along with the quad and tripel blend.

Mouthfeel is thick for a wild ale with a hefty dose of carbonation at first that soon gets more forgiving after a few minutes in a glass.

Overall this is a great beer. I would love to have a bigger cellar to throw a number of these into.

Serving type: bottle

09-12-2011 23:16:12 | More by alpinebryant

Halcyondays

California

3.85/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On-tap at Beachwood I,

A: Pours a clear amber to orange with a minimal white head, some lace.

S: Wood for sure, musty apples, slight hint of ethanol. Esetery.

T: Apple and pear cider with some pronounced spice character. More directly Belgian in its sensibilites that wild. Still the sour undercurrent is there and adds complexity.

M: Medium to full-bodied, smooth, with a light prickly carbonation.

O: A very solid beer, the ABV is clearly well hidden. Something I'd like to have again to delve deeper.

Serving type: on-tap

09-10-2011 22:26:53 | More by Halcyondays

julian

Washington

4.08/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

The cork was a BITCH to get off. Some channel lock pliers and a cork screw later and it was finally off.

A: Hazy straw orange in color. Lots of bubbles escaping to the top. Some off white head from an aggressive pour that sticks and provides a nice layer on the surface. Sticky lacing all around the sides. 4.5

S: Some brett like tarntess, vinous woody aromas (likely from the wine barrels), some residual honey like sweetness in the background. 4

T&M: Mouthfeel is exception. Smooth, creamy and rolls off your tongue. Almost like liquid carbonated toffee. The taste is dominated by the flavors imparted from the wine barrels. Vinous yet tart, but with every taste, it feels sweeter and sweeter. There is a definite honey sweetness to this. 4/4.5

O: An exceptional beer, and kind of a confusing, odd blend. One on hand it’s tart, and vinous and yet in the same sip it’s very sweet, and caramely. Lots going on here, super complex. 4

Serving type: bottle

08-29-2011 16:21:21 | More by julian

unitmonster

California

4.33/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Served out of a 750 ml bottle into a couple tulips.

A - Yellow, almost geuze like color. Some yeast at the bottle of the bottle in clumps.

S - Especially funky. Lots of brett / barnyard funk.

T - Super tart, lots of sour apple taste. Bourbon finish rounds things off nicely.

M - Dry and carbonated. This is a great beer.

O - I liked this beer and I am going to try to get more. ABV is a little big for being a sour, but its delicious regardless.

Serving type: bottle

08-16-2011 00:53:06 | More by unitmonster

MbpBugeye

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev -17.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Thanks canjeeps, for this bottle and the easy trade. Cascade has quickly climbs the ladder of favorite breweries of mine, so I'm really excited for this one.

Appearance
Poured into a Lost Abbey tulip. I didn't quite know what to expect from the appearance here. The description suggested that this was going to be a golden sour, and that's partially correct. It ended up being a little darker than I had expected, probably a product of the barrel aging. Its a fully clouded orange-tan. The head is large, but not as large and fluffy as heads found on many other Cascade beers. A few solid rings of lace are left, fueled by lots of visible effervescence.

Aroma
Again, I don't know what I expected from this beer, but I don't think I expected this. I'm getting much more of a wine barrel character than bourbon barrel notes. Plenty of musty, damp wood. Swirling can bring out minor, hidden notes that I associate with bourbon barreling; soft vanilla and toffee. The whole thing is a little vinegary and spiced. Notions of coriander, cinnamon and perhaps some rosemary. There is a LOT going on here; every once in a while I swirl up something delicious, but then it recedes back into the dense complexities of this beer.

Taste
The tastes works in many of the same ways the aroma does. Ever changing nuances and insane juxtapositions of flavors. Wine barrels and their vinegary tartness kick things off. The beer quickly mellows out as the vanilla, fig and baked apple notes of bourbon barrels comes out. Frankly, though, the two sides of this beer nearly clash with each other. There is a lot of under ripe fruit at the front with over ripe fruits trailing behind. Alcohol makes no attempt to hide. The finish is bourbony hot with a spiced alcohol flavor.

Mouthfeel
Full bodied, this is a big wild ale. Carbonation is gritty, but gives up fairly quickly. The finish is heavy, warming and coating.

Overall
What a strange brew. The alcohol is too much here, and the beer stands divided between the funk and tartness of wine barrels and the heat and smoothness of bourbon barrels. A nice, create try though.

