Cascade Blueberry Ale - Cascade Brewing / Raccoon Lodge & Brewpub

blackie

Virginia

4.24/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

stubby chalice at the brewpub with some NC State NCAA action

Bright blue-purple - looks rad, with a light head. Dense blueberry aromas with a concentration of deeply flavored skins. Lots of acid on the nose, tart and puckering on the palate. Not pulling a ton of oak at first, but more as it warms. Deeply fruited with the familiar Cascade acidity.

Serving type: on-tap

05-07-2013 03:15:25 | More by blackie

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

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

4.48/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On tap at the barrel room back in June.

The beer pours a lovely red rose color with good head retention and lacing. The nose is just gorgeous in this beer, as I pick up considerable blueberry, wine, vanialla and rose petals. On the palate, this beer is every bit as impressive, with the blueberry really dominating the flavor profile, but with undertones of light wine, light vanilla and light sour. The beer is at most medium bodied, but with a long finish of sour and blueberry. Alcohol is pretty much unnoticeable.

Just an all around excellent beer... one of the better wild ales I can recall ever tasting.

Was fortunate enough to try the experimental precursor to this beer (the van der jon berry), but IMHO, this is clearly superior to that beer.

Serving type: on-tap

07-09-2012 17:01:28 | More by johnmichaelsen

KDawg

Illinois

4.08/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

poured from tap into a tulip. Pours a nice cherry color with a nice small head.

Very berry driven aromas with tones of fresh picked berries, blueberries, and some violet aromas. Very aromatic and delicious.

Very silky medium feel and excellent flavors of tart berries, blueberries, violets and a touch of oak as well.

Almost a kriek and very tasty. Yet another great offering from cascade.

Serving type: on-tap

06-22-2012 01:45:29 | More by KDawg

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

sukwonee

Washington

4.38/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On-Tap at Malt & Vine, Redmond, WA.

A: Purplish reddish bluish color ^^ Relatively small head, no lacing.

S: Not sure why, but there wasn't much smell to this. Some fruit, some funky yeast,,, but not a whole lot.

T: Delicious! Sour, tart, and refreshing! Blueberry is not overpowering (which is awesome), but it's definitely there.

M: Feels like drinking champagne. Medium to high carbonation, light-to-medium body.

O: It was what I expected and more. I will have to seek Cascade's other sours soon!

Serving type: on-tap

04-14-2012 03:30:50 | More by sukwonee

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

kscaldef

Oregon

4.28/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A: brilliant red with hints of purple. Light head recedes to a ring of bubbles. Lots of lacing.

S: Dusty blueberry and a bit of acetic edge. Gets my mouth watering pretty quickly.

T: Moderately tart opening, nice berry flavor with some herbal notes.

M: Drier than most Cascade sours, and I'm enjoying that. Medium carbonation and a good linger.

O: Very tasty and highly drinkable. Acidity levels aren't over the top, just enough to make it clean and refreshing. Fruit comes through nicely as well. This ranks up among my favorites from Cascade.

Serving type: on-tap

02-28-2012 20:14:08 | More by kscaldef

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

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

Smurf2055

Washington

4.13/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

On tap at Chuck’s 85th market. Pours a medium blue/purple color with little head. Smell is funky and sour, plenty of blueberries. Taste is very tart and dry. Plenty of juicy blueberry packed in. Great sour, but can be overwhelming if you don’t know what you’re getting in to.

Serving type: on-tap

01-30-2012 10:22:20 | More by Smurf2055

cbutova

Massachusetts

4.48/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

Lucked out and found this one after I missed out on it a few months before. Shared at our Saison/Sour tasting on 05/04.

A- Purple pour into a tulip and the body is quite dark overall. Almost no light comes through and a nice pink, foamy head forms to about one finger. Low-end head retention but nice blankets of lace. A very nice color.

S- The sweet and tart aspects of blueberries come in big time, noticed instantly upon pouring. Some tart lemony feel as well, probably some wild bugs. Funky barnyard and acetic hints.

