Sour Season: Cascade Brewing Barrel House

Willamette Week | October 27, 2010

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When it comes to hops, Northwest brewers are all about one-upping each other. The guys atCascade Brewing Barrel House (939 SE Belmont St., cascadebrewingbarrelhouse.com) didn’t care to join that game—so they went sour. The tasting room serves over a dozen varieties of sour beer, produced with lactobacillus bacteria and aged for months in wooden barrels. Be there Tuesdays at 6 pm to taste the two weekly specials tapped directly from the barrels. (Traditionalists, rest assured: Cascade Brewing devotes five taps to regular beers.) The place is casual, with picnic tables inside and out, and though the decor is not particularly cozy, the waitstaff is friendly and enthusiastic about educating newcomers. While sour pints might not be for everyone, the novelty of the weird flavor makes the trip well worth it.