Serving type: bottle

07-08-2011 22:59:10 | More by MbpBugeye

mikesgroove

South Carolina

4/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The pour was decent enough with a clear, dark grape juice looking liquid with only the slightest bit of carbonation sticking to the inside of the glass. The aroma is sour, tart notes, hints of a woody or oak like touch with a vanilla touch to it. Small notes of cherry or some light fruit notes. As I take a taste the feel really throuws me off. Nice tart flavors and a really nice well blended profile. much different then anything i have run into before. The bite of tart apples is lightly offset with a touch of vanilla and oak in the finish, nothing too bad at all, Just a nice one to put down, the tartness was not strong enough and the subtle hints of oak, too light to make a difference.

Serving type: bottle

07-06-2011 00:23:09 | More by mikesgroove

cosmicevan

New York

4.55/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Note's from Captain Lawrence Rosso Batch 3 release / tasting:

Vlad the Imp Aler – pours a sour colored grape murky, very murky, no head, little carbonation and bubbly. Bring it to life with a glass swirl. Smell is sweet tart, but not in your face. Pretty well balanced, not over the top, sour in the right places. Mouth is smooth. This is a really solid brew across the board. Very solid mouthfeel with even and perfect carbonation. Solid start to finish

Serving type: bottle

07-05-2011 04:05:00 | More by cosmicevan

jwinship83

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -17.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

750ml corked and caged bottle traded to me by hawks10 in person. thanks steve! drank from my russian river "tion" glass.

A- this one pours out a color that can best be described as slightly darker than apple juice with a small and quickly vanishing bright white head on top. little spots of lacing are left behind on the sides of my glass.

S- the nose starts out with sweet caramel malts before quickly moving onto green apple skin, dates, tart cherries, and raisins. decently lactic/acetic smelling. balsamic vinegar. bourbon and hints of oaken barrel. alcohol sneaks through at some points.

T- the taste starts out with some caramel malt sweetness with a little bit of toffee. the comes a variety of fruits, including green apple skin, tart cherries, raisins, figs, dates, and maybe a little plum. not as sour/puckering as the nose indicated. bourbon and wood. the alcohol comes through stronger in the taste that the nose.

M- the body is a solid medium. the carbonation was pretty low for the style. not as dry as i would have expected.

O- i dont think i liked this as much as other members of the wild ale family. something about it seemed to lack for me. glad i tried it. this is one i didnt think id have the chance to. maybe its the classic barnyard smells and flavors that are missing from this that make it something i dont love?

Serving type: bottle

06-14-2011 04:52:57 | More by jwinship83

ktrillionaire

Florida

4.65/5  rDev +9.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 3 | overall: 5

I have had this beer a number of times as of late, and it has not failed to impress me each time. Thanks to various people for the share, and let's have a round of applause for Blaine for sharing it here at the Willard's sour mini-tasting.

A - It pours a golden-apricot hue and is capped with a respectably pillowy head of white froth; some lace ensues.

S - The nose immediately suggests notes of apple skin, lemon wood, and vanilla. Though pertly tart in a lactic and citric sense, the aroma also offers vaguely sweeter impressions of tropical fruit, maybe some pineapple, to balance it out.

T - Bourbon barrel notes of oaken vanilla fuse with impressions of lime, green oranges, fresh-cut grass and an intensifying citric bitter-sour finish. Very complex and intricately nuanced.

M - The feel is a bit too straightforward-beery for me; I'd like to see a softer carbonation and a lighter mouth feel, perhaps. Still it is not bad by any stretch.

O - I may enjoy this one the most out of all the Cascades.

Serving type: bottle

06-13-2011 19:30:19 | More by ktrillionaire

JoEBoBpr

Missouri

4.48/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured into a tulip glass from a 750ml bottle.
Vintage: 2009

A - Pours a glorious and gorgeous strong golden color with some mild copper hues and some nice yellow edges. There is a nice thin white head that forms with some stickiness and some nice dense bubbles. Extremely attractive beer.

S - Aroma of tart fruits. Some nice lemon as well as some apple. There is some nice spice notes to the nose as well. Some honey and slight caramel sweetness hidden between the sour notes. There is some nice dry oaky wood finishes as well.

T & M - Taste starts off with some nice Granny Smith apple sourness with some pear cider notes and some slight Champagne. There is some nice white grape and white wine notes mixed in with some mild vinegar. The sourness to this beer is quite delicious and not too overwhelming at all. Very well balanced slight honey and caramel sweetness with the sourness. There is some good spice notes that are quite refreshing. Good funk character at the beginning of the beer. The finish is dry and complex but also has some nice lasting tartness. Mouthfeel is medium and with nice complex flavors and a nice crisp and refreshing carbonation. Awesome brew.

O - Very delicious beer that I would love to have around more often. Very well crafted sour that isn't pretentious but has great flavors and a nice rich body.

Serving type: bottle

06-07-2011 22:51:03 | More by JoEBoBpr