T- Good tart fruit feel with a massive blueberry feel, all aspects of the fruit. A nice acetic acid/vinegar feel which I love in Wilds, it goes great with the berry, lemon, grape and oak flavors present. A good balance and it reminds me of a great tart basket of fresh blueberries. Pretty sour as far as Wilds go. Generally funky.

MF- Light uber dried out body that feels like most authentic Belgian Lambics I have had. Big sour grips the palate over time. Lower end carbonation.

Massive fresh blueberry flavor in this beer with a great sour and wild ale feel. Better than some of the lambics that come from Brussels and you could trick me if you blind poured it for me. Great tart fruit flavor lingers.

Serving type: bottle

05-23-2013 02:27:46 | More by cbutova

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

standardcherry

Massachusetts

4.43/5  rDev +6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

A: Pours a beautiful purple/red color with a small white/purple-ish head that quickly dissipates. Lots of carbonation though, the cork popped out with barely any pressure.
S: Apple cider vinegar was the first thing that popped into my head. Followed by tons of blueberries and oak. Lots of sourness. Smells almost like sour candy. A bit of funkiness at the end.
T: Sour blueberries! I love this! Orange, lemons, lactic acid. I would have guessed there were also raspberries and cherries in here. Light oakiness and not as sour as I had expected coming from Cascade. Very tasty though.
M: Light bodied with high carbonation. Pleasant sourness, not overwhelming. A bit of a dry finish.
O: Great beer. I've loved everything from Cascade so far and this is one of my favorites. I will seek this out again for sure!

Serving type: bottle

04-17-2013 07:51:54 | More by standardcherry

notchucknorris

California

4.3/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

A: Pours a light purple color with some ruby highlights when held to the light. A light violet head leaves some thin tracks of lace.

S: Oak mixed with a tart blueberry aroma. Some unripe raspberries, cranberries, and just a hint of cinnamon. Just a hint of woody funk as well.

T: Opens with a nice tart hit of blueberries. Some lemon zest, apple cider vinegar, raspberry puree, some green apple and some unripe blueberries on the finish. Not as sweet as I was expecting, which was actually a good thing. A light, prickly carbonation and a bit of dryness on the finish.

Serving type: bottle

03-31-2013 06:39:25 | More by notchucknorris

Beerandboards

New Mexico

4.39/5  rDev +5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

2011 vintage

A - dark rose/violet color. Pour produces about an inch of loose white head that dissipates quickly. Very little lacing.

S - light vinegar, apple cider, berries, funkiness and wet hay on the back end which increases as it warms up.

T - punch of medium sour up front, then some raspberry which smoothes out into a blueberry flavor and some strawberry. As with the nose, there is funk on the back that increases in nature as it warms up.

M - high carbonation feel, even with the lack of head. Nice light mouth feel. Only (small) complaint is an increase in syrupy feel as it goes along.

O - I really liked this beer. It's about 2 years old at this point, which I think did it well. The blueberry definitely isn't prominent, which may have to do with the age, but the balance of berry flavors as well as the funkiness are very well blended. Very enjoyable, elegant almost. I would definitely pick this up again, limited only by the price, which is too high.

Serving type: bottle

03-27-2013 17:42:25 | More by Beerandboards

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

lordofstarside

Nevada

4.24/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750ml to a goblet

Pours a thick deep purplish red with some pink hues on the side when held against the light. a finger of purple tinged head receded pretty quickly to a nice thick ring around the glass, visibility is low. Carbonation is pretty high, it foamed up into the neck of the bottle when I uncorked it for a few minutes until I poured it. All in all good color and I'm liking how frothy the top has stayed, good lacing too

Smells of tart blueberry, apple, cherry, oak, currents, vinegar, lib yeast funk, and some sweetness from the malt with a splash of alcohol.

