Cascade Brewing has been a pioneer of the sour beer renaissance since 2006, coining the term Northwest Sour Ale for its house style of blending aged beer with fruit rather than following any single traditional lineage. Kriek is its cherry-forward flagship, and it earned a rare distinction when the New York Times named it the best sour beer in America in 2011.
Cascade Kriek at a glance
| Style | American sour ale with cherries |
| ABV | Around 7%, varies by vintage |
| Calories | Around 200 per 12 fl oz |
| Origin | Cascade Brewing, Portland, Oregon, USA |
| Ingredients | Blended sour ale base, pie cherries, oak barrel ageing, mixed fermentation cultures |
| Vegan | Yes |
| Gluten free | No, contains barley |
| Typical price | Around $14 to $20 for a 500ml bottle where available |
How it tastes, by the numbers
Kriek leans hard into cherry and oak, with the tartness and spice built around the fruit rather than raw funk.
The full review
It pours a deep reddish colour reflecting the cherry content, with vintage variation affecting the exact shade and intensity from year to year. The aroma is dominated by pie cherry and oak, with wood spice and a Flemish red ale-like character in the background.
The flavour follows with tart cherry, black cherry and oak vanillin, along with baking spice notes that add complexity beyond simple fruit sweetness. It carries bright acidity, high effervescence and a light tannin structure that keeps it from feeling syrupy despite the fruit-forward profile.
Cascade’s reputation as a sour beer pioneer is well earned here: this is not a fruited beer bolted onto a neutral base, but a beer where the fruit, oak and acidity were designed to work together from the start.
Named the best sour beer in America by the New York Times, and it still holds up against far more famous competitors.
- From one of the pioneering American sour beer breweries
- Deep, well-integrated cherry and oak complexity
- Bright acidity balanced by real tannin structure rather than syrupy sweetness
- Vintage-to-vintage variation in ABV and flavour intensity
- Limited distribution outside the Pacific Northwest
- Pricier than most fruited sours
Who it is for
Fans of cherry-forward sour ales who want a genuinely pioneering example of the style, and anyone curious about the brewery that helped define American sour beer before the current boom.
Cascade Kriek FAQs
What does Cascade Kriek taste like?
Tart and black cherry flavours with oak vanillin and baking spice, bright acidity, and a light tannin structure that keeps the fruit from tasting syrupy.
How strong is Cascade Kriek?
Around 7% ABV, though it has ranged from roughly 6.6% to 8.2% across different vintages.
Why is Cascade Brewing considered a sour beer pioneer?
It has been producing barrel-aged sour ales since 2006, ahead of most of the current wave of American sour breweries, coining the term Northwest Sour Ale for its house style.
Is Cascade Kriek gluten free?
No, it is brewed with a barley malt base.
Did Cascade Kriek win any awards?
The New York Times named it the best sour beer in America in 2011, and it has won multiple medals at the Great American Beer Festival over the years.
Where is Cascade Kriek brewed?
In Portland, Oregon, at Cascade Brewing.
Where to find it
Available at the brewery’s Portland locations and through select craft beer retailers in the Pacific Northwest and beyond; distribution is more limited than mainstream fruited sours.
The verdict
Cascade Kriek is a genuine pioneer of American sour beer that still competes with the best in the category. A rich four point three out of five.
