Cascade Blueberry Ale - Cascade Brewing / Raccoon Lodge & Brewpub

hooliganlife

Missouri

3.28/5  rDev -21.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

thanks to shep for this

pours a deep pinkish purple with a nice inch of so of deep pinkish head.

lots of oak on the nose, some faint tart berry.

again, very heavy on the oak. lightly sour. blueberry is faint to non existent. the oak dominates, at times i was picking up a burnt plastic flavor.

moderate carbonation with a light mouthfeel. some dryness.

this just never really won me over. i love cascade and everything has been rock solid but this just was lacking for me.

Serving type: bottle

05-13-2012 02:23:40 | More by hooliganlife

jethrodium

California

3.58/5  rDev -14.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

On tap at City Beer Store. Pours a reddish amber with small white head that settles to ring and leaves some light lacing on the glass. The aroma is big lactic with some blueberry sweetness, some light funkiness as well as a light buttery note. The initial taste is big blueberry with some sweetness as well as a sharp lactic tartness. The finish has a touch of butterscotch. Medium body. Medium carbonation. A bit on the sweeter side and very tart.

Serving type: on-tap

02-15-2012 21:57:22 | More by jethrodium

xnicknj

Pennsylvania

3.58/5  rDev -14.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

750mL bottle poured into taster - 2012 project - thanks jeremy

Pours a purpley-blue color with a light haze. Thick, voluminous white head fades out completely, leaving little lacing or film.

Acidic fruit notes in the nose with blueberry and toasted oak. Funky yeast and wheat, soft sweetness. Light touch of alcohol.

Decent blueberry flavor right up front, soured with funky yeast and fruit skins. Decent amount of oak, light vinous character. Slightly vegetal note creeps through on occasion. Juicy, sour blueberry continues into the finish.

Lighter medium body, dry and bubbly on the tongue. Decent enough feature of the blueberry, but doesnt quite stack up to their other fruited wild ales (Apricot, Kriek, etc).

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2013 12:53:56 | More by xnicknj

nataku00

California

3.6/5  rDev -13.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

On tap poured into a fluted glass. Beer pours a nice reddish purple, mostly clear with a thin film of a head. Some decent carbonation visible, small bubble floating up quickly.

Nose is blueberry, sweet and fruity, a touch of earthiness, and maybe some light lemon.

Taste is sweet blueberry, concord grape, light tartness from lemon citrus acidity. More sweet than sour to be honest. Finish is fairly dry and clean.

Light body with nice carbonation. Beer is very refreshing and easy to drink, but more like a juice drink than a wild ale.

Serving type: on-tap

02-18-2012 04:32:14 | More by nataku00

ShanePB

Pennsylvania

3.6/5  rDev -13.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Vintage 2011
Served into a snifter

A: Bright pinkish with a light purple hue cast through the body. Fairly clear with a short lived white head that settled into an extremely thin ring. No lacing.

S: Very brett forward (more than expected), hay, lemongrass, and touches of blueberry flesh intertwined. A lot less focused on the actual fruit, and more on the barnyard funk qualities.

T: Like the nose, funky brett is up-front and carries through to the back of the palate where it's finally met with notes of blueberry. Faint blueberry flesh, oak and more hay finish it out.

M: Nicely carbonated, a bit fizzy but no feel of thinness. The brett and fruit keep things lively. Stylistically appropriate.

This was a disappointment. I didn't expect as much brett funk, but did expect more blueberry. The proportions of these two seemed reverse of what they should have been. OK, but certainly far behind other Cascade sours I've tasted.

Serving type: bottle

08-10-2012 13:42:30 | More by ShanePB

harrymel

Washington

3.68/5  rDev -12%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Barrel house, 04AUG12, from notes

Nice pretty blueberry juice color with some pink tinted white rimming of foam. Nose is blueberry, sour vinous grains, surprisingly grassy and back country with hints of hay and soil. Flavor pulls out a good sharp, astringent sourness with strong blueberry flavors and a good full bodied feeling with low carb and an off dry finish. A good beer. I would buy a few bottles if available. I think I prefer the Apricot over this one.