Taste is close with the nose, sour blueberry and grape, along with a host of other fruits including apple, cherry, pear, apricot, and a touch of citrus. Turns a bit sweet at the end with the malt, but for the most part stays sour all the way through

Feel is consistent, moderately acidic and leaving the mouth salivating. A bit on the mild side in terms of sourness leaves it pretty drinkable

Overall a run of the mill cascade brew, nothing stands out against their other sours, however stands out against most other breweries. It's a bit over priced for how much a bottle goes for, but would be ideal to bring to a tasting or bottle share

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2013 00:31:07 | More by lordofstarside

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

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

lnashsig

Texas

4.16/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

My new love affair with Cascade begins. This is the third of theirs I have tried, including Noyeaux, and Apricot. Poured from bottle into Jester King farmhouse glass. Pours a violet/red hazy color, a thin line of head circles the rim of the glass. Aroma- vinegar funk mixed with rose petal and a blueberry wafty ending. Reminds me of smelling smashed fresh blueberry, no artificial flavors detected. Aroma is amazing. Taste- some tart flavors, but not puckeringly sour. The fruit is very present, I get more of that raw blueberry flavor without the sweetness. Very dry finish with some barnyard funky aftertaste. I was expecting this to be much more sour but this is really a celebration of the blueberry flavor that stays true to it without becoming cloying, sweet, or artificial. As it warms, more of the funk comes out. I get a little bit of band aid on the end- it's not distracting but you can tell that Brett worked a little in here. Nice mouthfeel- I swear I might have had some blueberry pulp in there, maybe some seeds. Good carbonation. I really like this beer- I think its an excellent example of a fruit beer but it has a ways to go before it obtains fruit lambic like sourness and acidity.

Serving type: bottle

03-06-2013 02:25:52 | More by lnashsig

HomeBrewed

Minnesota

4.53/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.75

I don't do many reviews, but this is my first Blueberry Sour and felt it necessary. Simply amazing brew!

A: Pours a beautiful dark red, light purple color. Slight head that fades quickly. My mouth is watering.

S: Amazing! Fresh blueberries and funk! Smells very sour and acidic.

T: Wow! Funky, sour and fruity...everything I expect from Cascade. Bubbly and delicious. I usually sip beers like this over an hour or so, but I might have a hard time with this one.

M: Efervescent and bubbly. Brilliant tingly sensation on the tongue. Very standard for the style.

D: Perfect as Cascade's always are. Alcohol is pretty much undetectable.

O: Another wonderful Wild from America's best Wild Ale brewery. Simply amazing!!

Serving type: bottle

03-02-2013 03:07:40 | More by HomeBrewed

Pinknuggets

Vermont

4.29/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bottle to flute

A: blue and purple in color with lots of cloudiness and semi transparent with a white to purple fluffy head looks like blueberries

S:well you can definitely smell the oak in there and there is definitely done funk but not a lot however no blueberries

T:it is sweet and tart with plenty of blueberry flavor that really comes out but not in to much of a fruit juice way. There is a little bit of sourness but mostly tart flavor here the funk doesn't come out much but it's in the background a little

M: smooth with a little but of oil to it goes down very easily. To complement this the carbonation is very light like champagne.

O: this is my first cascade and I have to say wow this is one of the best beers I've ever had. I love the sweet tart flavor without being over the top and it is crazy drinkable very impressed highly recommend

Serving type: bottle

02-18-2013 16:07:03 | More by Pinknuggets

aasher

Indiana

4.26/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25

2012 batch courtesy of BrewerB in a recent box. Thanks Brian!

This beer pours a light bodied, very bright red grape reddish purple with a highly active, one finger slightly pink head. The nose is bright and tart. It instantly hits you with fresh blueberry juice, a healthy dose of dry Brett, and a nice level of acidity. The slightly sweet blueberry character works well with opposing, bretty funk. It smells much more authentic than the 2011, which I found to be too sweet and artificial. The flavors are instantly dry and tart with a lot of Brett to pair with the blueberry, which has a great blueberry muffin aspect. The acidity is perfect and provides a nice level of sourness. It drinks light with a healthy amount of carbonation. It leaves both ends of the flavor spectrum in the after taste, which is unique and fun to experience. Overall this beer was very enjoyable and I really, really enjoyed it. I'm glad that this beer changed significantly from 2011. I would definitely snag this one again if possible.

Serving type: bottle

02-07-2013 04:28:31 | More by aasher

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