Cascade Brewing has always been a complicated brewery for me. They do what they do very well-but what they do is sour ales. Which I do not like: they all just taste like vinegar to me.
Yet, one of my most memorable ales was Cascade’s Cherry Lemon Quad ale, kept in Maker’s Mark barrels. I love telling people about this beer, because it was just so interesting!
So, when Cascade went into making mass market ales, I knew that they had to do something different because most people just were not going to go for the sour ales that Cascade usually produces. The intensity of their sour ales is just that strong.
I was right and at least so far, delightfully so.
The lime is forefront in the nose. I think: is it lime, or is it just that this is a sour ale and that’s the scent I usually pick up? It really seems like more the latter, but I want to give this beer the benefit of the doubt. However, that nose is not an indicator of something I usually like.
But the thing is; it’s a great drink. There is a solid midrange of sweetness but the finish does show off the lime and the ginger. This gives the beer a delightful drinkable quality, and a finish that isn’t exactly dry, but still has a little pucker to it.
Now, as the beer warms up, ginger starts to take over .Your mileage may vary as to whether or not that is a positive quality. I don’t mind it, because of the refreshing aspects of the ale, initially. I just felt it was worth noting, in case there are readers who really dislike ginger.