Serving type: bottle

08-07-2012 06:05:23 | More by harrymel

GuzzLah

Illinois

3.79/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3.75

A - pours a hazy deep red-purple and a light pink head. A little lace. No bubbles.

S - sour fruit, oak and a very mild lacto aroma. The aroma is soft overall compared to three other Cascade fruit sours I recently tried. The blueberry isn't obvious in the aroma, it just smells fruity.

T - the blueberry is more evident in the flavor, but I'm not sure I'd peg it for blueberry, if the label didn't say so. No lacto in the flavor.

M - light-medium body with lively carbonation. Good tartness, but this is the least sour Cascade I've tried.

O - it was a pleasure to drink, but not quite as enjoyable as Cascade Kriek and Apricot.

Serving type: bottle

03-22-2013 01:49:41 | More by GuzzLah

HuskyinPDX

Washington

3.85/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

I had this one on tap and from the bottle. I preferred the bottle, so I will review that one.

A - Pours a pinkish-purple with a few white bubbles on the edges of the glass.

S - Funky and tart. Not much of any fruit here.

T - Still pretty funky and tart, some slight blueberry finaly shows itself.

D - Another cascasde wonder. Good carbonation for the style and a nice thinner body.

O - How do they keep cranking out these amazing beers? Cascade I am glad I still get to visit you.

Serving type: bottle

04-07-2012 04:36:37 | More by HuskyinPDX

largadeer

California

3.85/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Clear reddish-purple topped by a lasting white head. Great looking beer. Tart blueberry skin aroma, mildly sour with a little sweet blueberry flesh. Palate is balanced, mildly sour with a pleasant lacto character backing up tart and sweet blueberry notes. It's more skin than flesh. Very clean, light finish. Refreshing and enjoyable, but not overly complex. Thankfully doesn't have the stomach churning lacto character of many Cascade sours.

Serving type: on-tap

04-10-2012 20:55:18 | More by largadeer

smakawhat

Maryland

3.86/5  rDev -7.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured into a snifter glass at Smoke & Barrel DC for DC bottle share. From notes.

A real nice wonderful glowing pink and red body. Head is a good pink to purple with a nice whispy top and maintains a nice faint collar. Very nice looking brew.

Nose has a little sense of clean wet feeling, but it's a noticeable funky fruit of blueberry and cherry senses, mixing in with some good mild black pepper. Quite nice.

Palate hits with a little bit of low acidity, and the mid palate really hits with the mix of fruit hinted on the nose. Wet carbonation feel, with some of the flavors only returning on multiple sips. A bit fleeting flavor wise. There's a little bit of sense of sour, and some light grain in the back.

Overall pretty nice but mostly the appearance and the nose is the mose impressive part.

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2013 21:37:16 | More by smakawhat

MasterSki

Illinois

3.88/5  rDev -7.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle acquired for me by ChrisPro - thanks! 2012 Project. Served in a tulip at Nora's place. Cork was a bitch to get out and necessitated a corkscrew.

A - White foam quickly dissolves to nothing. Hazed purple-blue body.

S - The aroma is heavy on oak and lactic sourness, with notes of blueberry skin and lemon, as well as a hint of sulfur. Not bad, but way too much oak for my tastes. Alcohol is well-concealed as I would have pegged this closer to 5-6%.

T - I like the taste better, as there's more blueberry presence and malt sweetness to balance the oak. There's some nebulous fruitiness that I'm not sure I'd immediately associated with blueberries, and a moderate dose of lactic sourness to round things out.

M - Dry, medium body, with moderate carbonation. There's a faint trace of the mid-level ABV and moderate acidity that is surprisingly restrained for Cascade.

D - Not bad, but I think Cascade makes a number of stronger offerings. I probably should have drank this immediately, as the blueberries seem to have lost some potency over the last 9 months. Reminds me a little of Upland's Blueberry lambic. Easy to drink in any case; we had no problem polishing off the 750ml bottle.

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2013 16:40:55 | More by MasterSki

Scotchboy

Idaho

3.93/5  rDev -6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Corked & caged 750ml poured into a white wine glass - split with the wife.

A: Mostly transparent deep red with purple hues...pinkish head gathers and settles quickly but leaves some lacing on the glass.

