Cascade Brewing Cascade Strawberry Ale (2014) – American Wild Ale at 7.56% ABV (C$27.63 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 750 ml, no packaging date or best before, acquired 11-Dec-2015, reviewed 21-Jun-2020)
Appearance: clear ruby-tinged pale amber with one finger of loose pale ivory head diminishing rapidly and loudly to nothing, no lacing. (3/5) Aroma: oak, funk, jammy fruit. (8/10) Taste: moderate-high tart, moderate sweet, low bitter. (8/10) Medium-light body, lively carbonation, mildly warming tart finish. (4/5)
The Great Cellar Drink Down continues. What? I’m in quarantine in a (supposedly) sold house, so I can’t get anything fresh, and who knows how long my collection will go into a storage unit after we pack up here and find a new house – could be months, easily, subjected to wild temperature variations. No, better it end here, with dignity: cue the swelling orchestra.
To be honest, I don’t think I’d’ve guessed strawberry in a blind tasting. There’s jammy fruit, yes, but it’s a long way behind oaky barrel funk, and not readily identifiable as strawberry – though on the second pour, it’s much more noticeable as such in the lees, and it does eventually come through a little more in the finish. (Which I guess is hardly surprising, given how hard it is to brew with strawberries.) The high acidity, as is pretty much the standard with Cascade, puts a bit of a limit on how much and how quickly one can drink this without incurring a bit of heartburn. Decent enough, but really not worth the price of admission – which is also pretty much the standard with Cascade. (15/20)
7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
