My wife and I welcomed our first child to the world last Saturday the 16th. Milo, our little guy, has been awesome. Being a dad is an absolute joy that I could not possibly put inot words. It is also hard work. Today, we decided it was high time to take him out into the world. We had actually been discussing what our first trip out after birth would be for months. When it came right down to it, however, there was not question. We were going to the Cascade Brewing Barrel House. We had briefly considered going to Hopworks or the D-Street Noshery. Both also super kid friendly with good and beer. But when you have not had a full beer in 9 months you demand the best. And for my wife, that means the sour brews at Cascade.

Our love affair with Cascade Brewing, and the Barrel House in particular, has been long standing. I still remember the day that we first learned about their plans to open up a Barrel House on the East Side that focused on Sour Ales. My parents were in town and we were in Baileys Taproom enjoying an afternoon brew. My father happened to pick up a magazine and flipped to an article about Brewmaster Ron Gansberg’s plans for the Barrel House. To say that we were excited would be an understatement. We had first become acquainted with Sours through a La Folie tasting at Portland’s International Beer Fest back in 2008. Later that year at the Winter Beer Fest we came across Cascade’s Sang Noir. We always say that La Folie got us interested in the style. Cascade got us hooked. But, previously, these brews were only available at fests or by *gasp* crossing the river over to the Raccoon Lodge. And we are not river crossing folks.

Unfortunately, for my wife at least, The Barrel House opened up only a few short weeks before she got prego. While she did have the opportunity to try the place out, she did not really have the chance to sit back and bask in all of the sour glory that is contained in the little post-industrial site. I will say, to her credit, that she was a trooper about visiting the Barrel House while prego. At a certain point during the pregnancy one of the bartenders, Cody was the name I believe, would pull out either a root beer or ginger ale and immediately let us know what sort of desserts were in stock.

As is to be expected, our trip to the Barrel House today was fantastic. The little guy cooperated like a champ. And by that I mean that he primarily slept through the whole thing. That is what a 1.5 hour feeding session will do to you I suppose. It was nice out and the picnic tables outside offered plenty of shade so we grabbed one of those. They do not normally do table service outside before 4pm so we were fully expecting to have to order our digs at the bar. But within a few minutes a server was at our table. A welcome surprise.

Me and Milo

I want to take a moment to talk about the food at Cascade before we hop into the beers. In the past, to say that we were not impressed would be an understatement. However, to their credit, the crew has been constantly reimagining and improving their menu. Our lunch today was the best meal that we have had there. In fact, I would go so far as to say that the meal, in and of itself, was fantastic. We split the following two items.

Daily Special Panini Sandwich – Ham, Bacon, Avacado, tomatoes and onion. Served with house crackers and pickle plate.

Barrel House Cracker Plate – Served with crackers, soft bread, fruit compote, seasonal fresh fruit, pickled assortment and various meats and cheeses.

The two items worked together extremely well and really complimented the sour beer choices. The pickles and house crackers really stole the show here. Absolutely delicious.

Now, on to the beers. Cascade may very well be the best brewery in Oregon today. However, their popularity in the state lags in comparison to some of their lesser competitors (Widmer, Deschuttes, BridgePort, etc). What they are doing is really at the cutting edge of brewing. And it is largely unknown by the majority of the population. But, it is oh so good. If sours are not your thing they usually have about 6-8 selections of fine ales, ipas and farmhouse ales. If sours are your thing, you will find no better place to visit.

On our visit today we tried the following.

Honey Ginger Rye– Absolutely delicious and like nothing I have ever tasted; even from Cascade. On the nose you get a strong aroma of ginger and lime. Absolute heaven. But it is the taste and mouthfeel that are the real players here. It is almost like a soured high quality ginger ale with a hint of lime. The ginger and the lime are still the main players. But you also get the lightness you would expect from a honey brew and the spiciness that you would expect from a rye. These flavors work so well together that it is uncanny. I really hope that they turn this into a regular.

Pre-Bourbonic– Every Tuesday Brewmast Ron busts out a new live barrel for the devoted fans to try. Once it is gone, it is gone. I can think of no other brewery where every single week, in addition to a full list of barrel aged brews and sours, you can try a brand new and unique sour or barrel aged beer. This weeks selection is their Bourbonic Plague on its way to being ready this winter. I am not shy in my love for the bourbonic. It is, absolutely, my favorite beer. I would put it up against any other beer that is made today. The bourbonic is an epic soured porter aged in bourbon and oak barrels. Sweet bourbon, oak, vanilla, molasses and dark fruits are the hallmarks here; what you would expect from a barrel aged porter at nearly 12% abv. But then you add the dry lactic sourness that Cascade is known for and you go into a whole new realm. Absolutely unreal. The pre-bourbonic was well on its way to its more mature sibling. In this variation the sweet bourbon and vanilla played a more prominent role with the sour notes coming more as an aftertaste and more subdued than in the final version.

I am hoping that today starts what becomes a sort of family tradition. Mommy and Daddy enjoy some great brews and food in a good atmosphere and little Milo does those sorts of things that little kids do. I have always appreciated breweries and beer events that are kid friendly. This has only increased since becoming a father. Cascade was already one of my favorite places to visit in Portland. And it just moved up a notch.