S: Sour and tart aromas with a good dose of lemon peel. Some fruity notes, bordering on sugary with a jammy essence. Blueberries are detectable.

T: Follows the nose, with lacto sour and lemon. Tart notes of blueberry are there but seem buried; raspberry flavors intertwine as well. Oakiness is very light IMO...sour tartness is not as pronounced as I thought it would be, and the flavor profile isn't as strongly fruity as I had hoped.

MF: Creamy body; tart but not overly so, with a good amount of carbonation. Oak seems to be apparent here.

O: Didn't blow me away. Really wanted more blueberry and more puckering sourness. Even the lacto character wasn't as strong as I had figured it would be. Still good, just not great.

Serving type: bottle

01-28-2013 14:57:39 | More by Scotchboy

merc7186

New York

3.93/5  rDev -6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

2011 Vintage

Bomber into snifter.

A: Purple Hue, Passes Mild Light, Thin White Head Ring, No Lacing

S: Blueberry, Guava

T: Sour Blueberry, Mildly Soapy

M: Average Carbonation, Medium Bodied, Mildly Bitter

Overall, the sour blueberry flavor came through nicely, good but not the best blueberry sour I've had.

Serving type: bottle

12-13-2012 23:10:14 | More by merc7186

lacqueredmouse

Australia

3.95/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

On-tap at Cascade's Barrel Room in Portland, OR.

Pours a candy-like red-blue hue with some slight haze and a solid weight behind it. Head is firm, slightly filmy ring of white. Looks solid enough all up, although there are detracting things about it.

Aroma: well, blueberry... Blueberry, blueberry, blueberry. Very pronounced and strong, and not all that complex. No, I lie: there are characters of rosé, and a clean, fresh brightness to it beyond the pips and pith of blueberry skin, along with an apparent tartness. Pretty light and clear overall, and not overwhelming.

Light, clear entry as well, with some sharp acid developing into a cleanness mid-palate that swoops into earthier territory later, giving blueberry skin and a clean, light finish. It's a bit less complex than I expected, even though the nose didn't suggest huge complexity. The feel, which is very light, doesn't help.

Overall, though, it's a drinkable and pleasant brew. The crisp acidity is not overwhelming, and it's smooth enough and bright enough to keep it interesting. I think it was one of the low-lights of the visit, however.

Serving type: on-tap

07-25-2012 02:46:21 | More by lacqueredmouse

jeonseh

Indiana

3.95/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle drank at NWI tasting group night

A - Dark raspberry with a haze to it. One finger white head that settled down to foam on the sides

S - Tart blueberry and raspberry with light funk, white vinegar, and lemon

T - Tart sweet tarts with light raspberry and blueberry. The raspberry takes over initially. There is a light lactic acid and funk to it as well. There is softness in the flavors overall. The tartness lingers on in the finish

M - Lots of carbonation for this beer that leaves a slight dry finish.

O - Solid sour with a good fruit presence to it and tartness that almost makes you pucker. The one sad part was that I didn't get as much blueberry as I did raspberry.

Serving type: bottle

03-26-2013 00:54:03 | More by jeonseh

AltBock

Ohio

3.95/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Corked and caged 750ml bottle with a dark blueberry blue label of a barrel sitting on a cart in front of barrel lid with 2 hop vines on side. Are they trying to say that this beer is barrel aged? Message received. Below the barrels is the vintage year. This bottle is from 2012. Off to the left is a description of the beer and the brewery's address.

When poured into a Ommegang Tulip, this Blueberry Wild Ale actually looked like crushed blueberries. It had that pink almost blue color that you get when you eat blueberries. This pinkish beer had a ruby red center. On top of this blueberry juice...I mean Ale was a 1/4 to 1/2 an inch pink almost blue head of foam. It had great retention! It receded just a touch and stayed with this beer until the last drop of beer was gone. On its way down, it left behind quite a few sticky streaks of pink/blue colored lace.

The aroma was sour and tart with a strong blueberry presence. Who would have guessed that. It was more tart than sour and lightly funky. I caught a whiff of that barnyard funk. Behind the blueberries was a touch of tart white grapes and a whiff of oak. That sums it up for the aroma. It didn't contain a wide range of aromas, but what was there was pretty good.

If you think this beer is going to taste like blueberry juice, you're going to be disappointed. Don't let the color of this beer fool you. This beer was filled with lightly sour and tart ripe blueberries. It wasn't more sour than tart and it wasn't more tart than sour. They were equal in the taste. There was a small barnyard funk presence in here as well. Behind the blueberry wall was a a few white grapes and a drop of oak. Like the aroma, don't expect a large variety of tastes.

This was a light to medium bodied Wild Ale that had good carbonation and a lightly sour, tart, and acidic aftertaste. This aftertaste only contained blueberries, white grapes, and touch of dry oak. This sour aftertaste doesn't linger. Your saliva can extinguish the sour aftertaste.

Like every other Cascade beer I've had, this beer is not on the cheap side. A beer of this quality can't be cheap to make and it shows it. Other than that, if you like blueberries and sour beers, you might want to open your wallet to this beer. It is certainly a unique beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2013 01:55:23 | More by AltBock

UCLABrewN84

California

3.98/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle pour sampled at mrbubbler's tasting courtesy of wethorseblanket.

Pours a slightly murky red with a white head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of sour and tart blueberries and some funky aromas. Taste is the same with a very sour finish. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good sour beer with a nice blueberry presence.

Serving type: bottle

04-10-2012 03:58:40 | More by UCLABrewN84

cosmicevan

New York

3.98/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Notes from a tasting on 8/15. thanks to dtmets84 for bringing this one out.

a - really attractive deep maroon with a thin head.

s - deep blueberry with some sour notes.

t - really tasty, some hay and funk intermingled with some blueberry.

m - nice body. great feel. fairly tart.

o - overall nice good blueberry notes with just a bit of funkiness.

Serving type: bottle

08-21-2012 02:06:28 | More by cosmicevan

stakem

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

750ml corked and caged offering. Poured into a snifter, the brew appears a hazed ruby color with a faint white bubbly cap resting atop. A swirl revives a nice finger or so that displays fair retaining powers.

The aromatics include a noteable amount of blueberry, it is impressive considering how fainty blueberry can be in beer after it ferments mostly away. It displays a familiar cheesy aspect though found in other blueberry wilds. It has a bit of a pitted earthy character about it that I enjoy because of how natural it seems.

The taste is tart with a lemony lactic aspect that is pretty sold in the profile. It displays almost a meaty funk and mild fruity quality thats very nice but not really immediately identifiable as blueberry.

This is a medium bodied brew with a pleasant amount of tartness and natural flavoring that is mildly tannic. The blueberry inclusion was felt more in the nose than anything which is understandable. Id have this again if the opportunity presented itself.

Serving type: bottle

02-04-2013 16:01:37 | More by stakem

SDDanC

California

4.03/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

2012 bottle just received yesterday.

Poured into Lost Abbey tulip.

A: Brilliant reddish pink color with a fingers worth of pink effervescent head. Head settles into thin outter ring with spotty lacing where it once sat.

S: Aroma is multi-layered. Initially there is a grand waft of brett must, a nice example of that that "barnyard" essence. Then comes the lactic sour bite, followed by tart blueberries. The aroma from the blueberries reminds me of the skin of a grape, which I suspect comes from the barrel treatment giving it a minute oak/wood characteristic.

T: The flavor profile is spot-on in my opinion. The blueberries are very juicy and satiable. Slightly sour, but nevertheless. . . Tart. A bit of oak comes through, complimented by a touch of vanilla through the end.

M: Very bubbly at first, but as it calmed down, the mouthfeel got a lot smoother. As it sat, it got a tad oily/slick, which went well with the vanilla end. Relatively thin overall.

Overall: excellent brew. This thing stared me down until I opened one and I am very glad I broke down. Definitely going to order a few more.

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2012 03:59:03 | More by SDDanC

SpdKilz

Illinois

4.03/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Purchased from Cascade directly. Split with my brother-in-law.

Appearance – Pours a blue, purple color with about a finger of quickly dissipating off white head that leaves very little lacing.

Smell – Slight blueberry, hints of sourness, lactic, oak, tannic, must.

Taste – Kind of an off flavor up front. Not as much blueberry as hoping, slightly sour and tart though again not as much as I expected. A nice oak and wood flavor, mixed with grassy musty notes.

Mouthfeel – Medium bodied, finishes a bit dry.

Overall – Not as good as I was hoping to put it plainly. Less actual flavor than other Cascade sours. I hope some age will help this beer out.

Serving type: bottle

04-08-2012 01:42:59 | More by SpdKilz

dirtylou

Washington

4.03/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

on-tap, reviewed from the Yard but have had numerous other servings elsewhere

appearance: served in an unbranded 12oz chalice, really a wild looking beer - a bright blueish-purple body, ruby hues, light off-white lace

smell: acidic and funky, tart blueberry, oak, floral

taste: i've also found the translation from blueberry to beer to be a little less seamless than some other fruits (cherry, raspberry, etc) - i'm not sure why this is, and maybe its just my palate. the cascade version is very acidic and packed with sour blueberry flavor. Perhaps its that the flavor seems to be derived more from the skin than the flesh of the fruit, which gives a more concentrated tartness and less true blueberry flavor. Either way, this is another winner, but is a class below the other bottled offerings

mouthfeel: lactic tartness, high acidity

overall: The blueberry is a tricky fruit - see for yourself

Serving type: on-tap

05-29-2012 23:29:10 | More by dirtylou

Gobzilla

California

4.03/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A.: poured fucia in color with burgundy highlights that had a nice fluffy pinkish head that left good lacing sticking to the glass.

S: there definitely was tart acidic qualities upfront on the nose with a mild fruity blueberry aroma, some oakiness, and citrusy characteristics.

T: had lots of blueberry flavor alongside oaky, fruity, citrusy notes, with mild tartness and a little acidicy as well. I did not like the fact that it had a weird pill taste at the end.

M: the brew was medium in body with a good amount of carbonation which had a fruity, oaky, acidic, and mild tart finish.

O: it was pretty solid all around but was not as sour as some of their other offerings.

Serving type: bottle

06-18-2012 23:37:37 | More by Gobzilla

SpeedwayJim

New York

4.03/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Thanks to Sam for this one. 750ml corked and caged bottle into a Hill Farmstead tulip. Shared with schen9303.

Pours a 1 finger coarse white head with poor retention. Beer is a beautiful, clear purple. No lace. Great color but everything else is a touch lacking.

Nose is blueberry pulp, some oak, and a light fruit tartness. Some wafting, plastic-y funk lingers in the background but doesn't really assert itself. Mildly aromatic. Solid.

Opens fruity and sweet. Blueberry presence is mellow and mixed with a lactic tartness towards the middle. Blueberry skin with some cobwebs, wet oak, and plastic at the end. Finish is an accented, tart yeast presence. Aftertaste of wood and spice. Tasty.

Light bodied with ample carbonation. Prickly and effervescent in the mouth and crisp and clean going down. Finishes accented and slightly messy with a light, lingering, dry aftertaste. Really good.

Blueberry isn't a fruit that imparts a great deal of flavor into sour beers. Nevertheless, its presence is felt in this one and gives the tartness some nice character. A solid beer overall and one I'd rank on par with some of the other American Blueberry sours out there.

Serving type: bottle

10-03-2012 23:54:53 | More by SpeedwayJim

nlmartin

Ohio

4.05/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

2012 Vintage served in a snifter.

A- The body of the beer is blue purple. The head was a creamy purple and stayed around as a light foamy speckling on the beers surface.

S- The beers aroma has a lemony bluberry mix initally. This gives way to an acetic / lactic and musty funk.

T- The beers flavor leads with lightly acidic notes giving way to a berry flavor. Not sure if its blueberries but it doesnt taste chemical or off so I am going to roll with blueberries. The blue berries come out as the beer warms up. Nicely executed oak tones play with musty and funky, sweet and sour notes.

M- The beer is very effervescent light bodied layered in acidity from lightly acetic notes all the way to puckering moments. Very refreshing.

O- Nicely done! The beer is funky and soured but never goes into a stomach churning experience. This beer was very refreshing and easy to drink.

Serving type: bottle

01-06-2013 10:26:55 | More by nlmartin